BASC NATIONAL WILDFOWLING CONFERENCE

Saturday 20 March 2010

held at the Ramada Hotel & Resort Birmingham,

Penns Lane, Walmley, Sutton Coldfield,

West Midlands, B76 1LH

Summary of morning open discussion

Discussion began with and largely focussed on issues relating to the management of geese and shooting opportunities.  It was noted that international agreements require the protection of Greenland white-fronted geese, following continued population decline. Questions were asked about focussing efforts on improving their habitat in Greenland and breeding success there. Carl Mitchell wished it could be done but pointed out the costs and great dispersion of the geese in a difficult working environment. Likely climate change and Canada geese (American) influences on breeding success were also difficult to manage.

Comment was made that the large and increasing pink-foot population indicated that disturbance was not a problem. Carl Mitchell pointed out that disturbance still influences distribution of geese (including shooting disturbance causing site abandonment) and its management, along with many other factors, is necessary.  It was also suggested that it may be time to remove the prohibition on the sale of geese in the UK, in light of our large and generally growing goose populations, not least to help farmers with crop damage problems. This was applauded.  John Harradine noted that in the past sale of geese had consistently been opposed strongly by wildfowlers even though government departments periodically raised the opening up of sale options for management purposes. John Swift highlighted the potential difficulties of controlling sale and commercial pressures but assured the meeting that the matter would be discussed within BASC.

Bill Dundas noted that a review of goose management policy in Scotland was underway and encouraged BASC to input into the process. John Harradine indicated that both Colin Shedden and he are involved in the review process. He also reported on and welcomed the initiation of discussion by Scottish Natural Heritage of some form of shooting to be involved in the management of the protected but since increasing Greenland barnacle goose population.

Other points made included concern about the image of shooting sometimes reflected in Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust material, seemingly inconsistent with Carl Mitchell’s statement that wildfowling is part of waterfowl management. Carl undertook to take the concerns back to Slimbridge. In response to a question about how Wetland International’s information on wetland sites and goose and other waterfowl populations is made available, Szabolcs Nagy indicated it is mainly through publications, websites and other outlets although time lags can sometimes be involved. Much of the information feeds into the AEWA process.

A comment was made on the presentation of the conference abstracts and summary. Tim Russell indicated that the BASC website will shortly carry the presentations and any problems of readability will be addressed.

A point was made, well received by the meeting, that there is a need for continued and increased promotion of sensible and sensitive shooting attitudes, particularly with regard to the public image of shooting, and any perception that wildfowlers do not respect their quarry.

At the end of the session the conference chairman, Lee Freestone, informed the meeting that Jenny Williams at Head Office was retiring after 32 years of service in the membership department. Many wildfowlers and wildfowling clubs had benefited from her help over the years. The meeting endorsed an expression of deep appreciation and best wishes for her retirement.

Summary of afternoon open discussion

The main focus of the discussion was land acquisition and management. 

A question was asked about a recommended legal structure for clubs involved in land acquisition. Both Paul Williamson and John Swift advised keeping it simple, ensuring confidence in the funder(s), and seeking advice from BASC. Working through trustees is practical and to be recommended so long as a club’s rules are properly constructed (BASC provides model rules for clubs). As to whether BASC should acquire and hold land for its members both John Swift and BASC chairman Robert Irvine emphasised that a levy on all members towards a land fund, as proposed, had been considered on several occasions but rejected. It could of course be considered again but that the main interest lies with wildfowling clubs and is not seen as directly relevant to the majority of members. This fact had to be faced. The difference between owning and facilitating land acquisition is great and a move in the former direction would require a strategic policy debate which would have to take into account many factors.

Alan Jarrett, however, emphasised that the Kent WA has shown what can be achieved and that early and determined action by BASC is needed before options to buy land for shooting and conservation purposed decline.

The need to encourage young people into wildfowling was highlighted. Several experiences from wildfowling clubs were shared including a bequest from a former BASC chairman to be used by the Essex Joint Council to run courses for youngsters. Clubs were encouraged to develop comparable initiatives.

Finally, the presentations on lead shot substitutes and steel shot ballistics generated interest and an encouragement to Tom Cameron to extend steel shot patterning tests to learn more about wildfowling loads (this is done in conjunction with BASC’s ballistics research programme). John Harradine welcomed this interest and indicated plans to establish a BASC ballistics group to provide guidance to members on the effective use of such shotgun cartridges. He invited interested members to get in touch.

SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS

Geese wintering in Britain & Ireland

CARL MITCHELL

Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), Slimbridge, Gloucester, GL2 7BT, UK. E-mail: carl.mitchell@wwt.org.uk

Summary

Twelve migratory and native goose populations winter in Britain and Ireland and up to date information on their abundance and distribution is provided. Counts show seven populations increasing: Barnacle Goose:Svalbard, Barnacle Goose:Greenland, Pink-footed Goose:Iceland/Greenland, Greylag Goose:Northwest Scotland, Greylag Goose:re-established, UK, Light-bellied Brent Goose:Canada and Light-bellied Brent Goose:Svalbard . Two populations appear stable: Taiga Bean Goose, which winter at two sites in small numbers, and Greylag Goose:Iceland. Three populations are decreasing: White-fronted Goose due to short stopping in mainland Europe, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, due to poor breeding success and short stopping, and Greenland White-fronted Goose due to recent poor breeding success and, up to 2006, hunting. An estimated 120,000 migratory geese wintered in Britain & Ireland in 1960 compared to 500,000 in 2008.  Despite many goose species demonstrating high degrees of site faithfulness (responding to safe roosts and regular food supply) shifts in winter distribution of several goose populations have occurred (notably Greylag Goose:Iceland)

  Geese wintering in Britain and Ireland - Carl Mitchell

Conserving flyways for waterbirds visiting the UK

SZABOLCS NAGY, Biodiversity Programme Manager, Wetlands International

The flyway concept was first introduced by American hunters who were concerned about the sustainability of waterbird hunting. It was based on the realisation that the management of migratory waterbirds and their habitat has to be coordinated over a large geographic area that encompass their breeding and non-breeding ranges, including the stop-over sites and areas between these.

The mild climate of the UK provides especially favourable conditions for many waterbirds. The British Isles are located in the so called East Atlantic flyway, which stretches from north-east Canada to West Siberia.  The Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Greenland White-fronted Goose, the Light-bellied Brent Goose, Red Knot and the Icelandic subspecies of Black-tailed Godwit connect the UK with Greenland and Iceland. On the other the Bewick’s Swan, Bean Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Barnacle Goose arrive from the Russian Arctic. Many of the dabbling ducks and waders also arrive from West Siberia, but also from the Baltic and Scandinavia to the UK. Although the UK is a major wintering area for many waterbird species, some of the waterbird species breeding in the UK, migrates further south. Some of them winters within Europe in France, Portugal or Spain, but some move further south to Western and even Southern Africa.

The conservation of flyways is based on the principle that waterbirds are not only a shared resource, but also a shared responsibility. Multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Ramsar Convention, the EU Birds Directive, CMS and AEWA, have been concluded to provide broad frameworks for national actions contributing to flyway conservation at different geographic scales. Species action plans and management plans provide more detailed guidelines for international collaboration to assist the recovery of waterbird species with unfavourable conservation status.

However, effective conservation and management of waterbirds is still limited by unequal distribution of knowledge, resources and political will across the flyway especially at the breeding and wintering places outside of the European Union. Therefore, effective flyway conservation requires improved data collection, enhanced financial and technical assistance to developing countries to improve their species and site management practices.

Presentation available on request - email

Geese Management in the Netherlands (KNJV)

ANDREAS DIJKHUIS, Director, the Royal Netherlands Shooting Association

There are three kinds of geese in the NL, according to the policy-makers: wintering, year round/summer residents and exotic/feral geese. For each of the three categories there is a policy that each province (we have 12) can apply different management and control systems, depending on the objectives. Strictly and legally speaking, hunting (i.e. implying use of the species) is not allowed because geese are no “game” under the Dutch legal system. Hunting as a form of use has been banned since September 9, 1999.

Wintering geese (period 1 October -1 April)`

NL has an international responsibility for hosting these birds. The main species are White-fronted Goose [Anser albifrons] (850,000), Greylag Goose [Anser anser] (300,000) and Barnacle goose [Brenta leucopsis] (500,000). In addition, winter also Pink footed Goose [Anser brachyrhynchus] (12,000), Bean Goose [Anser fabalis] (200,000) and Brent Goose [Branta bernicla] (50,000). The total winter population amounts now to almost 2 million individuals. That is significantly more than for instance in early 1970’s, when during the winter no more than 200,000 geese were counted here.

