Safety first

Some weeks ago, while driving around a shoot in Dumfriesshire, a charming German man told me that in his country only a third of people pass their mandatory hunting exams.

In many ways I am ideologically opposed to any hurdles that stop people getting into our marvellous sport. However, the quoted figure shocked me and I couldn’t help but wonder how many people who regularly shoot in the UK would pass the same exams if they had to sit them.

Some days ago, I heard an awful story about a Scottish farmer who recently lost much of his sight after he was shot while duck flighting, and over the Christmas period, I spoke to an old boy who had been shot the previous weekend by someone who has a dangerous track record. Those are extreme cases, but it would seem that there are people out there, with a lot of experience, who are doing things they really shouldn’t be doing.

I don’t have the statistics for how many accidents occur in this country versus how many occur in Germany but I would be interested to hear from anybody who does.

In the meantime, I am often struck by the fact that driven days always start with a safety brief, but what about duck flights, rough days and when you are ferreting? Follow Patrick on Twitter @paddycgalbraith