Wild Justice has recently started subscribing to The Shooting Times – just to have a look at what they are saying. So, every Thursday an issue arrives at my home. When I saw this week’s cover I thought to myself ‘Yet another shooter getting out of his depth’ but I thought there was something familiar about the person. And there is. He’s wearing a hat. Welsh wildfowler wearing a hat means Gethin Jones to me – and so it proved to be.
Let me first say though, that I enjoyed reading Gethin’s article about going wildfowling. It’s well written and puts across a knowledge and appreciation of nature pretty well. More so, dare I say it, than most birders, particularly twitchers, might do. Shooting Times is quite a good read in that it is fascinating to see how others see the world even if one one’s own affection for nature doesn’t lead one to go out shooting at it.
Gethin’s Twitter account is worth a look too. He has a range of interests including Russian affairs which means that he is tweeting away about Ukraine at the moment, of course.
Gethin used to comment on this blog, as far back as 2012 I think, but most of my interactions with him since have been on social media. Here’s one from July 2016 when my petition to ban driven grouse shooting was heading for its 100,000 signatures:
Gethin and a bunch of his shooting mates all posted this slightly silly photo of me – see here, A Place for Trolls.
A frequent interest of Gethin’s is lead ammunition. Although as a wildfowler shooting those targets at coastal sites Gethin has had to go lead-free for years he seems to have asked loads of times what is the evidence for harm of lead ammunition. He has been answered loads of times too, but somehow he is rather forgetful of the science it seems to me. These days shooters are pretending that they are desperately keen to rid the UK of toxic lead ammunition but they don’t seem to be making much progress with it – see here.
Ruth Tingay and Chris Packham get attention from Gethin too. And so it came as no real surprise when we set up Wild Justice in 2019 that Gethin was vying with his shooting mates to get up our noses first.
But his Shooting Times article is well written.
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I appreciate some shooters of our wildlife for fun, have a good knowledge of nature and this in a way makes me despise them even more. Deliberately killing wild creatures for fun, many of which have flown thousands of miles to the U.K. to seek a winter refuge from the intense cold and darkness of the Arctic during winter, I have to say, in my view, borders on abomination.
On top of that, their campaigns of disinformation are equally nasty.and to say, Mark, that you, Chis and Ruth put forward disinformation shows how low they will sink.
If we keep campaigning vigorously against their nasty, cruel “sport” we will sooner or later push these, shooters for fun, to a small inconsequential group ever shrinking in size.
I have just been watching an RSPB video where they are asking the Scottish Government to suspend wild fouling on the Solway and ales where to combat the spread and effects of avian flue on the birds. This is so as to avoid disturbing the birds and to give them a better chance of recovering from the virus so they will be in fit state to migrate in the spring.
It is a safe bet that these wild fowlers, the shooters of our wildlife for fun, will pay no attention to this RSPB request whatsoever ever. How heartless and what a dreadful lot, most of them are.
Congratulations, you have made a wise choice, and can look forward to many years of informed and enlightening reading.
Next year will be my 50th as a weekly subscriber , do you think “Wild Justice” will make a similar claim one day ?.
I hope you were able to take advantage of one of the subscription packages, they are quite good value.