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Culling of a Protected Species - Implications!

Ray Walton

Ray Walton

Senior Member
Not directly fishing but could this have implications to other re-introduced protected species and other predatory species?
From the end of this week, Britain's minister for wildlife is sending men to destroy the nests of wild buzzards by blasting them with shotguns. Believe it or not, from Friday, a project will begin to destroy buzzard nests in the interest of protecting pheasant shooting estates, which has been person...

Full Story click on Richard Benyon: The bird-brained minister - Nature - Environment - The Independent
 
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Crazy. Native birds taking non-native birds before they can be shot! I feel desperately sorry for the fabulously wealthy land owners.
 
Interesting article

Wishful thinking if we are hoping for the same for that cute and loveable mammal.

Pheasants that are bred for "shooting" are fair game to the hunting parties and to the buzzard the pheasants haven't got the smarts of the wild birds ...it's surely collateral damage for those that host the shoots.

Now as a "wildlife" minister maybe this budget should go into the protection of our “aquatic wildlife" from reintroduced, displaced and over populated groups of predators.
 
How many "mistakes" could be potentially made with this proposed cull? Honey buzzards could be mistaken and raptors in general would be a target in the end.
Just look at red kites, they were as common as crows once upon a time now we have had to reintroduce them. Nature will find a balance and apex predators are normally the first to suffer when the going gets tough.

Leave well alone..............


Brian
 
Nearly the whole shooting thing is a joke. Farm reared non-indigenous birds shot at with copious amounts of no.6 lead by city bankers on Lords land while subservient's bash the living daylights of our woodlands. To suggest smashing the nests of one of the best sights to reappear in our countryside during the last decade abhors me. This smacks of one rule for the wealthy and another for everyone else. Are the keepers suggesting that the buzzard population has grown because of the insane number of released poults? No!

Pheasant shooting is a fantastically outdated sport that should be binned.

And this is coming from someone whose father was a keeper and has been at both ends on shooting days.
 
Julian Peacock said:
Nearly the whole shooting thing is a joke. Farm reared non-indigenous birds shot at with copious amounts of no.6 lead by city bankers on Lords land while subservient's bash the living daylights of our woodlands. To suggest smashing the nests of one of the best sights to reappear in our countryside during the last decade abhors me. This smacks of one rule for the wealthy and another for everyone else. Are the keepers suggesting that the buzzard population has grown because of the insane number of released poults? No!

Pheasant shooting is a fantastically outdated sport that should be binned.

And this is coming from someone whose father was a keeper and has been at both ends on shooting days.
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Well said.
 
Glad to see there has been a u turn on the proposed cull, saw a buzzard today, a beautiful bird. There are plenty of pheasants to go around! i bet there are more road kill pheasents than buzzard kill ones!
 
I come from a 'Shooting Background' and have dabbled myself...............Would I ever dream of shooting or harming a Buzzard (or other Bird of Prey for that matter) ?
NO NEVER ! My Father was a dedicated shooter/countryman (until ill health) and he would've literally 'Gone Postal' at someone shooting Birds of Prey !
We were brought up to appreciate the countryside and enjoy ALL its aspects !
This unfortunately smacks of the 'Elitest Brigade' and not the 'Genuine Countryman' !
Regards,
Paul M.
 
So how about cormorants then?

Buzzards are no more threatened as a species than cormorants. Cormorants are shot to protect stocked fish for sporting purposes. Both buzzard and cormorant populations have dramatically increased in recent times.

The co ordinated response of the RSPB anti hunting brigade has shown how effective they can be. The hoped for liberalisation of the licenses for cormorants is now far less likely as politicians don't like to be seen to be supporting any field sport.

And, if woodland presently managed for shoots continues to loose money at the rate it is along some rivers, you will see it dug up and replaced with something that will make money. Another Tesco's perhaps? A few more wind turbines? Some nice holiday homes? Why not turn the whole of the countryside into a theme park....full of fluffy animals to film for "Springwatch" and ban all these cruel pastimes.
 
