What can one shoot?

[MossCommuter]

What can one shoot?

Now, obviously, the neighbour's cat (or the neighbour for that matter) would be off limits.

Is the shooting of Magpies allowed?

 

[Ravenbait]

No.

Why would you want to?

Sam

 

[wheres_my_beard]

You could shoot some pool. Or shoot the breeze. Or shoot some bball outside of school...

 

[MossCommuter]

No.

Why would you want to?

Sam

they're a menace and have seen off all the other birds from a friend's garden.

He watched them tear a couple of blackbirds apart this morning and says it's the last straw and he (a vegetarian and enviro-mentalist) wants to shoot them :|

I counselled that he should be sure of the legality before doing anything.

 

[Hacienda71]

Yes you can shoot a magpie with an airgun but you need to be a certain distance away from a public road before you can discharge an air gun. It is quite a distance iirc.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

Magpies, like all other species, are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

This makes it illegal to intentionally or, in Scotland, recklessly take, injure or kill a magpie, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents. In Northern Ireland, it is illegal to disturb birds at an active nest.

However, the law recognises that in some circumstances control may be necessary. Killing can only be done if specific conditions are met, and only where non-lethal methods of control are ineffective or impractical.

The UK Governments issue annually general licences (for which it is not necessary to apply individually) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Wildlife Order, some of which allow magpies to be killed or taken by 'authorised persons', using permitted methods, for the purposes of:

• preventing serious damage to agricultural crops or livestock
• preserving public health
• conserving wild birds
• preserving air safety.

An 'authorised person' is a landowner or occupier, or someone acting with the landowner's or occupier's permission.

Since general licences are reviewed annually and can be withdrawn or altered at any time, it is recommended that anyone wanting to exercise the licence should first check details on the relevant government department website or contact them for up to date legal advice and the exact terms of the licence.


Legal control methods
Legal control methods involve trapping or shooting.

Larsen trap, a type of cage trap, is designed to catch birds alive and unharmed. It can be baited with food, or with a live decoy magpie, provided all welfare regulations are met. In Scotland, a cage trap must have an identifying tag obtainable from the police Wildlife Crime Officer.

If you suspect that a trap has been set illegally to catch birds of prey, please report this to your local WCO. Gun laws prevent shooting of magpies close to public roads and houses.

We (The RSPB) are not opposed to legal, site-specific control of magpies, nor to the legal use of Larsen or other cage traps, as long as the general licence conditions are strictly adhered to.

We (The RSPB) do oppose illegal magpie control, including poisoning, which has a high risk of accidentally poisoning other birds, including rare birds of prey.

Many people wish to control magpies in gardens because they take eggs and chicks of other birds. Since research indicates that magpies do not pose a conservation problem to garden birds, the use of general licence in this context is at best debateable.

It must be remembered that if challenged, anyone killing magpies in their garden may have to prove to a court of law that they had acted lawfully. This may be difficult given the lack of scientific evidence that magpies affect the conservation of garden bird species.

 

[MossCommuter]

Magpies, like all other species, are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

This makes it illegal to intentionally or, in Scotland, recklessly take, injure or kill a magpie, or to take, damage or destroy an active nest or its contents. In Northern Ireland, it is illegal to disturb birds at an active nest.

However, the law recognises that in some circumstances control may be necessary. Killing can only be done if specific conditions are met, and only where non-lethal methods of control are ineffective or impractical.

The UK Governments issue annually general licences (for which it is not necessary to apply individually) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Wildlife Order, some of which allow magpies to be killed or taken by 'authorised persons', using permitted methods, for the purposes of:

• preventing serious damage to agricultural crops or livestock
• preserving public health
• conserving wild birds
• preserving air safety.

An 'authorised person' is a landowner or occupier, or someone acting with the landowner's or occupier's permission.

Since general licences are reviewed annually and can be withdrawn or altered at any time, it is recommended that anyone wanting to exercise the licence should first check details on the relevant government department website or contact them for up to date legal advice and the exact terms of the licence.


Legal control methods
Legal control methods involve trapping or shooting.

Larsen trap, a type of cage trap, is designed to catch birds alive and unharmed. It can be baited with food, or with a live decoy magpie, provided all welfare regulations are met. In Scotland, a cage trap must have an identifying tag obtainable from the police Wildlife Crime Officer.

If you suspect that a trap has been set illegally to catch birds of prey, please report this to your local WCO. Gun laws prevent shooting of magpies close to public roads and houses.

We (The RSPB) are not opposed to legal, site-specific control of magpies, nor to the legal use of Larsen or other cage traps, as long as the general licence conditions are strictly adhered to.

We (The RSPB) do oppose illegal magpie control, including poisoning, which has a high risk of accidentally poisoning other birds, including rare birds of prey.

Many people wish to control magpies in gardens because they take eggs and chicks of other birds. Since research indicates that magpies do not pose a conservation problem to garden birds, the use of general licence in this context is at best debateable.

It must be remembered that if challenged, anyone killing magpies in their garden may have to prove to a court of law that they had acted lawfully. This may be difficult given the lack of scientific evidence that magpies affect the conservation of garden bird species.

thank you Tim

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Get in touch with Environmental Health, and get some advice.

I take it your friend isn't a Darwinist then? Survival of the fittest and all that.

 

[Globalti]

Kill a magpie and its neighbours will assemble to fight over the territory, that's what's called a parliament of magpies.

 

[Kestevan]

Yes you can shoot a magpie with an airgun but you need to be a certain distance away from a public road before you can discharge an air gun. It is quite a distance iirc.

It is an offence to fire an air rifle pellet beyond the land where you have permission to shoot, unless the occupier of the neighbouring land has also given you permission.
It is also against the law, in England and Wales, to fire an air rifle within 50 feet of the centre of a highway if this results in someone being injured, interrupted or endangered. These offences could be committed, for example, when someone is shooting in their garden close to a road and the pellets ricochet onto the highway.

I've used an air rifle on several occasions to cull magpies. Best bet is to lay out some bait near to a place you can hide, a garden shed is ideal. Make sure that the target area is safe, i.e. any overshot will not leave your property/endanger anything else. Best bait is meat, a chicken carcass nailed to the floor is best.

Then hide and wait. Maggies are skitish at best of times, and wont appear if they think things are off. Wait till they land then take thenm with a head shot. If you're not confident of a head shot, then don't try, like all birds the chest area is dense muscle and feather, and a body shot with most non-firearm rated air-rifles is not a 100% quick kill.

If you get one, stay put. Quite often others will turn up to check the corpse.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Am I the only one who find this thread repugnant?

Also


Many people wish to control magpies in gardens because they take eggs and chicks of other birds. Since research indicates that magpies do not pose a conservation problem to garden birds, the use of general licence in this context is at best debateable.

It must be remembered that if challenged, anyone killing magpies in their garden may have to prove to a court of law that they had acted lawfully. This may be difficult given the lack of scientific evidence that magpies affect the conservation of garden bird species.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Am I the only one who find this thread repugnant?

Nope.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Nope.

Thank the gods for that.

 

[YahudaMoon]

There was a study done on culling magpies. And it does not improve the population of garden birds. The magpie is just out for surviving.

Would you shoot a bird of prey ?. The poor magpie gets so much bad press.

 

[Ravenbait]

I find the labelling of corvidae as pests and vermin repulsive in general. It makes me very angry.

Sam