On February 4, a dog veered from the footpath through Dunstable Downs Golf Club and was accidentally shot by a licensed firearms user hunting foxes.Well, it's understandable, some popular breeds of dogs these days do look quite fox-like, especially in the dark so...
Oh, wait.
German Shepherd Bruno needed an operation to remove pellets from his face but has since recovered.They must have some humoungous foxes in Dunstable! Or this guy's an idiot who should not have a gun licence.
Which is odd for professional vermin control folk.
Club manager Mr Mutton added: “The club did not employ anyone to shoot on the course, we’ve allowed the licenced firearms user to come and shoot vermin.”Ah. So not a professional, more like an overly-enthusiastic amateur. That way disaster lies.
A Beds Police spokesman said: “We are investigating reports that a dog was shot and injured while in the grounds of the Dunstable Downs golf course on Saturday 4 February.
Investigations are on-going and anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference JD/5233/2017.”What 'investigation'? You should have all the details you need!
4 comments:
Vermin is a broad term and from the fact that a shotgun was being used I'm guessing that foxes were not the main target species. Personally I wouldn't use a shot gun on a fox unless it was either trapped or snared, preferring .243 calibre myself, for an ranging target.
This is a bit of a non story though as it seems the dog was off the footpath and on private land. Incidentally, I've found that the amateur shot, whether enthusiastic or otherwise often has a better level of field craft and shooting safety than the 'highly trained professional',some times alarmingly so.
MitB (1069 foxes and counting).
So if I have understood this aright, the shooter fired a shotgun in the direction of a known public footpath at night from a distance where he could no longer be at all sure of what he was shooting at?
Professional shooters may disagree but I think the only time a 'normal' shotgun is sufficient for something the size of a fox is if you've stuck the barrel in it's ear. Certainly not from a distance where the target survives after having a few pellets removed, pellets which hit its ear? "Humane dispatch", much? If I were out shouting foxes at night I'd want something with a night scope and enough power that it'd kill the target if the bullet just sailed past it's ear.
Everytime I think the gun control laws (or the 'making sure only criminals are armed' Acts) in this country are stupid, someone comes along and proves me wrong :(
Things have changed since I did any shooting but the first rule was always 'you never point a gun at anyone or anything unless you intend to shoot them, nor do you point a gun at anywhere someone might conceivable be dogging'...or something like that.
And people wonder why the Police go all 'nazi' or 'overboard' when they hear that the person 'of interest' has a shotgun or even just an air rifle in the house?
" Personally I wouldn't use a shot gun on a fox unless it was either trapped or snared"
-MitB
Thank you (your comment and mine were published at the same time) I was hoping someone who might actually know what they were talking about would confirm what I said.
I used get annoyed with the local teenage 'tearaways' who thought a .177 air pistol was suitable for hunting rabbits.
"Personally I wouldn't use a shot gun on a fox unless it was either trapped or snared, preferring .243 calibre myself, for an ranging target."
I was under the impression most pest controllers used a rifle with suppressor. So as not to disturb the resident's sleep.
"So if I have understood this aright, the shooter fired a shotgun in the direction of a known public footpath at night from a distance where he could no longer be at all sure of what he was shooting at?"
That would appear to be the case. Must be an off-duty Yorkshire police firearms officer... :D
"Things have changed since I did any shooting but the first rule was always 'you never point a gun at anyone or anything unless you intend to shoot them..."
First rule of hunting - identify your target!
Post a Comment