When you are in a hole – stop digging!
GWCT say on their website that they don’t want people to shoot Woodcock before December, in order to reduce the impact of shooting on the UK breeding population. For such a prevaricating organisation their advice is perfectly clear:
But they continue to muddy the waters and should have received a response from DEFRA along the lines of this one on the Wild Justice blog – click here.
More blogs to come today but I’m out looking and listening for signs of spring at the moment – back later.
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I have no problem with shooting woodcock but not on a driven shoot and they should certainly never be driven exclusively over guns. The point of the ‘cocker spaniel is just that and combined with a walking gun and a limited bag they provide a simply delicious meal. I have taken woodcock with a goshawk and it is the most exacting element of goshawk falconry.
When I farmed in West Wales I used to sit on the banks of our cwm (valley) on the first full moon of November and watch them arrive. Ringers will know that they are exhausted and thus easy to net and ring. They should never be hunted until December.
In the wet areas where they seek shelter they are very hard and exhausting to find, even with an experienced dog. That sums up the true hunter gatherer: kill for food and never excessively.