The Irish Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, has ordered the end of pigeon shooting throughout the Republic of Ireland between 31 May and 1 September.
I don’t know why she has done this – it’s quite interesting. In fact I can’t find anything about this move on her Department website but maybe I’m not looking hard enough.
But the National Association of Regional Game Councils says on Facebook;
At the stroke of a pen Minister Josepha Madigan has removed from the tillage farmer the most effective form of crop protection from wood pigeon damage. From May 31St this year until September 1st – wood pigeons cannot be controlled by means of shooting, the only really effective way. When this decision was queried by the NARGC, the NPWS responded that the decision was based on professional objective scientific advice. We now invite the NPWS to publish this advice in full along with the sources of the said advice.
This change to the long established procedure is without any consultation with the people who have carried out this control for generations. The conservation status of the wood pigeon is not threatened in any way. Tillage farmers have enough to contend with; rain, wind, heat or cold, price and costs without losing yield to hordes of hungry pigeons. The minister and the Parks and wildlife department seem far removed from the problems of the Irish farmer.
We question what or who is driving this decision! We call upon the minister to immediately rescind this change to the established derogation that has worked well all down the years.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3216879511679753&id=190104431023958
I don’t know much about the NARGC either – in fact I’d never heard of them until this afternoon. But they are clearly a bunch of shooters.
I can’t find any complaints yet from Irish farmers such as the Irish Farmers’ Association. Only c10% of Irish farnmland is arable crops and most of that is wheat, barley and oats rather than the Woodpigeon’s favourite nibble, young oil seed rape.
Can any Irish readers of this blog throw any light on this subject?
In the UK, the main lawful reason for shooting woodpigeons is, after non-lethal means have failed, to prevent serious damage to crops. No, you can’t shoot Woodpigeons for fun, and you can’t shoot them for the pot, but you can eat a Woodpigeon that you have shot to prevent serious crop damage.
My UK farmer friends tell me that the main season when Woodpigeons have any serious impact on crops, which at times they can, is in early Spring – let’s say February-April.
The NARGC built up a bit of a reputation for strong leadership & zero tolerance with its responses to reports of raptor persecution in Ireland in 2013.
For example, this from Director Des Crofton in response to reports of a buzzard shooting:
“The shooting of birds of prey, who are all protected, can only be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The person who shot this bird is not fit to have a firearm. I would urge the authorities, if the person is identified, that they are prosecuted, have their firearm licence revoked and never allowed have one again. This is inexcusable. If I ever found one of my members was responsible for something like this, he would be out of the association so fast his feet wouldn’t touch the ground”.
This is one of the best examples of actual zero tolerance for raptor persecution that I’ve ever seen.
Compare and contrast with the claimed ‘zero tolerance’ of Moorland Assoc, BASC, Countryside Alliance, National Gamekeepers et al and it speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
Yes Ruth i agree.
In much of the Republic, away from the big estates, shooting is often conducted in a way
resembling parts of continental Europe, local gun clubs negotiating access to farmland in
their areas.
The NARGC ,has often been a voice against much of the destruction of Southern Irelands farmland and Bog habitats.
I tend to find that pigeon shooting happens for fun, after the crops have been taken off the field. The people who enjoy killing the birds are so desperate to kill as many as they can, that instead of scaring the birds away, they lure them in? Anti-scaring!
Should the setting of lures to entice pigeons be a crime?
