Brodifacoum and Bromadiolone are types of poison called second generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGARs). These poisons were introduced in the late 1970s as rats and mice evolved resistance to existing poisons…
Matt Cross
Features writer
Poacher caught out by incriminating WhatsApp messages
Thirty-eight year old Mark Bond, of Westwood Road, Maidstone, was found guilty of killing a fallow deer and causing unnecessary suffering to a dog after a trial at Maidstone Magistrates…
Is Scottish salmon farming business linked to Russian intelligence services?
The secretive businessman Yury Lopatynskyy who was born in Ukraine and brought up in the United States, has close links to the Russian financial system and is believed to have…
More bad news for shoots as feed and fuel prices continue to rise
Wheat, the key feed for gamebirds, has continued to rise in price as the war in Ukraine enters a new phase. Feed typically makes up just under a quarter of…
Is Wales moving towards a ban on all fieldsports?
The Welsh government appears to be growing increasingly hostile to fieldsports and deaf to concerns over conservation impact. A post which was widely circulated on fieldsports groups across a number…
2022 bird flu outbreak – what we know so far and latest updates
April 14 The french bird flu outbreak continues to slow, but new cases are still being reported. New cases in Vendée, the most important department for gamebird production, showed…
Study showing falling hare numbers disputed
A study funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species found fewer hares on grouse moors in the Peak District than on areas managed for conservation. The authors then went…
Bird flu outbreak slows in certain areas, but grows in others
Meanwhile, shortages of pheasant eggs and chicks are beginning to affect British shoots. The outbreak is focused on the Vendée department in North West France; this department and the neighbouring…
Can shoots survive as price hikes bite?
The Atlantic surface pressure chart is strangely fascinating. It’s produced by the Met Office to show isobars, depression and fronts. You can play a time-lapse of the charts over several…
Bird flu update – how hard is it hitting British farms?
Data released by the French agriculture ministry showed that in the last week of March, cases in the main gamebird rearing areas of Vendée and Loire Atlantique continued to increase,…
Wild Justice moves against woodcock shooting
Wild Justice is calling for the start of the woodcock season to be moved from the start of October (September in Scotland) to the first of December. In its members’…
National Resources Wales approve change to general licences
The Board of Natural Resources Wales has voted to approve a set of changes to the Welsh general licences which will prevent their use to control magpies, jackdaws and jays…
French game farms not sending eggs to UK due to bird flu outbreak
L’envol de Retz and Gibovendee have told customers to plan for the delay in response to the worsening bird flu situation in the Pays de la Loire region of France…
Major avian influenza outbreak hits French game farms
The possibility of disruption to the supply of birds from farms was highlighted last week by Shooting Times. The west of France and particularly the departments of Vendée and Loire…
Wild Justice’s victory claim incorrect
The campaign group announced earlier that it would challenge the inclusion of gamebirds as livestock for the purposes of using the general licence to protect them from predation. The group…
Move to ban pump-action shotguns fails
Labour MP Luke Pollard introduced a private members bill in an attempt to restrict pump-action shotguns after the tragic shootings in his Plymouth constituency last year. The bill was debated…
Scotland plans to ban trail hunting
Scotland has introduced the Hunting with Dogs Bill which makes it illegal to hunt a wild mammal using a dog except in limited circumstances. Trail hunting using an animal based…
Capercaillie could be extinct in Scotland in 20 years, says report
Scottish Capercaillie at risk The report commissioned by Nature Scot looked at the causes of the decline in the numbers of the birds and at how the decline could be…
Gamekeepers struggle to save the life of eagle
The drama began when a gamekeeper, working on a Scottish Highlands estate, spotted an eagle struggling in distress while he was out on the hill. He called for assistance and…
Could the “pest birds list” return?
Currently the control of pest birds such as magpies, carrion crows and jackdaws is permitted under the general licence which allows control of these birds for certain purposes. The general…