Aporkalypse now: how feral hogs are over-running Hong Kong
A surreal situation has emerged in Hong Kong. Wild boars are plaguing the city. They run through the streets, scaring locals and eating rubbish, often in exclusive neighbourhoods home to millionaires. Ben O’Rourke fills us in on how that happened, with video produced by Hong Kong-based journalist Scott Murphy and camera and sound by David […]
Lockdown Lupton’s thermal fox control
When foxes grab your newborn fawn, normally there is not much you can do. You’re a deer. But Roy is a Foxshooter, and when his muntjac fawn goes missing, it’s out with the thermal to sort out the problem. Roy uses Pulsar Accolade XP50 spotter ThomasJacks.co.uk/pulsar/product.asp?ref=3153 Pulsar Trail XP50 thermal scope ThomasJacks.co.uk/pulsar/product.asp?ref=3489
Ollie Williams goes lockdown deerstalking
Cornish deer manager Ollie Williams is out after roebuck that are killing trees and destroying crops. He has a lot of deer on his land, and a lot not land to choose from. Plus he introduces a new concept to the world of deerstalking: the ‘lie seat’ – like a highseat but designed for […]
Fieldsports Britain – #LoveIsland hunt
Those deer don’t shoot themselves. Lockdown or not, deer managers still have to do their work, protecting crops and woodland. Ollie Williams is no exception. He might be a recent #LoveIsland contestant but, back home in Cornwall, he is a deer manager, and he has to shoot his share of bucks. We join him […]
Clay and target-shooting grounds can open
Clayshooting organisation the CPSA has announced that clubs and grounds are now able to re-open. It rules that the government has given it the ‘necessary assurances’. Grounds will be able to re-open on a pay-and-play basis, with a gradual return to competitive shooting in time. They must adhere to strict Covid-19 safety protocol. However, not […]
How teenagers get shooting permissions – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 34
How do you get started in shooting when you are young? In his Lockdown Chatshow, Charlie talks to organisers of some of the UK’s biggest young shots programmes: David Florent of the Schools Challenge, Rob Collins of Pass It On Young Sports and Richard Kirkham of Next Generation Shooting, plus deerstalker Alex Vankov. They […]
Bradford man shoots grouse out of season
Fresh controversy for officials at Bradford Council as a poacher takes advantage of lack of council management on local moorland and shoots birds out of season. The man from the West Yorkshire city, which is linked to a succession of moorland management mistakes, posted photographs on a private Facebook group today of grouse and a […]
Fieldsports Britain – Paul’s stalking stress tests
How do you go deerstalking, pigeon shooting, gameshooting – or any fieldsports – while keeping a virus-stopping distance from your buddies? It’s simple, says deer manager Paul Childerley. You just have to follow a few rules. He runs through what will work for him and his stalking clients once he is allowed back to do […]
Social-distance shooting/hunting rules
Like everyone, deerstalking guide Paul Childerley will get back to work eventually. But how will he guide clients when he can’t go near them? We pull on the rubber gloves and put ‘social distance’ deerstalking into action on his ground in Bedfordshire. ▶ Paul uses a Sako rifle. For more about Sako, visit Sako.fi ▶ […]
Natural England red tape strangles red listed birds
Grouseshooter George Winn Darley takes pride in the number of rare birds on his moor. However, for the past two years Natural England has been working against him. He takes Ben O’Rourke for a walk around his ground in Yorkshire to look at the biodiversity, and explains how the general licences mess that Natural England […]
How to eat nettles and thistles
Survival expert Jonny Crockett talks through recipes for two notorious weeds. Jonny’s website is SurvivalSchool.co.uk
Police grab goose shooter’s guns – Fieldsports News, 6 May 2020
Here are the links: Police take guns from persecuted Leeds pest controller Barry Swain Fcha.nl/shooter-arrested-threatened-abused/ Sea eagles ravage British lambs Fcha.nl/sea-eagles RSPB lashes out at grouse shoots Fcha.nl/county-durham-red-kite Six-figure salary for official who messed up general licences Fcha.nl/official-in-charge-of-general-licences-mess-made-new-head-of-natural-enland/ Newspaper warns of hard times ahead for the countryside Bit.ly/35zKkuG Suffolk gun dealer charged with killing wife […]
Eat Game Awards winners
The Eat Game Awards 2019 are out. They include best shop, chef, pub and famers’ market. Among them, judges from gunmaker Purdey and BASC’s Taste of Game initiative voted game chef Mike Robinson their champion of champions. Head of Taste of Game Annette Woolcock comments: “Mike, with his immense passion for wild game, makes for […]
Did Canada ban the wrong guns?
