Sam Thompson

Never thought of ebay! Thanks mate

Does anyone have a copy they want to sell on? Just wondering before I splash out £45 on it Sam

Bit of an issue with mine today... Cruising up the M6 at about 55 and I flashed someone overtaking me with the lights and suddenly the revs died completely. Engine still running, but foot hard to the floor and nothing at all. I dropped into 4th and it was fine. No warning lights, no temp increase. Happened again on the way home when indicating. Solved it the same way and it was fine afterwards. Engine is a 2.5TD (1988). Any ideas before I talk to the hexperts? Sam

Charlie, Very good post . The more I talk to people within shooting I wonder how we are still going some times. There is a real attitude of "we must defend it all" when it comes to even the tiniest question being raised about anything, be it ethics, humanity or whatever. [That isn't in response to Charlie's post, just a thought] At some point I can see the industry shooting itself in the foot over something or other and it being unrecoverable. Hopefully DEFRA will come back with a better thought out proposal in the future, and in the mean time and those that need to should push hard for licences to be issued where there is large scale predation occurring.

Benefits to hill farming would be large I think. But as stated by HCR, shooting puts a lots of money into rural areas, in some areas more than anything else. As the department of rural affairs I think they should be looking into ways to increase the productivity of rural areas. It's research not into culling but control. My personal opinion of non lethal control is pretty plain to see I think, however DEFRA are looking into this before any lethal methods are discussed.

http://www.heinnie.com/uploads/images_products_large/8333.jpg Just ordered

Mark is obviously been shot in the face, that isn't him, it is right and sensible. I cannot believe that you think £7.50 is a bad wage for a proper job, not subby/cash in hand/occasional day here and there stuff! Some people need a boot in the arse.

I also think that most land managed for sporting purposes comes second to it's agricultural value, certainly this is my experience away from the fells and highlands. Me too!

Ditto! I quite agree mate, I would not put anything on the general licence without research, it is not prudent. I'm afraid that without commercial shooting there would be no black grouse at all, at least not in the Pennines. The income generated by grouse moors is what pays for the predator control that allows black game to thrive. I was told the other day that in the past two years in the Pennines the population has gone from an estimated 400 to 1,000 Cappers'. The lowest number of any estate is on the RSPB's "flagship" reserve at Geltsdale, they do not conduct any predator control. Food for thought Pretty much, as this indicates there is a surplus and that is good. Economical benefits are far less than the conservation values. Gamekeepers manage more than 1.3million hectares of land in this country helping among others brown hare, songbirds and wading birds by controlling predators like fox and mink. Feeding over winter helps grey partridge, skylarks and yellowhammers, and the rest. Birds of prey also do well on managed land, contrary to what you will hear from certain bodies! Two thirds of shoots in the are smaller than 1000ha, and a quarter being smaller than 250ha, so not really big fat man who only care about killing many things. That isn't the case from what I have seen, the stories I have heard from old keepers imply that the wild pheasant population is decreasing. When I look at some old game books (1890-1917, the bloke got killed at the Somme) from an area I used to frequent in Cheshire. You can tell the habitat that has been lost due to agricultural changes - silage pits where copse's use to stand and the chap shot hares. Where he was shooting 40 different species in the same area you would be lucky to find 15 now Seen a few adders skinned out by a Buzzard. Two so far this year and only one alive Alec, you put across some good points, and I agree with a lot of what your saying, you probably know a lot of the facts and stuff above, but a few people who look at this thread won't - I think it's important for people to understand what is going on on "my" side of the fence! Atb Sam

:lol: No idea how tempted I was to staple it!I just CBA with doing it all again, it took the thick end of a day... but it was a proper job for once Trying to design a drawer system at the moment too, its all go in landrover land!

To the people who object to "tampering" with nest/egg pricking - do you oppose the same techniques used on other birds - such as the Canada Goose? Kennedy is 100% right, often by trying do the right thing people cock it up, look at the falcons that were at Dark Peak a few years ago. Not really, I have my ideas from working closely with wildlife since I was about 6, but we shall see and I'm open to what they come up with. However I have read "research" done before in Carrion Crow damage and it just tally up with what I and everyone else has seen on the ground. No-one who has spent any time working on grouse moors, especially one's with a cappercallie population can deny that buzzards and raptors generally have a large affect on numbers. If we ever want good numbers of black game we need to stop listening the the FC and stop planting tree's, increase all levels of predator control and designate exclusion zones for the public.

The high temps over the past two days have made the glue holding my rooflining up to melt and leave my head holding it up!!!! I used that carpet glue before, spray stuff, and it was a cracking job. Unsure what to use now. Maybe Copydex or something.

I know, but respectable people like the RSPB and DEFRA would never do that surely?!

No it isn't. Pricking eggs is the way forward The problem is now there is too many buzzards, once they became protected no-one shot them () and many people started to feed them, they were re-introduced by people in large numbers. Too many of anything is not a good thing. Nothing is natural in the UK apart from the foreshore, everything is managed, we cannot decide to only manage and control the ugly things, like rats. Oops, sorry, loooong day of walking dykes!

It is official that DEFRA are investing £375,000 into researching the damages and benefits of buzzards in the British countryside. Personally I think this is brilliant news for Lapwings, Sandpipers, Grey Partridges and Skylarks among the many other species that are in decline because of over preditation. As long as DEFRA report what is actually happening - rather than what they dream up from their desks, they may just gain some respect! Fingers Crossed. What do you think? Official line below;