Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Why we need to promote terrier work
I’m sure that the working terrier fraternity is grateful to Johnny Bluck for almost singlehandedly restoring the image of terrier work in the UK (Tales of terriermen past and present, 7 June), but that isn’t really what prompts me to write.
I’m somewhat confused regarding Shooting Times’s position on the issue of images portraying hunting dogs — or terriers in this instance — and dead quarry, such as rats and foxes. I very much enjoyed the Editor’s article on ratting with terriers (Running with the rat
pack, 3 May). I thought the photographs added greatly to the feature.
As a middle-aged man who has kept working terriers since the age of 11, I also got a kick from seeing a terrier on the front cover, complete with dead rat. I was initially dismayed to read criticism of the ratting images (Letters,
17 May) but my mood soon changed when I read the counter responses, including the Editor’s strong rebuff.
Against this background, why would you print an article advising against the publishing of photographs showing dead foxes, as in the Johnny Bluck piece? Are you saying it is OK to print photos of terriers killing rats but not terriers with a dead fox? That seems a rather contradictory and inconsistent approach. What about those outstanding shots of Simon Whitehead’s lurcher chasing and catching rabbits? What about the piles of dead rabbits that generally accompany those same articles?
Are you suggesting that we should be ashamed of legitimate earth work with terriers? That could be one interpretation of the article. If so, we may as well give up and await the inevitable ban. For years, enthusiasts of hunting with dogs relied on the House of Lords and filibustering to keep the antis at bay. It wasn’t a sustainable strategy and once New Labour got into power, the writing was on the wall.
With the benefit of hindsight — though some were advocating it for years — hunt supporters should have been proactive and engaged with those who were ignorant about the reality of hunting. Today, it isn’t unusual for hunt kennels to have open days and many shoots go out of their way to engage with members of the public, but prior to the Hunting Act, there was too much complacency, even apathy.
As a professional wildlife manager, I’ve lost count of the number of conversations I’ve had over the years with senior land managers, trying to convince them of the benefits of predator control in particular, including the use of terriers. It was always an uphill battle but in later years, through persistence and, perhaps, a certain amount of bloodymindedness, I have made some headway.
And this is the point. Trying to hide what takes place in legitimate country sports and hoping that people don’t look too closely at what you are doing is simply repeating the mistakes of the past.
Engaging with and educating those who are ignorant about country sports is the only way forward. That includes promoting legitimate terrier work via the pages of publications such as Shooting
Times — photographs and all. M. Webber, by email The Editor responds: Thank you for your brilliant letter. We are very pleased to have Johnny on board. He is a true titan of the terrier-work world and has done so much for the image of the sport. You raise a very interesting point. Johnny’s justification for speaking out against photos showing working dogs with their quarry is that he thinks it does a lot of damage to the sport. It is a pragmatic stance and
I believe he is right in some ways.
My view, as stated in my response to criticism of that letter, is very like yours; we should not hide the reality of what it is that we do. However, it is very important that we run features as good as Johnny’s, whether our views are completely compatible or otherwise.