Just like British prime minister Tony Blair found with foxhunting, when you don’t understand what you are banning, your ban won’t work. Now Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced restrictions on the wrong guns. Canadians were appalled and outraged following the recent mass killing in Nova Scotia. Trudeau promised action. This is his action: […]
Official in charge of general licences mess made new head of Natural England
The civil servant at the heart of Natural England’s disastrous handling of the 2019 general licences crisis is the new chief executive of Natural England. She will earn ‘circa £125,000 a year’ according to the job ad posted by employment agency Gatesby Sanderson. In his statement making the appointment, environment secretary George Eustice refers to […]
How the world is going back to hunting
With most of the world under lockdown, there are tight restrictions on who can hunt or shoot and where – nowhere nore so than here in Britain. BASC, Countryside Alliance and British Game Alliance have all written to the government to ask that hunting and shooting restrictions be relaxed. BASC sent an 11-point guide on […]
South Africa hunter’s Instagram account deleted after antis complain
A hunter in South Africa has had a social media account deleted after complaints by antis. Jason Stone, who runs safaris across Africa, says Instagram closed his account after “a bunch of anti hunters” launched an attack. He had more than 10,000 followers after building up his profile over the past year. Since Facebook and […]
Sea eagles ravage British lambs
Farmers are complaining they are providing free food for the UK’s newly-landed sea eagle population. Birdwatching organisations that arranged the birds’ release on the Isle of Wight in 2019 also promised to feed them fish. However, they have been unable to do so because of the coronavirus lockdown. As a result, the birds are snatching […]
Crowdfunding account set up to help Africa’s hunters amid coronavirus lockdown
Professional hunters in South Africa are asking for help as their livelihoods suffer during the lockdown. Salome De Villiers is organising the GoFundMe campaign in support of the community of hunters and associated workers at the front lines of conservation and anti-poaching at a time when their businesses are on hold because of the pandemic. […]
California cops confiscate guns over squirrel shooting near Sikh temple
Police were called to a Sikh temple in central California after reports of shots being fired in the direction of the compound. San Joaquin County sheriff’s office said it was alerted at 6:30pm on Friday and responding officers detained five people at the scene. They quickly dismissed the idea the incident was a ‘hate crime’ […]
Security cam catches fox stealing Hermes delivery
An online shopper was baffled when he couldn’t find a package after being told it was delivered. Martin Hind from Kent then checked his security camera video to try to find the culprit. He complained in a Facebook post the delivery from Hermes that contained electrical goods was “poked” through a gate and left in […]
Police send armed officers, helicopter after ‘tiger’ spotted in Kent
Cops with guns were searching the Kent countryside on Saturday morning after someone reported seeing a tiger on the loose. But it turned out to be a sculpture by a local artist in the village of Underriver, according to the Guardian. Artist Juliet Simpson made the sculpture from chicken wire and 20 years ago then […]
Mine pollution threatens Scottish salmon, say anxious anglers
Scottish authorities are investigating pollution in the River Leven in Fife. Anglers told the Courier newspaper that it’s killing off the salmon and could have wider implications for the local ecology. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency blames the orange colour of the river on an old coal mine at former Westfield site near Cardenden. […]
World hunting loses the wombat
A run of negative media about wombat hunting has brought about a wombat hunting ban. The main populations of the common wombat are in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. It is widespread and listed by IUCN data on endangered species as of ‘least concern’. Of Australia’s three wombat species, only the northern […]
