MORE RED TAPE FOR FOWLERS?

In fact, I wrote (Letters, 19 October) that Sir Ralph Payne-gallwey “...defined a high bird as one 30 yards up. He thought 40 yards up was exceptionally high. Standard steel can certainly kill at that range” — 40 yards. But what’s five yards between friends? Alasdair Mitchell, by email

Mike Swan’s concern for wildfowlers in the face of more regulation is admirable and understandable (Jottings for Wildfowlers, 2 November). Fowlers are, by and large, conservation minded and usually have to work hard over a season for a small harvest.

However, Dr Swan only tells half the story. If he has seen on social media over the past few years the eyewatering bags of wildfowl on display shot by some commercial duck and goose guides and their clients, he might then understand the possible requirement for tighter controls and bag limits to ensure a sustainable future for the sport. One operation claims to have shot 9,500 head of wildfowl last year and appears to be obsessed by the numbers game, with little thought for conservation.

Ecological emergencies such as bird flu — with the potential to have a devastating effect on wildfowl numbers — along with a poor breeding season for ducks in many parts of the country this year, all require the shooting community to adapt to such situations, with the guidance from well-researched organisations that we subscribe to for that information.

Some countries already supply data for sustainable shooting on a yearly basis for wildfowl shooting. May I suggest Dr Swan looks at Ducks Unlimited in Canada and the US to see how providing data and surveys of hunters works very well with shooting organisations and the regulator, and has done so for many years. The GWCT