Pigeons

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BEAR54
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Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:16 am

Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 12:38 pm

Quick question about pigeons
Two houses down from me is a pair of trees full of pigeons, now obviously I can't shoot them in the trees armed trespass and all that, so if I decoy them down into my garden where's the best part of the body to hit them from ground level?
A pic with a couple of red dots on would be most helpful
Cheers
Oh and it's a 177 Ultimate Sporter and the garden is 100ft long

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Blackbaronfish
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Location: Nuneaton

Re: Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 2:01 pm

You can only shoot them if they are a pest. :mrgreen: .
If you Google the anatomy of said pest you will see where the heart and lungs are.

BBF
Did I mention that I'm the only one to have attended EVERY meet since we started

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BEAR54
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Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:16 am

Re: Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 3:23 pm

Pest ? Pest !! Their a pain in the arse cooing all the time :(

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Blackbaronfish
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Re: Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 5:20 pm

BEAR54 wrote:Pest ? Pest !! Their a pain in the arse cooing all the time :(

Good enough :mrgreen:

BBF
Did I mention that I'm the only one to have attended EVERY meet since we started

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Roger5
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Location: Hampton middlesex

Re: Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 8:37 pm

Blackbaronfish wrote:You can only shoot them if they are a pest. :mrgreen: .
If you Google the anatomy of said pest you will see where the heart and lungs are.

BBF

This is not strictly true, under terms of general licence you would not get away with saying I shot it because it was a pest, you have to show reason ie crop control, prevention of damage or disease, preservation of public health or public safety, or in the case of corvids conservation of wild birds.Have a read BASC handbook Pest & Predator Control. Better safe than sorry. Rog

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BEAR54
Posts: 71
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2015 11:16 am

Re: Pigeons

Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:26 pm

Damn seems I best leave them alone and get some ear plugs lol I thought it was just a case that they are vermin and an open target
Oh well thanks anyway guys

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Roger5
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Location: Hampton middlesex

Re: Pigeons

Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:42 am

BEAR54 wrote:Damn seems I best leave them alone and get some ear plugs lol I thought it was just a case that they are vermin and an open target
Oh well thanks anyway guys

If you grew something in your garden that was for the table ie sprouts, peas or other vegetables and woodpigeons we're destroying your crop, I think you would be covered, it would show good reason and the fact that they make good eating as well would be an added bonus, plus you would'nt be wasting them, I have found that neighbours who might complain about the shooting of woodpigeons, stop complaining when told that you eat them. Rog

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Timmytree
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Re: Pigeons

Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:21 pm

Roger5 wrote:
BEAR54 wrote:Damn seems I best leave them alone and get some ear plugs lol I thought it was just a case that they are vermin and an open target
Oh well thanks anyway guys

If you grew something in your garden that was for the table ie sprouts, peas or other vegetables and woodpigeons we're destroying your crop, I think you would be covered, it would show good reason and the fact that they make good eating as well would be an added bonus, plus you would'nt be wasting them, I have found that neighbours who might complain about the shooting of woodpigeons, stop complaining when told that you eat them. Rog


Not so I'm afraid Roger, most garden crops can be covered, netted etc, so it's all a grey area. Far safer to leave garden pigeons alone particularly if you have neighbours. They are good eating though! BASC advice is available online.

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Timmytree
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Re: Pigeons

Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:25 pm

The licences are clear in their terms and conditions however I will concentrate on English licences for this example and specifically use the basic crop protection licence (England) - http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Ima...tcm6-24149.pdf
Firstly it is important to remember that all of the licences are for “authorised persons” only and they are defined in the licence (Part 13 in the above link).

The licences all list permitted species to be taken and the methods which are allowed.

Then it has conditions which must be met.

Specifically around wood pigeon and the licence linked above - the licence says: “In respect to the species listed at paragraph 2(i)(a) above, this licence can only be relied on in circumstances where the authorised person is satisfied that appropriate legal methods of resolving the problem such as scaring and proofing are either ineffective or impracticable (see note o).

Note O says: “Condition 3 of this licence – which requires users to satisfy themselves that other appropriate legal methods of resolving the problem are either ineffective or impracticable - only applies to bird species that Natural England considers to be native to Great Britain (these are listed at paragraph 2(i)(a)); it does not apply to non-native species (listed at paragraphs 2(i)(b)). People may use non-lethal methods, such as scaring and proofing, for non-natives and are encouraged to do so where this is the best solution to a problem, but these methods do not need to be shown to be ineffective or impracticable before this licence can be relied upon.”

This means that you should not instantly resort to the methods allowed to control the listed species unless you are satisfied that other methods could not be applied. For instance the RSPCA run animal welfare cases against people who have shot pigeons in their back garden because they didn’t or were alleged not to have complied with the licence. In other words and looking at the example licence I cite above, it would be hard to argue shooting a pigeon in your back garden to protect a vegetable patch which might be small enough to be netted easily by its owner. In the case of a wheat field it is impossible and prohibitively expensive to net a field so lethal control would be allowed.

In the case of other licences in the back garden such as under the “flora and fauna” protection licence; there is an allowance to kill certain species to protect flora and fauna including the killing of magpies to protect nesting songbirds. It is of course hard to try other methods such as netting as it would prevent the adult birds feeding the young etc.

Any person wishing to benefit from the licences should read the licence in full and ensure they comply with everything before shooting or trapping etc. BASC’s page on licences is here.

This was taken from elsewhere but I have quoted it before on here I think.

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Roger5
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Location: Hampton middlesex

Re: Pigeons

Thu Jul 28, 2016 9:33 pm

Yes, not as cut and dried as one would like to think, this comes up on other forums quite a lot aswell, and as with most things in shooting, if your not sure, best not to take the chance. Rog

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