Shooting Times & Country Magazine
CRUEL TOOL?
Gove is determined to ban the use of e-collars for dogs
When it comes to making decisions, politicians can usually be relied upon to opt for the one that will prove to be the most popular. Thus environment secretary Michael Gove’s decision to ban electric training collars was predictable. It ignored the fact that 65 per cent of people who responded to the consultation on the impending ban said no. However, they were far outnumbered by those with little or no interest in the subject, but who will side with Gove’s comment that “we are a nation of animal lovers and the use of punitive shock collars cause harm and suffering to our pets”.
Those in favour of these devices always refer to them as e-collars, while have qualified her for the Cocker Championship. She went out because, though she made a brave attempt to pick-up and carry a hare, it was too heavy, so she eventually dropped it. She probably weighed no more than 12lb, while the hare would have tipped the scales at around 8lb or even 9lb, so it was an unequal struggle.
Hares are the most important quarry species on much of the Continent, especially in the Mediterranean countries where feathered game is either scarce or non-existent. On most those who want a ban, such as Gove, call them cruel electronic shock collars. Some years ago I had a discussion about them with Jack Davey, one of the most respected of spaniel handlers. He pointed out that a big stick, in the wrong hands, could do just as much damage as an electric collar. In the right hands an electric collar can save dogs’ lives.
I know of a number of sheep-chasing dogs that were completely cured by electric collars, but without which they would most likely have been destroyed. I’ve also never met a dog that suffered from the claimed redirected aggression or anxiety problems quoted on www.gov. uk. I’m not saying that they don’t exist; just that I’ve never come across one.
I am convinced that an electric collar can be a justifiable training device. I suspect that they have been more widely used by gundog trainers than anyone else, because we are often working shoots in Germany the sighting of a hare prompts the beaters to shout excitedly “Hase! Hase!”, causing similar excitement and anticipation among the Guns.
Brown hare taxonomy is a complex subject. Our brown hare, Lepus europaeus, was reputedly introduced to these isles by the Romans. It occurs throughout much of western Europe, though in Spain its place is taken by the similar Iberian hare. In southern Italy and Sicily you can find the Corsican hare, which, ironically, is probably with high-performance hunting dogs running free some distance from us. They should always be the very last tool in the trainer’s armoury, but as such they can be invaluable. There is an ongoing campaign to write to Defra demanding the proposed ban be dropped, but I don’t think there is much chance of a rethink. Gove, an owner of toy dogs, has made up his mind. extinct on Corsica. Sardinia is the only place in Europe where you can find the Cape hare, though no one seems to know how it got there.
Coursing
Brown hares were introduced to Ireland for coursing but it is the mountain hare, a subspecies of the same animal, that occurs throughout much of Scotland. This is arguably an even more frustrating animal for the gundog handler than the brown; it lacks the latter’s speed and endurance, so a reasonably fit cocker spaniel is more than capable of coursing and killing one without too much effort.
This can prove embarrassing for southerners who come to the Highlands for the grouse. Their dogs may be steady to rabbits, but mountain hares are a different proposition altogether, and the fact that they can catch them makes them all the more tempting.
Familiarising your dog with hares isn’t easy. Though I live in prime hare country, my dogs encounter them surprisingly rarely. I’ve never heard of anyone with a hare pen, though I was once shown one in France. Because of my limited French I never managed to work out whether it was for training dogs or for breeding captive hares. The latter seemed most likely.
SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 45