A DOG HAS MORE SCOPE

Technology is great but will never replace the gundog

Though I’ve read the reviews in the pages of this magazine, until last month I’d never actually looked through a thermal-imaging scope. It was quite a revelation. Using it in daylight allowed me to spot game that even with binoculars would have been almost impossible to see otherwise. It was quite uncanny and very clever, though using it took some practice.

Some falconers now use thermalimaging devices rather than dogs to locate game for their hawks. It’s easy to see the advantages. Dogs have to be housed, fed, watered, exercised and trained, whereas a thermal-imaging scope or binoculars requires none of those. And though a topquality device might be expensive to buy, it’s probably no more costly than a pointer puppy. Falconry may be the most ancient of sports, but modern technology has already revolutionised it with GPS and telemetry, so thermal imaging is only one more development that makes it a 21st-century pursuit.

However, I’m pleased to say that modern technology isn’t for everyone. Last month I enjoyed a day with a group of falconers at the British Falconers’ Club International Field Meet at Woodhall Spa (Masters of the wind, 2 November) and was relieved to discover that for traditional falconers, dogs remain an essential member of the team.

Ben Long, for example, a professional falconer from Gloucestershire, had brought along four English pointers. He takes his dog work seriously; all his dogs have been trialled. His senior bitch, Clover, has won and been placed in novice stakes, and her daughter Bonnie won the Yorkshire Gundog Club puppy stake in July this year.

Watching Clover work was a delight, for she demonstrated the sort of athleticism that is easy to take for granted until you consider the level of fitness required to quarter a field of rape at a gallop.

Falconers are often guilty of taking little notice of the dog, as all eyes are on the hawk, but witnessing the unlikely partnership of dog and bird is quite extraordinary. It would be a sad day indeed if technology in the shape of thermalimaging devices should ever replace dogs.

A well-trained dog is invaluable in the field