Losses of released birds to raptors is usually less than 5% of the number of birds put down. There are of course places where it is higher, but in many…
Liam Bell
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Trapping mink – some key advice
Trapping mink issues Q: There are mink on the stream at the bottom of my garden. We have had cage traps out for nearly a month and still haven’t caught…
Bird flu concerns stay mostly in background
The H5N1 strain of bird flu (avian influenza, or AI) is still with us. The game shooting community is continuing to do everything within its power to reduce the risk…
Buying poults in 2023
After the worries of the past 12 months, it is reassuring to know that there are few issues relating to the supply of this year’s pheasant eggs, chicks and poults.…
Securing game shooting for future generations
I feel a change is coming and I wonder if we have seen the peak of the second ‘golden age’ of game shooting. I have felt it for a while and…
Rural crime – the progress being made and challenges still ahead
A couple of weeks ago I attended a rural crime seminar, which was organised by a very driven West Mercia police sergeant from our local Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT). The aim…
How to catch your first call bird
We have got three Larsen traps for magpies, but want to know how we can catch our first decoy bird. Have you got any tips?
Managing increasing deer numbers in the UK
It is an undeniable fact that deer numbers are increasing. It is also a less well-published fact that they are being very well managed on estates and farms and in…
How to trap a stoat (and other predators)
A shoot can have perfect holding, nesting and brood-rearing habitat. It can have the world’s best and most protected release pens and the best of foods on tap. But without…
Spring cleaning the shoot
The second half of January is a rush of catching up, late-season invitations and the last of our shoot days at home. And while I miss the buzz and camaraderie…
Wild birds: is this the way ahead for shoots?
When shoots were more reliant on wild birds, more self-sufficient and less dependent on gamefarms, it was common practice for them to shoot ‘cocks only’ for the second half of…
Shooting in 2023: what will this year bring?
After the disruption of 2020 and the uncertainties of 2021, I was rather hoping that 2022 would have been more straightforward. The game shooting community has had a tough time…
Rearing your own pheasants: how to hatch a plan
If you are one of the many shoots that struggled, or failed, to secure their full quota of poults this year, and you are wondering where you will get next…
Bird flu and next season – a headkeeper writes
The spectre of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is still hanging over us. It is next to impossible to talk to anyone involved in game shooting without it being brought…
Winter driven shooting – how to adapt peg placement to mild weather
We are predominantly a woodland shoot and, while we do have game strips planted against or behind most of our drives, the birds are more usually driven across our valleys…
Lead shot ban – what are customers saying about it?
I read an article about lead shot recently. As was to be expected, it was backed up by quotes, statements and statistics. Except this time, it was very much in…
White pheasants: why do they attract fines?
Q: Why were white pheasants protected and people fined if they were shot? Was there an important reason for it, or was it simply because they were rare, and keepers…
How to keep your pheasants close to home
October is a month that will test the nerves of the best of us. The birds we have looked after all summer become secretive and start to drift away. They…
A guide to beating for beginners: here’s how to take it in your stride
For those of us lucky enough to be involved in game shooting, and for people who live rurally and have farming and shooting contacts, finding somewhere to go beating is…
How has this summer’s drought affected game crops?
Getting our game crops to grow this year has been a real battle. I don’t think it has ever been more dry. Everything we have done has been a bit…