Bringing down a parliament
As nesting time approaches, it’s critical for ground-nesting and song birds that those of us in the shooting community get on top of corvids. This year it seems more important than ever.
On average I account for around two dozen magpies and similar numbers of crows, rooks and jackdaws between March and May each year — a drop in the ocean compared with professional keepers. But in April 2019 the general licence debacle prevented that control, just when the vulnerable species needed it most. Like many others in the shooting community, I’m keen to make amends this time around; I’ve noted much larger numbers of corvids of all sorts this winter.
The RSPB is not well known for being pro-shooting. Even it, however, acknowledges that in sites of predation pressure, control of corvids is important. I wonder which sites are not under predation
