Lamping for Pigeons

[Iamdickyc]

Does any body know if there are any rules for Lamping for Pigeons as I have been trying to research this and although I can see that you can shoot them at night, I cant see if its ok to "LIGHT EM UP!"
Richard

[Murphy]

Its illegal.

[Northernspark]

Pretty sure it's not allowed mate.

Steve

[Murphy]

You can still shoot them on clear nights though.
But NO lamps.

[Davey K]

I was shooting recently with my friend of mine who is in the New Zealand army - he said it is illegal to shoot birds at night - not sure if this applies here (UK) or not. For sport, it's not really fair as the birds are asleep at night but if you are pest controlling, I figure that it might represent your best chance to really hammer them if it works.

[Big Mafoota]

Best to check with defra, i'm sure i remember something about not shooting them out of their roost but that may be pheasant so i'd check.

[Backache]

Depends which type of Pigeon your talking about, for Woodies it's an absolute NO but Ferals can be lamped IIRC from a past article in one of the airgun mags.

Nev

[krazy_horse]

Not allowed to use a source of artificial light to aid the shooting of birds,

something like that anyway, NV or lamping is against the law, don't do it!

JB

[Iamdickyc]

Thanks guys, I just wondered where I might find the definitive statement as I could not find it anywhere and you know what its like when someone says something and then it becomes legend!

Or if you can tell which ORG I might to call to confirm?
Richard

FYI, I have contacted Defra and am awaiting a response so I will post what I find out.

[Raygun]

Depends which type of Pigeon your talking about, for Woodies it's an absolute NO but Ferals can be lamped IIRC from a past article in one of the airgun mags.

Nev

I agree with Nev.

I have read that Ferals can be lamped but can't for the life of me remember where.

ATB
Ray.

[mr smith]

I've seen the pest control people do this at night in railway stations.This was for manky ferals though.

[Brian.Samson]

Have a read of the DEFRA general licence :-
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/re..._man/WLF18.htm

The part you're interested in is section (2)(IV)(b)

Basically, yes it's illegal (in the UK) apart from Feral pigeons as stated in previous posts.

[whiteleggHW77K]

Question: If you cannot use a source of artificial light, could you use NV without the illuminator on?
Quite how you would prove it was off I don't know, but then wouldn't htey have to prove it was on?

Pete

[Soul Geezer]

...in last months air gunner barry hearn did an article on culling feral pigeons, and he RECOMMENDS the use of a low power lamp, and a lazer to ''shift'' birds into a better postion for a clean shot (without damaging roof tiles with richochets and pass-throughs etc).

but then that was concerning feral pigeons roosting in barns, and he recommends night shooting as thats when they're roosting in the barns, doing the damage...



not sure if it applies for outside use...

[Brian.Samson]

Question: If you cannot use a source of artificial light, could you use NV without the illuminator on?
Quite how you would prove it was off I don't know, but then wouldn't htey have to prove it was on?

Pete

I think it's any device for illuminating a target or any sighting device for night shooting that's banned, so the answer to your question would be no. (Unless it's for Feral Pigeons and you have a valid reason from controlling them)