Wild Pigeons

daz501

I don't know really. I suppose a local meat trader on a market.. a game fair? Think of them not as pigeons but five pound notes blowing on the breeze!

liam8282

Is it legal to shoot wood pigeons?

Do you need a licence or anything like that?

I would imagine there would be a few calls to the RSPB or the like if anybody saw you doing this.

Seems you do need a licence and some pigeons / doves are protected, so if you want to start shooting the birds, you had better make sure you have a licence and know what you are shooting first!

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/woodpigeon-shooting.cfm

Biggles

liam8282 wrote: »

Seems you do need a licence and some pigeons / doves are protected

The link says they are covered by the general licence. But it does say you are supposed to have read it.

Interesting to note that you can't shoot them at night or on Sundays in NI. I suppose it could be misunderstood.....

liam8282

Biggles wrote: »

The link says they are covered by the general licence. But it does say you are supposed to have read it.

Interesting to note that you can't shoot them at night or on Sundays in NI. I suppose it could be misunderstood.....

I think thats where I got confused, I thought a general licence was an actual licence you had to apply for, but after reading a bit more it seems you don't. Still a bit confusing though!

To be fair, I have no idea about any of this, it is just out of my own curiosity really!

However, if anybody was actually considering going out and starting to shoot the pigeons in their garden, I would seriously research what you can and can't do before landing yourself in a lot of trouble!

daz501

liam8282 wrote: »

Is it legal to shoot wood pigeons?

Do you need a licence or anything like that?

I would imagine there would be a few calls to the RSPB or the like if anybody saw you doing this.

Seems you do need a licence and some pigeons / doves are protected, so if you want to start shooting the birds, you had better make sure you have a licence and know what you are shooting first!

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/woodpigeon-shooting.cfm

I thought that if they're on your property then shooting them is OK. They are considered vermin afterall.

I've read about this on the River Cottage forum and that appears to be the general view.

vax2002

Field Bred springer spaniel, trust me, you will never see another pigeon again, only dead, they soon learn that these dogs can jump a distance 8 feet from a standing start and grab them mid flight.

Biggles

officeguru wrote: »

I don't know if hanging cds on a string would work.... I have two wood pigeons lurking about every day...

Biggles wrote: »

That certainly seems to keep them away from my young pea plants OK.

Not for long, unfortunately. I don't know if the pigeons are any bolder this year, but I've had a couple happily sitting under the twirling CDs eating my peas.

Time for the Doomsday Solution. I'm borrowing an air rifle tonight!

kaya

i do lots of hunting with an air rifle, you can only shoot pigeons if they are a danger to your crops, not just for fun or food, you must have the landowners permission as well , you do not need any licence to own or shoot an air rifle, pigeons are very intelligent birds and after shooting a few the others will dissapear at the mere sight of a rifle, if anyone is thinking of buying an air-rifle i would advise buying a precharge gun, you have to get them recharged but unlike break barrel spring loaded rifles they have virtually no recoil, this means that you will be a lot more accurate when you shoot, at the end of the day accuracy is so important, maiming and wounding animals is not good in anyones book, you need to be able to shoot a ten pence piece at whatever distance your shooting from consistently before you even think about pointing your gun at an animal, head shots only please, a decent air rifle will kill a rabbit outright with a head shot at 40 yards, i can put ten pellets in a new 5p from 40 yards with mine

daz501

kaya wrote: »

i do lots of hunting with an air rifle, you can only shoot pigeons if they are a danger to your crops, not just for fun or food, you must have the landowners permission as well , you do not need any licence to own or shoot an air rifle, pigeons are very intelligent birds and after shooting a few the others will dissapear at the mere sight of a rifle, if anyone is thinking of buying an air-rifle i would advise buying a precharge gun, you have to get them recharged but unlike break barrel spring loaded rifles they have virtually no recoil, this means that you will be a lot more accurate when you shoot, at the end of the day accuracy is so important, maiming and wounding animals is not good in anyones book, you need to be able to shoot a ten pence piece at whatever distance your shooting from consistently before you even think about pointing your gun at an animal, head shots only please, a decent air rifle will kill a rabbit outright with a head shot at 40 yards, i can put ten pellets in a new 5p from 40 yards with mine

How much did you pay for it, and what's the caliber? Also, do you recharge it yourself?