RSPB blames grouseshooters for missing red kite
Police are investigating after a red kite’s tag suddenly stopped transmitting. The RSPB claims the bird ‘may have been’ illegally killed. The RSPB was monitoring a GPS tag attached to the bird in June 2019 by FoRK (Friends of Red Kites), according to the North East’s ChronicleLive news website. The report says the bird called […]
Suspected rhino poachers released by South African court ‘due to coronavirus’
A South African court has apparently released two men accused of poaching rhino horns. The suspects were arrested on Friday 24 April, caught with six rhino horns worth 6 million rand (£250,000), according to an article on an anti-poaching Facebook group. The court in Mpumalanga said it decided to grand them bail “due to Covid-19″, […]
Charlie’s Shoot Walk – Browning channel kidnap
Browning kidnaps Fieldsports Channel! No, it’s not so terrible. Browning simulcasts it #athome vlog on its Facebook page and Fieldsports’ YouTube channel. Adrien Koutny talks about Browning guns and Charlie takes him for a walk around his home shoot in Somerset. We talk about these guns ▶ Sam’s B525 Ultra XS: Browning.eu/b525-ultra-xs.shtml ▶ Amy’s […]
Horse trainer ‘under investigation’ for Baildon mowing
Bradford Council says horse trainer Sue Smith, wife of 81-year-old celebrity showjumper Harvey Smith, is ‘under investigation’ for mowing moorland in the middle of the bird nesting season. The incident was filmed on Baildon Moor north of Bradford, outraging shooting organisations. The moor is managed by Bradford Council, which already has a poor record managing […]
Fieldsports Britain – Paul’s Bohemian rhapsody
Paul is off to a stag and buck happy hunting ground in Hungary. The beasts are thick on the ground and he has to stalk carefully to get the one he wants. Meanwhile, the black grouse lek is underway in the UK’s uplands and, because of low traffic during lockdown, they are lekking in the […]
The Bird Table of Doom: Rats and Squirrels
Charlie Jacoby’s bird table has lots of songbirds – but it also attracts rats and squirrels, and he wants them gone. He tries out various methods until he find the one that works: the .22 rimfire.
Lockdown lekking: black grouse in the road
Grouseshooter James Mawle is one of the most passionate grouse conservationists in the UK. He takes Ben O’Rourke for a walk around his ground in Yorkshire to look for black grouse, which are lekking. Because of the 2020 coronavirus lockdown, there are hardly any cars and the birds are able to go back to […]
Hunting big Hungarian red stags
UK deerstalker Paul Childerley heads to Hungary, where he is spoiled for choice. There are big bucks and huge red stags around every corner. The trick is choosing the right one. ▶ Paul uses a Sako rifle. For more about Sako, visit Sako.fi ▶ For Sako rifle accessories on Amazon, visit Amzn.to/2ltJeyd ▶ For Sako’s […]
Is Bradford Council killing more baby birds? – Fieldsports News, 29 April 2020
Here are the links: Moorland mowing caught on camera – Fcha.nl/horse-trainer-under-investigation-for-baildon-mowing Gamekeepers stop wildfires – Fcha.nl/british-wildfire-season-2020 Vigilante villagers – The Guardian BASC backs Scottish government lockdown U-turn – The Courier When can we fish and shoot again? #whenwefishagain – YouTube & Birmingham Mail GWCT slams government over carrion crows (please note – we accidentally used […]
Rabbit hunting in Essex with a cheetah
We take a three-year-old male cheetah out after rabbits in Essex and hunting with cats is just one of the ways round the laughable hunting ban. We look at some other ways as we count down to repeal of the ban, including taking an eagle out hunting because falconry is exempt from the ban and […]
Knocking down crows – Fieldsports Ireland episode 20
Jason is shooting crows over two farmyards. They have been eating and pooping over the cattle feed and need sorting out. He didn’t expect to put out another Fieldsports Ireland under lockdown – but it’s an episode he filmed in 2019 that he found under his hat.