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Important point or two, Buzzards are generally inland birds, cormorants are sea birds.
Buzzards will eat a wide range of food, road kill, mice, rats, rabbits, poults, general carrion and even worms, but cormorants eat only fish and more fish and should get their sad arses back to the sea!! ;)
 
Buzzards killing pheasents what a joke one of the best sites you see in the country and now in are city`s to.
Andy
 
Chris Guy said:
Important point or two, Buzzards are generally inland birds, cormorants are sea birds.
Buzzards will eat a wide range of food, road kill, mice, rats, rabbits, poults, general carrion and even worms, but cormorants eat only fish and more fish and should get their sad arses back to the sea!! ;)
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Well maybe they are sea birds although they have been feeding along rivers and lakes as long as I have been fishing, which is now 50 + years), however back before the Wildlife and Countryside act, when the Lentwerdine angling club on the Teme paid double what the council paid for every shot one in the Teme valley (they have been doing this for over 150 years and Lentwerdine is at least 50 miles from the sea) there were a lot less of them around and a lot less fish taken. Pretty much the same with Buzzards and Pheasants I would say.
Neither species was drive to extinction or any where near it by these controls by the way. Managing predators in a responsible and sustainable way is entirely justified. In the case of buzzards I am not sure myself if shooting is required and neither is DEFRA hence the research, now halted thanks to this campaign. Exactly the same position as with cormorants. The RSPB claim there is no need to control cormorants and oppose all licensing for shooting. Most anglers see a need to control and want an increase in the licenses. It seems that the RSPB are going to win this one all down the line if even anglers themselves cannot see that there is a problem in the countryside and actively unite with other hunting groups rather than pretending that angling is something different because "we put them all back". I think you will find that the activists who organise these campaigns have even less sympathy for hunters that don't even eat what they catch........
 
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I'd say there a at least 500% more cormorants than buzzards, only a rough estimate of course.
Buzzards don't attack prey they don't have a chance of swallowing, with cormorants it's hit and miss.
Cormorants have decimated silver fish populations from East Anglia to Dorset and elsewhere I reckon.
Buzzards always do better with a healthy rabbit population and don't have a negative impact on any of there prey.
 
Chris Guy said:
I'd say there a at least 500% more cormorants than buzzards, only a rough estimate of course.
Buzzards don't attack prey they don't have a chance of swallowing, with cormorants it's hit and miss.
Cormorants have decimated silver fish populations from East Anglia to Dorset and elsewhere I reckon.
Buzzards always do better with a healthy rabbit population and don't have a negative impact on any of there prey.
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I agree to a point with you on cormorants, although I would say they rather more than decimate fisheries, closer to devastation in some case, although it seems that decimate and devastate are used interchangeably these days.
The point you make about buzzards having no negative impact on their prey is exactly the point the RSPB made and also makes about cormorants and mergansers. It is not something everyone agrees on. Many who fish feel that these birds do have an effect on stocks and many who shoot feel the same about buzzards. My view is that shooters and anglers voices should be heard and it is sad if those who only fish dismiss the views of other country sports enthusiasts in the way some poster do. Most shooters I know do not dismiss anglers views in such a way. The idea that all who shoot are in some way upper class land owning members of the aristocracy being pretty offensive to most of the shooters I know.
However it seems that researching to establish the state of affairs is not to be allowed in the case of buzzards and much the same will occur with cormorants etc.
 
As raptors go Common Buzzards are pretty lazy hunters prefering carrion to actively having to chase down prey. If you want a real hunter go for the Goshawk supreme in flight and skill with an attitude to match.


Brian
 
Brian Timson said:
As raptors go Common Buzzards are pretty lazy hunters prefering carrion to actively having to chase down prey. If you want a real hunter go for the Goshawk supreme in flight and skill with an attitude to match.


Brian
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Could they not be trained to eat cormorants Brian? Mind you, the wretched things probably reek of fish, so that would put any self respecting raptor off :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Chris,

If you are genuinely interested there are goshawk at the Yat Rock area nr Simmonds Yat on the Wye. Not easily spotted, just occasionally. Very impressive birds.

Paul
 
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