The Lincolnshire Bird Club

First it was £5 million pounds to eradicate UK's Ruddy Ducks; now DEFRA plan to spend up to £375,000 to 'deal' with Buzzards after being lobbied by the pheasant rearing/shooting fraternity : "Buzzards have a harmful effect on Pheasant shoots", claim Gamekeepers.

This expenditure comes at a time when money is particularly tight for conservation measures.

Google - ' defra and buzzards '

Freddy

When I first read the article early on this morning, Gob smacked was the initial reaction, all the money that is collected to help protect wildlife, and now defra wants to spend money in destroying buzzards nests, if a so called yob was to do it the public would be outraged, but because defra wants to do it, that makes it alright.
Me thinks battle lines could well be drawn if this goes ahead.
A much annoyed Mike Surr

Mike......your anger is well put and it must reflect what a lot of members feel.

'The plan has all the hallmarks of another DEFRA shambles.'....and yet we are assured the Common Buzzard is a protected species.

I would have thought some of the money (plus large contributions from the shooting fraternity) would be better spent on more vegetation cover or even netting over pheasant release pens : a challenging but surely not an impossible project.

Buzzards were eradicated from large areas of Britain by persecution, finally recovering through protection to today's good counts, only to be threatened again through persecution and eradication...... by DEFRA.

Freddy
PS. In addition to reading 'defra and buzzards', it's interesting to refer to Andrew Chick's post below ("Gamekeeper admits poisoning Buzzards" - 01 December 2011) and note the apparent horror of the authorities at the crime. So, Gamekeepers should now step aside and let DEFRA do their dirty work....legally !....possibly yet more state-sponsored lunacy on the horizon.

Just as a matter of interest, do Defra have money of there own to spend on this issue or does it come out of the public purse, ie US
Mike Surr

Before the debate gets too heated, it's worth reading what DEFRA have to say on the subject. Currently they have no plans to cull Buzzards, but they want research on how to reduce Pheasant losses from Buzzards. Methods do include nest destruction, possibly involving the use of a shotgun, but they want to avoid harming the birds. So that's OK, then!

The link is as follows: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2012/05/24/myth-bust-reports-that-defra-is-proposing-to-cull-buzzards/

You can also follow the debate on Birdguides by scrolling down to readers comments at the bottom of the webzine article. Some other points from those on our forum, including a number of anti-RSPB ones. The link for this is: http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3271

Rob

As easy as it sounds..a bloke at work said "just breed more pheasants", if only it was that simple.
But better than there idea!

I read GPC's posting and on the link and read two paragraphs and I'd seen enough!

Today while out I came across two pheasant road kills, I think far more get killed that way than the Buzz collars. Over the years the pheasant seems to me to have a death-wish especially when it gets anywhere near a public road. I'm sure this bird has a brain but it certainly doesn't use it when it struts it's stuff very close to the edge of roads, I've almost had accidents because they don't get out the way , I find them to be a very stupid bird but in their favour I also find them very tasty especially at Xmas!

If there is a choice keep the lovely Buzz and get rid of the Pheasant, but surely we should be able to have both.

I don't know the answer.

Regards

Max

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol

This is an absurd proposal and will very likely result in a plague of rats and rabbits. We ought to get maximum exposure in the press to mobilise public opinion to condemn this proposal and expose the authors as the village idiots that they clearly are.

It must be stopped!

Ian

At this time of the year cock Pheasants are so overcharged with sex hormones that they take no notice of anything other than the job in hand, thats not stupidity, its chemically induced focus. Their umpteen millions years of evolution didn't prepare them for the english countryside and mechanically propelled vehicles, just seeing off the competition and getting a shag, its what lifes all about!

Or possibly was all about for some of the older members on this site.

Overcharged with sex hormones - chemically induced focus - that sounds like someone I know very well indeed but unlike the Pheasant he can control his urges, just

Cheers

Max

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GETTING OLD HAS IT'S ADVANTAGES BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY ARE lol