How the gun trade is helping hospitals – Charlie’s Chatshow – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 33
Beretta and Browning are making respirators for hospital to help the coronavirus effort in Italy and Belgium. Meanwhile, Blaser in Germany is making masks. Daniele Piva, Adrien Koutny and Frederic Hanner talk to Charlie about their companies’ efforts. Thanks to: Daniele Piva, www.beretta.com Adrien Koutny www.browning.eu Frederic Hanner www.blaser.de Here’s what Coronavirus means for […]
Shoots confident about 2020 season – Fieldsports News, 22 April 2020
Here are the links: Most pheasant shoots to go ahead – Fcha.nl/most-shooters-will-happen UK heads for record wildfire season – Fcha.nl/british-wildfire-season-2020 Rural groups blast RSPB over shooting consultation – BASC Bird charity in row over ‘selfish’ falcon breeders – YouTube + Natural England blog RSPB rents out nature reserve to power station – Fcha.nl/rspb-slammed-over-plan-to-put-power-station-on-nature-reserve-in-northeast-england Packham proposes […]
Deer gralloch – how to manage mistakes
Deer expert Niall Rowantree shows how to solve deer gralloch problems. His DSC2 student, Dr Cathy Mayne, has just shot a fallow doe and they are gralloching it in the field. ▶ This is part of our Alien & Natives series, visit Fcha.nl/aliens-and-natives ▶ This item is sponsored by Blaser rifles Blaser.de ▶ To go […]
Trout – catch and cook
Game chef Cai Ap Bryn is hauling in brown trout and cooking them on an open fire. He is on a hunting trip with his mate Trigger Sondheim in Norway, and the lake below the cabin is full of fish. He shows how to rustle up a feast with trout, lemon, butter and basil. To […]
Fieldsports Britain – how to manage a fallow deer herd
Deer expert Niall Rowantree is known for his red deer, his sika and even his roe. Less well-known is the herd of 100 fallow deer on the ground he manages at Ardnamurchan in the Scottish Highlands. He and ecologist Dr Cathy Mayne go out to stalk two fallow does, as part of his management plan. […]
RSPB slammed over plan to put power station on nature reserve in Northeast England
The RSPB has come under fire again for agreeing to a plan to put a power plant on one of its nature reserves. The Statera Energy natural gas plant will be built on a section of Saltholme reserve near Middlesbrough in Teesside. Local MP for Stockton North Alex Cunningham said he was “personally disgusted” about […]
Royal salmon fishing on the Thurso, Scotland
On the last day of a Macnab challenge all keen fisherman Dom Holtam has to do is catch his first ever salmon on the River Thurso in a single day. With guidance from Head Ghillie, Dougie Reid, plus a chance to fish the exclusive Private beat, a favourite of The Queen Mother and Prince Charles, […]
Most shoots will happen this season, says research
Finally, some good news. Most gameshooting will go ahead. A survey of more than 800 shoot owners, manager and gamekeepers across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by Fieldsports Channel finds that 61% of pheasant shoots are going to happen, 21% are mothballed and 18% are yet to make up their minds. It’s the crucial time […]
Magpie shooting in Wales under threat – Fieldsports News, 15 April 2020
Here are the links: Wild Justice aims at Welsh general licences – Crowd Justice Shooters back NHS charity raffles: John Rothery, Jack Pyke, The Shooting Diary Qualify as a GWCT ‘shoot operator’ for free – GWCT Poaching incidents in Gloucestershire – Twitter Sell guns on the roadside, says USA – Time New hunting land for […]
How to age and measure Chinese water deer
Deer manager Paul Childerley shoots a lot of Chinese water deer on his ground in Bedfordshire every year, plus he has stalking clients he takes shooting, too. He is an expert on what makes a good CWD trophy – and he explains it all here. Paul is sponsored by: ▶ Sako Sako.fi ▶ Zeiss Zeiss.com […]
Code of Bad Shooting Practice
There’s a pheasant shooting film out on YouTube that has angered the rest of the UK shooting community. A couple of weeks ago [25 March 2020], a man from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire put up a film that he made about rough-shooting. He and his friends obviously had a lovely day out – but his […]
On Test: steel shotgun cartridges on rabbits
Steel has well-documented benefits and drawbacks for shooting pheasants and pigeons – but how about rabbits. Simon Whitehead tries out steel shotshells on ground game at his home in North Yorkshire to see how they perform, plus he cuts open the rabbits to look at the terminal ballistics of both steel and lead shot. Cartridges […]
Fieldsports Britain – Steel-proof Rabbits
In the big country of North Yorkshire, top rabbit man Simon Whitehead has a rabbit problem. His problem is: what’s the best steel shot to shoot them? All his life, he has used lead shot, but now he wants to look at alternatives. He puts steel cartridges up against lead cartridges to find out. Staying […]
How fieldsports is helping the NHS and carers
Since the coronavirus crisis started, the fieldsports community and farmers have been reaching out to help people with everything from free meat to moral support for the National Health Service. Check out the video below to see what we mean: View this post on Instagram Our farmers x Our NHS #thankyou #heroes #nhs @countryside_alliance_ca @farmersweekly […]
Police charge man with serial poisoning of birds of prey
Police in Dumfries and Galloway say a 64-year-old man has been charged with “a number of wildlife crime offences”. He is believed to be involved in agriculture and not gamekeeping. A post on the constabulary’s Facebook page says the suspect may have killed more than 20 birds of prey and other wild birds in the […]