Lets get some simple facts right shall we!? Circus, by your comments you and many others trying to get rid of shooting clearly know very little about wood pigeons, shooting, pest control or cropping. The whole GL fiasco has show this. These continued cheap shots (excuse pun) at us and spreading miss information is getting boring now. I now you lot need the pubic to hate us to get them to fund your campaigns and agendas. But!Come on! We keep hearing you guys dismiss us and say it’s all about the “science”! Give them true real facts then. There’s loads of info out there on “wood pigeons” pigeon shooting. pest control and crops. Not hard to find and get it right! . . .Wood pigeons are a fantastic and adaptable bird that will never be endangered. They will breed in any month of the year if conditions are right. They can be a big problem on a variety of crops at all times of the year, from Seed time to harvest. Including sprouting beans if this dry Spring is anything to go by. . . . A lot of rape is Autumn sown and they will feed on it at all stages of growth depending on availability of other food and weather on and off right through to harvest. Especially revisiting fields where they have knocked the crop back where it will still try to sprout and get away. Lethal targeted pest control when opportunity presents is the most effective way of protecting crops and controlling numbers. This may change if more farmers stop growing rape as crops are failing due to attacks from cabbage stem flea beetle. This will lead to more being imported from countries that still use the pesticide our farmers have been prevented from using! . . . . The successful conservation/ habitat creation/ maintaince work i and others do comes from doing targeted pest control. . . .On a lite note plenty of turtle doves back and breeding including a ringed 3rd year bird on one farm. Looks like it is going to be a big year for nightingales! Two pairs on my patch and reports of others locally. Down side. Jackdaws predated first little owls nest in ages on one farm. Squirrels have cleared out the tree sparrows on another. We desperately need some rain or there will be a lot more predation. Still important to keep feeding!
And yet, my local barley field had no protection measures during sowing, growth and ripening…..but as soon as the crop is cut. The hide is installed in the middle of the field, the decoys are spread around and the killing – for no other reason than the fun of it – begins.
So no attempt to follow the law, no attempt to actually protect the crop, no scaring strategy….just killing for fun.
Steve you are clinging to “traditional belief” rather than adhering to the law as written.
Circus, “traditional Belief”? care to explain what you mean by that and what it is i am clinging to? I am prepared to be educated. This and others is the sort of odd neg comment that keeps getting thrown a us i am on about. It gets really boring and the public are not stupid! Are you also saying i and others are breaking the law when you know little about wood pigeons or how, why or when targeted pest control is carried out?
What you say you saw and the situation is interesting. It is unusual that anyone would put a hide in the middle of a field! Did you know the farmer/shooters or ask them why, and tell them that you thought they were breaking the law? Did you study the flight lines, direction to and from the pigeons were taking. Did you study the fields/area and the state of any ripening crops in them surrounding that field? For various reasons effective pest control can not always be carried out directly in the field or on the crop the pigeons are damaging. The pigeons had to be feeding hard on a crop nearby if they were coming to decoys. As for “tradition” there isn’t any when it comes to pigeons, pest control and farming! Before farmers changed cropping and started growing rape in the 70’s pigeons numbers were mainly controlled naturally as many starved to death during the winter months. Like i have said there’s plenty of info out there!
I will stand by any targeted pest control i do and why it is necessary. Along with the conservation work i do. Success with growing numbers of turtle doves, english partridges, skylarks, other red listers and hares, along with above average take up and success in owl and kestrel boxes is proof it works. At no cost to anyone but me!
For reference, the barley field is surrounded by permanent pasture. Its not in a significant arable area mainly dairy and store.
The tradition belief is that pigeons are seen as game and are shot for fun- and that the law and the conditions of the GL….well they are only for show (that’s part of the tradition too).
“The wood pigeon is actually classed as vermin but regarded as one of the countries finest sporting birds.”
eg.
“Bag size: 100 Could be more
Cost: £1000per gun – VAT inc.
Guns: 3 available, 3 total
Woodpigeon shooting nr London”
Did you ever seen barley wheats peas field hammered by pigeons or crows!
If yes then you know why the farmer
Do shoot them to protect his crops.
Then if you do not know what damage they do then go out open your eye and look carefully very soon you will realise
That some big flock of birds are destroying the farmer harvest!
Why do you think that a bag of an 100 birds shot is not uncommon??
Because you have thousand doing damages that is simple..
And that also simple that several farmer ring me every year for help!
Why do people make-up stories like this? Lets not let the facts get in the way of bull poo.
“Only c10% of Irish farmland is arable crops and most of that is wheat, barley and oats rather than the Woodpigeon’s favourite nibble, young oil seed rape.”
Rape is not a pigeons favourite nibble, it has very little nutritional value for pigeons, the reason they eat it is bulk food and there is very little else during the winter months.
“My UK farmer friends tell me that the main season when Woodpigeons have any serious impact on crops, which at times they can, is in early Spring – let’s say February-April.”
Go tell that to an arable farmer who has 2 or 3 thousand pigeons eating his corn/peas in July/August.
Unbelievable the lies and half truths that are posted on this blog to try and get shooting stopped.