There are more and more geese in the Netherlands, and they also stay over here for longer periods (always arriving earlier in the season). This gives rise to significant problems regarding agricultural damages.

In 2004 80,000 hectares were designated specially as feeding/foraging areas (mainly agricultural land) for overwintering geese. This area does not include the Special Protected Areas (under the Birds Directive) which are designated for the geese. In these feeding areas, the geese may not be disturbed or shot. The farmers in these areas receive compensation in the form of hosting premiums. Outside these areas, the geese may be chased away and as a “supporting measure” shooting of White-fronted Goose and Greylag Geese is allowed. In this framework, during the period October 1 to April 1 about 85,000 geese are shot.

If there has been sufficient disturbance (incl. supportive shooting) and damage nevertheless persists, the damage is also compensated. The damage inside and outside the feeding areas is compensated for by the State. The total cost of this geese-hosting policy (compensation and hosting premiums) is about 15,000,000€ per year.

Year round / summer resident geese. (from April 1 to October 1)

These birds do not migrate but are resident. In the last 10 years, new populations of mainly Greylag Geese (> 25,000 breeding pairs) have become resident in the newly created wetlands. Even Barnacle goose, many being descendants of escaped park birds, are recorded as breeding. In addition Canadian Geese have increased rapidly (3,500 breeding pairs). Next to the breeding birds there are also many thousands of sub-adult (non-breeding birds) present. The breeding populations are rapidly increasing with commensurate damage to agricultural crops (growing season).
Most of the 12 provinces have adopted policies on summering birds. Depending on the size of the population various measures are adopted. The first is to prevent the establishment of new populations by the oiling / shaking of the eggs and shooting. Another method is limiting the population growth by fencing of breeding sites with nets so that the still flightless young geese can not wander towards the surrounding grass fields to go foraging. These young birds are doomed to die because of lack of food.

In addition, during the period April 1 to October 1, the geese are chased from sensitive agriculture sites, including the “supportive shooting” of Greylag Geese (about 25,000) and Canadian Geese.  In some nature areas, the population growth is so extreme that this is considered as a plague with extreme high agricultural and ecological damage. In these areas no population management is undertaken and the populations were allowed to expand unrestrictedly, which they did. This calls now
for extreme measures because the regular measures are not sufficient. This concerns resident populations of locally 10,000 birds and more. In 2008 reduction of these populations was done by capturing 5,000 birds during the moulting period. These birds were killed using CO2. This often led to unrest among the general public and to the question whether an intervention at an earlier stage using firearms would not have been better. The meat of these geese was placed on the market. In 2009 the use of CO2 was prohibited by a judge, as not being a legally permitted means.

Exotic and feral Geese

Exotics such as the Nile Goose (60,000), enjoy no protection under the Flora and Fauna Act of the Netherlands. The Firearms Law, however, requires a separate license in a number of provinces. In half of the Netherlands, a firearm may not be used for the destruction of exotics. In the other provinces they are shot (30.000 Nile geese) with no additional conditions. This also applies to the control of feral geese.

Final comment

Despite the fact that the wild geese are not listed as game and therefore may not be hunted, each year in the Netherlands about 140,000 geese are shot in the framework of management and damage
control.

  Geese Management in the Netherlands (KNJV) - Andreas Dijkhuis

Scottish Goose Management Schemes – a view from the Hebrides

BILL DUNDAS, Scottish Government

1. I am based in Argyll and cover an area that includes mainland Argyll, the Inner and Outer Hebrides.  We deliver subsidies and grants on behalf of Scottish Government and the European Commission to farmers, crofters and rural communities.  My area includes 4 of the 7 local goose management schemes currently in operation and I chair these groups.  I also provide input to policy and operational colleagues in HQ.

2. Goose schemes have developed from the conflict between conservation obligations (at a European and UK level) and the damage to agricultural crops.  It was eventually accepted in the mid 1990’s (after many years of conflict) that a new approach was required to ensure suitable management for the conservation interest while allowing farmers to run their businesses in a sustainable manner.

