8 thoughts on “Vermin or not vermin? How do gamekeeper’s decide?”
Previously signed this petition in the hope that driven grouse shooting is banned forever, as it must. Then hopefully, many raptors can be saved from being shot also, as they then won’t, or shouldn’t, be seen as a menace to the grouse. Although I am sure there will still be plenty of abhorrent persons who own or work on the moors and those who will still wish to murder them
Nah, but those groups are often blessed with the word “fu**ing” before them, such as “there’s a fu**ing birdwatcher about” or “fu*k me theres a lot of fu**ing mountain bikers out this morning.”
When chatting to each other such as leaning heads out of the cabs of their respective vehicle to compare notes while driving around the Estate roads, “vermin” was not a well used term among keepers I knew, at least in the 90’s and 00’s. The terms used were more along the lines of “there’s f**king shite coming in all the time” or “there’s too much rubbish over there”, there’s “flappy bastards everywhere these days” or “there’s a fu**ing vixen about” or “I’m seeing too many fu**ing billys these days”, etc, etc.
They are especially birders and dog walkers, many open access moors have banned dogs from all but public rights of way. They don’t want us there but the old lies they told folk when open access came in no longer work on most folk. “Moors are closed in the breeding season”, ” doesn’t apply here” ” high fire risk we are closed” They can use closure days and many do between the May Bank holidays but they cannot keep you off at weekends, be polite but firm if challenged and then ignore them.
I’ve always thought if its the same size or bigger than a grouse, not a wader then it is “vermin” to the tweedy morons.
Are rats vermin? Or cockroaches? They are if you keep chickens. Or run a restaurant. It is all about reasonable control within the law. Round me deer are a pest, but delicious. We should eat more venison.
For sure there are bad apples, but yesterday I was on a big shooting estate and saw goshawks, red kites, buzzards and a sparrow hawk. Not all field sportsmen and women are as often painted. They should be applauded in equal measure to those who break the law.
Why should I trouble myself to take time to applaud some people who are simply operating their hobby or doing their job within the law and nothing more nor nothing less than that? For me, this is especially the case as I hold the view (others may not agree) that a hell of a lot of the law abiding ones do have the solid inside information needed to help stop the other people doing the bad stuff, and yet they sit on it and offer nothing during police appeals, etc – without even a slight pique of conscience. Their loyalty is proven time and again to be to the whole shooting-world “system” and all within it good, bad and ugly (us versus the them, etc) and not to what is the right or moral thing to do. And for that reason I personally will retain my applause for those who do something to genuinely deserve it.
I remember when I was a frequent visitor to one estate in the Dales for work and The head keeper, sadly no longer with us, said he didn’t expect we’d be allowed on a neighbouring estate as they were “poisoners”. We weren’t. I asked why they were not reported for it and was flabbergasted by the answer ” professional etiquette.” If as the result of such attitudes amongst the law abiding they are all dragged into the oblivion of history together I’ll shed no tears.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Previously signed this petition in the hope that driven grouse shooting is banned forever, as it must. Then hopefully, many raptors can be saved from being shot also, as they then won’t, or shouldn’t, be seen as a menace to the grouse. Although I am sure there will still be plenty of abhorrent persons who own or work on the moors and those who will still wish to murder them
trouble is it’s not really a spoof
I’m surprised hill walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, bird watchers, etc, are not on the vermin list as well!
Nah, but those groups are often blessed with the word “fu**ing” before them, such as “there’s a fu**ing birdwatcher about” or “fu*k me theres a lot of fu**ing mountain bikers out this morning.”
When chatting to each other such as leaning heads out of the cabs of their respective vehicle to compare notes while driving around the Estate roads, “vermin” was not a well used term among keepers I knew, at least in the 90’s and 00’s. The terms used were more along the lines of “there’s f**king shite coming in all the time” or “there’s too much rubbish over there”, there’s “flappy bastards everywhere these days” or “there’s a fu**ing vixen about” or “I’m seeing too many fu**ing billys these days”, etc, etc.
They are especially birders and dog walkers, many open access moors have banned dogs from all but public rights of way. They don’t want us there but the old lies they told folk when open access came in no longer work on most folk. “Moors are closed in the breeding season”, ” doesn’t apply here” ” high fire risk we are closed” They can use closure days and many do between the May Bank holidays but they cannot keep you off at weekends, be polite but firm if challenged and then ignore them.
I’ve always thought if its the same size or bigger than a grouse, not a wader then it is “vermin” to the tweedy morons.
Are rats vermin? Or cockroaches? They are if you keep chickens. Or run a restaurant. It is all about reasonable control within the law. Round me deer are a pest, but delicious. We should eat more venison.
For sure there are bad apples, but yesterday I was on a big shooting estate and saw goshawks, red kites, buzzards and a sparrow hawk. Not all field sportsmen and women are as often painted. They should be applauded in equal measure to those who break the law.
Why should I trouble myself to take time to applaud some people who are simply operating their hobby or doing their job within the law and nothing more nor nothing less than that? For me, this is especially the case as I hold the view (others may not agree) that a hell of a lot of the law abiding ones do have the solid inside information needed to help stop the other people doing the bad stuff, and yet they sit on it and offer nothing during police appeals, etc – without even a slight pique of conscience. Their loyalty is proven time and again to be to the whole shooting-world “system” and all within it good, bad and ugly (us versus the them, etc) and not to what is the right or moral thing to do. And for that reason I personally will retain my applause for those who do something to genuinely deserve it.
I remember when I was a frequent visitor to one estate in the Dales for work and The head keeper, sadly no longer with us, said he didn’t expect we’d be allowed on a neighbouring estate as they were “poisoners”. We weren’t. I asked why they were not reported for it and was flabbergasted by the answer ” professional etiquette.” If as the result of such attitudes amongst the law abiding they are all dragged into the oblivion of history together I’ll shed no tears.