Defra Licence:

[SNIPER1]

Thanks for this invaluable link, first I did not realise it ran out I did not realise the authority on this license had changed + would have had difficulty finding it as there is no link on defras website,

Thanks again,

SNIPER1

[Geoffc]

Just out of interest, I'm a member of Scottish Association of Country Sports.

As I take Woodpigeon for the pot then I thought I would get legal clarification.
I do kill them to prevent crop damage but, as we are a hunter-gatherer species then I did ask, what is the legal position for 'hunting' Pigeons.
In the SACS magazine they had printed an article about a chap being prosecuted by the RSPCA for allowing his son to shoot a pigeon in his own garden. SACS said this was not illegal so, again I wanted clarification.
I have cut and pasted his reply here.

Hi Geoff - thanks for the email.
I’m a bit pushed for time, so I will be brief - please excuse!
The public general licenses allow authorised persons to kill or take the species listed only for the reasons specified in the licenses - this is carefully worded to comply with EU law. The two we use most commonly as shooters are for the protection of crops and the protection of ground nesting birds.
It has been accepted that these species can be killed for these purposes at any time or in any place - it is not restricted to the protection of a specific bird nest or a specific field or crop - in other words it is fine in the legal sense to kill them at any time in any place, on the basis that they would be damaging crops or nests at some point in their lives.
The point is that although these are the only legal reasons for killing them, there is no restriction on what you do with them once you have killed them, so it’s perfectly ok to take them home and eat them (although I wouldn’t recommend it with crows!) or dispose of them in any way you see fit, including selling them to a game dealer if you have enough to make that worthwhile.
In practice, it is entirely academic until some member of the public or RSPB clown tries it on as in the case you mention, and to be safe, if anyone asks you why you shot a bird, you simply say for the protection of……. and that’s the end of it.

That'll do for me

[Airholic]

Thanks Geoff for the good post.

.....in other words it is fine in the legal sense to kill them at any time in any place, on the basis that they would be damaging crops or nests at some point in their lives........

So you CAN shoot woodpigeon for the pot.

It would appear then that when questioned by a person of authority you answer ' I did this for the pot' = court appearance. 'I did this for the protection of crops' = no case to answer.

Sometimes we don't always say the right things at the right time and end up in the proverbial when no malice was intended.

[kev1299]

Gull, Great Black-backed, Larus marinus
Gull, Lesser Black-backed, Larus fuscus
Gull, Herring, Larus argentatus

Subject to the provisions of the caveats listed above.

Just thought I'd point out that, in January this year, the Herring Gull and Great Black-Backed Gull were removed from the General Licence and these can now only be taken in special circumstances and a licence must be obtained from Natural England.

[Accuspell]

Clarification. Airshot:, SORRY - AIRHOLIC. NO you cannot shoot woodpigeons for the pot, because they have no defined shooting season in the UK.

You CAN shoot woodpigeons for crop protection, at any time of th eyear (i.e. there is no close season - although I, personally, would not advocate shooting them during the nesting season. That is just my old fashioned stance on it. It is legal, I just don't want to...for obvious reasons.)

Now, you must understand the reasons behind this differentiation, with regard to the rest of Europe. France and Italy in particular, their shooters are hopping mad that we can shoot woodpigeons all year round, under the general license agreement. This is because their own Ministers cocked up, in their view and when viewed against our Minister's approach to the subject, in that the woodpigeon in France & Italy (I know of these two, possibly Belgium, Lux, Spain, Germany et al) has a close season, and they are treated as a game bird, not a pest species. The French and Italian shooters want to know why we can shoot pigeons during the (as they see it) close season -and they can't.

Our Minister has actually done a good job in the past to maintain our right to shoot under the general license, because there is a great deal of pressure in Europe (Brussels) to make us fall in to line with them and have a close season on woodpigeons....hence why it is so important that we maintain our stance of only shooting for crop protection. NOT FOR THE POT. The fact you eat them afterwards has absolutely nothing whatever to do with - that was NOT the reason you shot them. It was just that having shot them for croip protection reasons it was a waste not to eat them.

Semantics? Word play? That is what politics is all about. So no more shooting for the pot, OK. Only for crop protection - then eat those pests rather than feed the fox.

EDIT: Actually, reading my own post, there is a glaring hole in the middle of my explanation. That is, as soon as you shoot for the pot, you turn a pest into game.....and they have close seasons, pests don't.

[cjw74]

Many thanks Danro,

just what i've been looking for

[trollyman]

Another very useful thread
I have been shooting any Magpies that I see in my garden believing that under the UK general licence I was legal to do this on the basis that Magpies would kill and eat any other bird, eggs or chicks whenever they get the opportunity.
Then I read something on another site that said you were breaking the Law to do this.

After reading this thread it seems clear that I can shoot Magpies at any time in my Garden to protect other wild birds.

[craeg]

Hi all

I have just read the General Licence you can legally eat the quarry that the licence allows you to shoot, see EXPLANATORY NOTES, para h.

Also, you can legally sell woodpigeon to game dealers Bonus

Cheers
Craeg

[elmo fudd]

What does it say in licence about herons, and urban foxes last year i had six of my koi carp taken, all around may and june time, and last month i had three more taken from my pond. After last years loss i covered the pond with wire mesh, but that was destroyed by urban foxes, is a pcp rifle strong enough to take out a fox? if it was allowed. and the herons have ruined the ponds of quite a few people i know. As far as i know these menaces are protected, whats your view?

[krazy_horse]

What does it say in licence about herons, and urban foxes last year i had six of my koi carp taken, all around may and june time, and last month i had three more taken from my pond. After last years loss i covered the pond with wire mesh, but that was destroyed by urban foxes, is a pcp rifle strong enough to take out a fox? if it was allowed. and the herons have ruined the ponds of quite a few people i know. As far as i know these menaces are protected, whats your view?

I'm pretty sure you cannot shoot herons with anything, let alone a sub 12ftlb air rifle!

And foxes, are you kidding!?

JB