3. The introduction of a National Goose policy and local goose scheme framework empowered local officials and stakeholders to develop and deliver schemes specific to the local area that would meet the specific national policy objectives: 

• Meet the UK’s nature conservation obligations for geese, within the context of wider biodiversity objectives;
• Minimise economic losses experienced by farmers and crofters as a result of the presence of geese
• Maximise the value for money of public expenditure

4. I will provide a brief overview of two of the schemes I chair.  The Islay scheme is a winter scheme designed to provide habitat for wintering populations of Greenland White Fronts and Barnacle Geese.  The Uist scheme operates in the summer and protects corn crops from resident Greylag geese.

5. The Islay scheme requires farmers to agree each year which fields on their holding will be managed for the feeding of geese.  The scheme pays an agreed rate for this management.  Day to day management is by local staff from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID).  Overall responsibility for the scheme operation lies with the local goose group which consists of local stakeholders and officials.

6. The Uist scheme delivers protection to cereal crops grown on the machair (sand blown coastal grassland) that are vulnerable to damage by greylag geese prior to harvest.  The crop is protected by scaring equipment and the use of licensed shooting resourced and co-ordinated by the local goose scheme.  The continuation of traditional cropping on the machair is essential for sustaining populations of key species including the Corncrake, Corn Bunting and Great yellow Bumble Bee.

7. The current schemes end this year and a review is underway.  The Scottish Government have engaged consultants to review the effectiveness of the current national policy, cost effectiveness of the local schemes, options for funding and policy definitions of sustainable management of goose populations.  The consultants report is due in the autumn of 2010 when it will be considered by Scottish Government.

  Scottish Goose Management Schemes – a view from the Hebrides - Bill Dundas

An overview of lead substitutes

DR M ELLIS, BASC Research Officer

This talk will discuss the available lead substitutes, their pros and cons, and how these affect your shooting. There are many myths surrounding the use of non-toxic shot, and this talk aims to address some of them. It will also touch on what CIP is and how it affects shooting sports. Finally we will look at how you can alter your cartridge and choke choice to improve shooting success through changing variables such as shot size and choke constriction.

  An overview of lead substitutes - Matt Ellis

A Steel constitution: Is Bigger always Better?

TOM CAMERON, Wildfowler, Ecologist and contributor to Sporting Gun magazine
 
Fowlers, especially homeloaders, are more than aware of both the capabilities and limitations of our most commonly used and best value alternative to lead shot: Steel. However a number of dubious claims about what it can and cannot do remain. While often based on convictions of experienced shots or to be found in the pages of the sporting press, these claims lack credibility as there are no published data to support them. I will briefly review one or two of these claims about steel shot to date and show that some of the same myths about lead that have been found to be untrue also apply to steel. I will also present new results of an experiment conducted this spring in collaboration with the BASC research department that asks; Does Speed Kill?

  A Steel constitution Is Bigger always Better - Tom Cameron

How BASC can help wildfowling clubs buy land

PAUL WILLIAMSON, Rural Land Development Manager, BASC

Speaker Details :

Paul joined BASC head office as the Rural Land Development Manager in 2009. Paul works closely with BASC affiliated clubs and members to identify opportunities for purchase and lease of land for shooting. He also assists clubs and members in maximising income from the land they own / occupy and other land management issues that arise.

Prior to joining BASC Paul has had sixteen years experience as a Rural and General Practice Chartered Surveyor. He has worked within the private sector for both owner occupier and tenant farmers. Scope of work has included: land & property sales, farm subsidies, environmental schemes, agricultural law, letting/ grazing agreements, compulsory purchase schemes, wayleaves & easements, valuations and livestock marketing.

Paul has been involved in shooting since the age of ten, predominately within North West Midlands. In the early years he carried a stick and now he enjoys both shooting and beating on a variety of walked and peg days.

The Presentation :

BASC believe buying land should be seriously considered by all wildfowlers. It is only after serious consideration can a decision be made on whether or not you or your club should pursue with a purchase and take responsibility for ongoing management once owned.

The presentation will cover the steps involved to complete a successful purchase which will include planning the purchase, land identification, land values, securing the finance and income generation opportunities.

  How BASC can help wildfowling clubs buy land - Paul Williamson