Basic instinct
Ed Cook gives a personal view on hunting with dogs
Hunting with dogs has been illegal since 2005 but there are exemptions, including legal control of rabbits and rats. For various reasons, the Hunting Act 2004 is back in the limelight and there are calls by some to restrict hunting even further.
I was never a fan of the ban and was always sceptical that such legislation was either practical or enforceable. A hunting ban was ever going to benefit a population of mammals. In fact, I have always believed that the more people who like hunting, shooting or fishing for a particular species, that species is more likely to thrive as it becomes increasingly important to those involved.
The use of dogs to catch rabbits is a big part of the daily work I carry out for pest control. It is most definitely not for sport. The dogs make my work much easier and can streamline things greatly, which in turn means I save time and costs for the client. Most people I meet don’t object to a “one man and his dog” type approach, especially if they are accepting of the fact that rabbits need to be controlled. In fact, many people are intrigued to watch a dog work alongside ferrets and nets and sometimes comment “my dog would love to do that”.
Bounce back
I have also heard some say: “Why can’t you just shoot the rabbits?” This would be a much easier option than ferreting with nets and dogs, but the reality is that even with all the latest technology, shooting straight, good weather and a small moon, you are never going to get on top of a big rabbit problem or concentration of rabbits with a gun. You will get the population down, but without intervention from disease or other methods, they will bounce back: shoot one and educate 10.
So I feel the use of a dog is an important factor in pest control, if not the most important component for effective control. It is certainly a better option than the use of poison or gas, which – although out of sight – do not kill quickly.
The animal rights fraternity has done well with publicity over the years. This has been partly down to their determination but also due to those who break the law or do not despatch an animal correctly and quickly. This has inevitably meant some people have tarred us all with the same brush.
Humane
Animals don’t regulate themselves and every method of control has pros and cons in each particular location. I do my job quickly and humanely with a rabbit as a saleable product at the end of it. Any notion a rabbit gets ripped to shreds by my dogs is little more than nonsense; as far from the truth as it could be.
Hunting is a very complex and emotive subject that is full of different ways to do things and by different people. What one person does won’t be the same as the next and I wouldn’t want my work to be affected by someone’s bad, reckless or careless choices. The word ‘hunting’ is also worthy of debate. I don’t really hunt a rabbit with a dog, as it seldom travels 25 yards before it’s in another hole. In the end, it’s a choice of words, I guess.
Also, I wonder if those who oppose hunting with dogs oppose killing of the same species by other means, although it is often required for basic ecological benefits. Or is it to do with enjoyment of the experience of hunting, shooting or fishing? This opens up other arguments, but the overriding factor of those who take part should be humane despatch.
I understand that hunting, or any other pest control for that matter, is not for everyone. But the use of dogs is an efficient way to control some pests. I think licensing isn’t a bad thing, depending on how it is done, but laws are very difficult to enforce, especially when you consider the lack of police in rural areas.
Combine this with the consideration that the instinct of many breeds of dogs to hunt is deeply ingrained, and you can’t ban an instinct — it would be like making a law that all foxes in the land must be vegan – it ain’t gonna happen. If a total ban were ever to come into force, I can only assume it would be linked with laws not allowing a dog loose either, and that in itself opens another can of worms.
Unsurprisingly, there are those who, as soon as you mention hunting with dogs, envisage a rich person in a red coat, high on a horse, looking down at (on) everyone. That is a clichéd view and not altogether correct. The fact is that hunting with dogs is a very complex subject, with many variables and carried out by people from all walks of life, including me. I don’t condone cruelty and if I saw someone being cruel to any animal, they would get a explosive response. Also, I don’t like horses and the nearest I have had to a red coat was an Adidas jacket in my teens.
The largest of our ‘grey’ geese, the greylag is the only one truly native to our shores rather than a winter visitor. It was once restricted to the far north, but has spread its wings and can be encountered widely across the country. That said, the truly wild breeding population is still really only found in Scotland.
These birds have been reinforced by feral populations that have since established themselves further south where they are an increasingly familiar sight.
Native birds are joined by migrants from Iceland and northern Europe every winter; in fact at this time the entire Icelandic population comes to Britain. There are thought to be around 40,000 breeding pairs in the UK, although the arrival of migrants from Iceland every winter may swell overall numbers to almost 230,000 birds.
“Take care not to be in the way when one falls to earth”
Steadfast
The greylag is an excellent parent with both birds taking part in the care of their young. This is in direct contrast to most duck, where the drake takes no interest in rearing the brood. They have a particular reputation for being faithful to their partners.
Birds mainly pair for life, reinforced every year by a ‘triumph ceremony’ when the males employ a ritualised display in which he launches a mock, or sometimes real, attack on another gander. On the completion of this, both birds display together to reinforce pair bonds. This ceremony is not just confined to the greylag but has been observed in most true geese species.
Once considered our most numerous goose, although that position has now been claimed by the Canadian interloper, it remains an important quarry species and a mainstay of the wildfowler.
The clamour of a flock has been likened to a pack of hounds in full cry and can be heard from a very long way off, just the thing to quicken the heartbeat of anyone crouching and concealed in the hope of them passing overhead. Connect with your target and you’ll need to take care not to be in the way when it falls to earth.
Drop one onto the water, though, especially where there is a current, and you’ll need a strong and determined dog to retrieve it.