best practice Colin Shedden and Donald Muir, BASC Scotland Working - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Wildfowling in Scotland – the law and best practice

Colin Shedden and Donald Muir, BASC Scotland

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Wildfowling – a solitary sport

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

• Wildfowling is the pursuit of ducks, geese and

waders on the foreshore with a shot gun, and this also extends to punt guns.

• The foreshore is the “area between the low

water and high water marks of an ordinary spring tide”.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Scottish Solway

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Foreshore

• Foreshore in Scotland can be owned by the

Crown, individuals or organisations, such as

• NGOs. However, no matter who owns it there

is a public right to recreation on the foreshore and this right (majora regalia - royal prerogative) includes shooting.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Foreshore

• Scottish foreshore (with the exception of

Orkney and Shetland) therefore represents the one area of free public shooting in the UK. Effectively, anyone with a valid Shot Gun Certificate could shoot on the Scottish foreshore.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Byelaws

• This right can be modified and the National Parks

and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 and Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (amended by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982) gives SNH the ability to introduce byelaws that affect wildfowling on NNRs and Local Authorities on LNRs.

• In Scotland SNH has introduced such byelaws on

Caerlaverock NNR, and Local Authorities have also done so at Montrose Basin, Eden Estuary, John Muir Country Park, Aberlady Bay and Wigtown Bay.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Byelaws

• These byelaws effectively prevent wildfowling

and then allow it under a permit system. These permit systems allow both local and visiting wildfowlers to shoot on these reserves under a range of restrictions covering time and location. Some are free and others carry a charge to cover administration (and wardening) costs.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Montrose Basin LNR

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Permit systems

• BASC has supported these permit schemes – they

were brought in to regulate wildfowling (and other activities) on areas where wildfowling pressure was not sustainable, and the solitary nature of wildfowling was being eroded.

• Permits are also required to shoot on one part of the

Solway and on Munlochy Bay. These permits are administered by local wildfowling clubs and the charge is really for car parking rather than access.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Armed trespass

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Access to foreshore

• Prior to 2004, one restriction that wildfowlers

faced was the offence of armed trespass. While shooting may be available on the foreshore access to the foreshore could only be achieved by utilising a public right of way. Crossing private land with a firearm (without permission) was not possible.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Scottish Outdoor Access Code

• Section 2.12 of the Code says that while

access rights do not generally extend to the carrying of a firearm:

• “except where the person is crossing land or

water to immediately access land or water, or return from such, where shooting rights are granted, held or held in trust by any person authorised to exercise such rights.”

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Access

• Therefore individuals holding a Shot Gun

Certificate may shoot on most of the Scottish foreshore and may access the foreshore even if they need to cross private land to do so.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Restrictions like are now invalid

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Wildfowling is not unregulated

The wildfowling season on the foreshore starts

• n the 1st September and ends on 20th

February.

• Shooting of ducks and geese is prohibited on

Sundays and Christmas Day

• 3 species of goose and 9 species of duck can

be shot – all others are protected.

• Waders – golden plover, snipe and woodcock

can also be shot.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Restrictions

• The use of lead ammunition on the Scottish

foreshore has been prohibited since 2004.

• The use of a semi-automatic shotgun holding more

than three cartridges is prohibited.

• No firearms with a muzzle diameter greater than 1

¾” can be used – restricts some punt guns.

• Apart from on some reserves, shooting of wildfowl

can be carried out at night – “under the moon”.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Punt gun

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Severe weather

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Severe weather

• Other restrictions can be brought into play

during periods of severe weather, such a prolonged cold weather. After 14 recorded days of “severe weather” wildfowling in Scotland or the UK can be suspended for 14 days, or longer.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

BASC Wildfowling Code of Practice

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Wildfowling Code of Practice

• Practical and legal advice for wildfowlers.
• Respect for quarry
• Do not disturb local residents near access

points by making a noise or banging car doors when arriving in the morning or leaving at night.

• Do not shoot in the immediate vicinity of

houses adjoining the shore.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Offences – very few in reality

• Immediate pursuit in a motorised vehicle –

boats on the Tay Estuary

• Use of lead shot on foreshore – one offence

from the Solway (not a wildfowler)

• Shooting protected species – swans, barnacle

geese, bean geese, shelduck

• Shooting from above the high water mark of

an ordinary spring tide – behind the sea-wall, for example, at morning flight.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Could you mistake these for geese?

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Offences

• Use of a five-shot shotgun.
• Breech of byelaws – common examples.
• Shooting on a Sunday – few cases reported

from the Forth Estuary.

• Use of electronic calls – now widely available.

W&CA 1981 prohibits the use of “recordings”.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Discarding unwanted ducks or geese – rarely associated with wildfowling

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Conservation

• BASC’s Wildlife Habitat Trust was established

to allow loans to be given to wildfowling clubs, among others, to purchase land to secure long-term shooting opportunity and to allow conservation work to be carried out. So far over £2 million has been lent to clubs and

• ver 4,000 acres of wildfowling land has been

purchased.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Wildlife Habitat Trust

Total acres purchased by clubs Total value

• f land

purchased Total loaned to clubs Money granted for projects Total Lent/ Granted WHT 3,473 £3,250,436 £1,751,189 £5,254 £1,756,443 WHCT 826 £449,382 £190,382 £181,775 £372,157 Total 4,299 £3,699,818 £1,941,571 £187,029 £2,128,600

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

WHT Duck Stamps

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Geese in Scotland – a conservation success despite being legitimate quarry

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

Conservation

• Finally, wildfowlers do enjoy the biodiversity

associated with the marine environment and work not only to ensure that wildfowling is undertaken in a sustainable manner, by policing themselves, but also assisting with

• ther conservation initiatives.

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908

For 20 years wildfowlers on the Tay estuary have helped look after the expanding marsh harrier population

Working to protect and promote sporting shooting since 1908