7 Replies to “Pause the shooting please.”

  1. As I’ve not received a reply to my private mail perhaps I can pose the question here: where does the figure for decline in snipe numbers come from?

    In arguing with the shooting fraternity I want to be sure of the numbers or I just echo them with anecdotal evidence. Owen Williams of the Woodcock project in West Wales says the figure for snipe can only be found in the results for the Waterbird Breeding Survey and thus irrelevant as it cannot refer to breeding birds as they don’t breed along waterways. I need some help here.

    1. To be fair, The Woodcock Project’s own figures are “echoed by anecdotal evidence”. The project posts requests on various game-shooting related websites asking members to report any sightings of woodcock. The subtext of these requests appears to be the suggestion that, “if we report large numbers, we can continue shooting them”.

  3. Stop what? Its a genuine request. I am a committed bird watcher signed up to all the organisations and absolutely in agreement with the moratorium, have said for years that waders should not be on the quarry list.

  4. I would have thought GWCT, as a conservation organisation, would’ve instructed their members to agree to a voluntary hiatus until the decline is halted. Do shooters really have to kill Golden Plover for instance?

  5. I would commend the GWCT’s blog in response to Chris Packham’s petition: http://www.gwct.org.uk/blogs/news/2016/september/chris-packham-%E2%80%93-gwct-response-to-the-call-for-a-moratorium-on-shooting-waders/. For example, it addresses your query about snipe numbers, Liz.

    And Dave, the Trust has indeed encouraged caution as regards shooting woodcock, particularly until the second half of November, when the number of migrants increases significantly. The following page is also helpful, and I would urge you to download the fact sheet referred to in it: https://www.gwct.org.uk/policy/position-statements/shooting-woodcock/

    As for golden plover, I’m pleased to say we have a healthy population on our moorland at home in Scotland, as is the case on well managed grouse moors in the north of England. But I agree, I don’t know of anyone who shoots them.

  6. Thanks Lazywell, it’s good to know that there is at least constraint on the shooting of these birds. From a personal point, my local patch (Northampton Wetlands) used to hold numbers of Golden Plover in excess of 4000 each winter, they are virtually absent now. The site was given SSSI status and has declined from excessive duck shooting since.

    As for who shoots Golden Plover, the chairman of the Countryside Alliance, Tim Bonner posted a photo of his bag on Twitter which included Golden Plover & Jack Snipe!

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