To answer your question without having to wade through all the OT traffic
polluting the thread...

Yes, herons (and almost all wild birds) are a protected species in UK. Not
only that, but it's illegal for private individuals to own any firearm
(which includes shotguns) so predators (non-human) can only be deterred by
passive means.

I, too, had my pond cleaned out by a heron. I grew up in farming country
where shotguns were part of life (for rats, rabbiting, etc). Nearly 50 years
ago, a friend aged 14 accidentally shot/killed another friend, climbing over
a stile and fell, gun in hand, whilst rabbiting.

Deterrance, not extermination, is the civilised solution. "Final" solutions
have potential for disaster.

Sincerely, Len

Yabbadoo wrote Yes, herons (and almost all wild birds) are a
protected species in UK. Not
only that, but it's illegal for private individuals to own any firearm
(which includes shotguns) so predators (non-human) can only be deterred
by
passive means.

So I've got the wrong picture of the UK in my head?
I picture folks out with their shotguns and dogs hunting
game birds like all those scenes on Masterpiece Theatre?

kathy ;-)

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 13:24:27 GMT, "Yabbadoo"
wrote:

Yes, herons (and almost all wild birds) are a protected species in UK. Not
only that, but it's illegal for private individuals to own any firearm
(which includes shotguns) so predators (non-human) can only be deterred by
passive means.

You have my sympathy.

Regards,

Hal

"kathy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yabbadoo wrote Yes, herons (and almost all wild birds) are a
protected species in UK. Not
only that, but it's illegal for private individuals to own any firearm
(which includes shotguns) so predators (non-human) can only be deterred
by
passive means.

So I've got the wrong picture of the UK in my head?
I picture folks out with their shotguns and dogs hunting
game birds like all those scenes on Masterpiece Theatre?

And saying "Jolly Good" a lot.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

Yes, Kathy, organised "shoots" are still a pastime of the UK rich (not
unusual to pay up to £1000 a head for this "sport"). They're held
exclusively on private estates, and the "stands" (shooter's positions)
located away (and pointing away) from public roads and paths. They are not
on moors or similar tracts of public land.

My intended point is that no hand-gun or rifle can be legally owned and kept
at home. The few licences now granted require such guns to be kept in a
locked armoury at a gun club. Shotgun licenses for farmers, gamkeepers and
the like (for pest control) are now much more tightly controlled and
enforced. Possession of any unlicensed firearm is, I believe, a crime with a
mandatory jail sentence in its own right, whether or not any other crime is
committed.

I live in a little village. I can sit out in the yard overlooking the
countryside and enjoy my pond without the remotest possibility of a
"drive-by" shooting or accidental firearm discharge posing a danger, unlike
many parts of the world where gun ownership is rife and legal, as is lack of
control of the owners.

Sincerely, Len.

"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

"kathy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yabbadoo wrote Yes, herons (and almost all wild birds) are a
protected species in UK. Not
only that, but it's illegal for private individuals to own any firearm
(which includes shotguns) so predators (non-human) can only be deterred
by
passive means.

So I've got the wrong picture of the UK in my head?
I picture folks out with their shotguns and dogs hunting
game birds like all those scenes on Masterpiece Theatre?

And saying "Jolly Good" a lot.


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

"Yabbadoo" wrote in message
news
Yes, Kathy, organised "shoots" are still a pastime of the UK rich (not
unusual to pay up to £1000 a head for this "sport"). They're held
exclusively on private estates, and the "stands" (shooter's positions)
located away (and pointing away) from public roads and paths. They are not
on moors or similar tracts of public land.
snip

Come on, come on...do you also say Jolly Good a lot?


--
BV
Webporgmaster of iheartmypond.com
http://www.iheartmypond.com
I'll be leaning on the bus stop post.

Now that you mention it.... one of my favorite authors
who lives and places his series in England had a gun
club in his book. And his name and characters are
completely escaping me.... it was even a TV series.
Gruff, big, old commander, intellectual assistant dectective,
gay patrolman (of sorts, his title is also escaping me) wife
of the assistant detective some kind of academic.they
have a little girl. Set in Yorkshire. Should have a new book out
soon...
aaarrggh, this is going to drive me nuts all day!

kathy

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 13:00:49 -0500, Benign Vanilla wrote:

Come on, come on...do you also say Jolly Good a lot?

Oh yes, rather! Quite a few 'What Ho?'s too, don't you know.
I've alway found thin wires jolly good at deterring those pesky Herons,
what, if you put them around, dash it, the whole pond area, they don't
get in the bally way of the pond what! Jolly good show too.

Tally Ho!

Graham

"kathy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now that you mention it.... one of my favorite authors
who lives and places his series in England had a gun
club in his book. And his name and characters are
completely escaping me.... it was even a TV series.
Gruff, big, old commander, intellectual assistant dectective,
gay patrolman (of sorts, his title is also escaping me) wife
of the assistant detective some kind of academic.they
have a little girl. Set in Yorkshire. Should have a new book out
soon...
aaarrggh, this is going to drive me nuts all day!

kathy


Sounds like Dalziel and Pascoe ?


Peter

Peter wrote Sounds like Dalziel and Pascoe?

Yes!!!!!!
Whew, now I won't wake up in the middle of
the night still trying to retrieve that bit of information.

kathy

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:30:29 GMT, "Yabbadoo"
wrote:

SNIP


I live in a little village. I can sit out in the yard overlooking the
countryside and enjoy my pond without the remotest possibility of a
"drive-by" shooting or accidental firearm discharge posing a danger, unlike
many parts of the world where gun ownership is rife and legal, as is lack of
control of the owners.

Sincerely, Len.


You can tell yourself that f it makes you feel better, but the fact is
that gun-related crmes rose dramatically in the UK after total gun
prohibition was enacted.

You were never in much danger due to living in your little village.
Your life is not appreciably safer now than 10 years ago. Urban
dwellers have a different experience.

The honest citizens gave them up, the criminals kept them and have
less compuncton about using them, it's that simple. Sad, but true.
Life would be so much easier if the simple, easy answers were always
also the correct answers.

"Unintended consequences".

Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." - Lily Tomlin

"Mike Patterson" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:30:29 GMT, "Yabbadoo"
wrote:

SNIP


I live in a little village. I can sit out in the yard overlooking the
countryside and enjoy my pond without the remotest possibility of a
"drive-by" shooting or accidental firearm discharge posing a danger,
unlike
many parts of the world where gun ownership is rife and legal, as is lack
of
control of the owners.

Sincerely, Len.


You can tell yourself that f it makes you feel better, but the fact is
that gun-related crmes rose dramatically in the UK after total gun
prohibition was enacted.

You were never in much danger due to living in your little village.
Your life is not appreciably safer now than 10 years ago. Urban
dwellers have a different experience.

The honest citizens gave them up, the criminals kept them and have
less compuncton about using them, it's that simple. Sad, but true.
Life would be so much easier if the simple, easy answers were always
also the correct answers.

"Unintended consequences".

Mike Patterson

Love the reality of unintended consequences. I would like to see the
statistics that you are referring to. I know that more people were dying in
Arizona during the height of terrorism in Ireland from gun violence than
they were in Ireland.

I'm a flaming liberal which means I support every one of our bill of rights.
I was never too sure how the right to have arms in a militia was the same as
every Tom, Dick and Mary having an Uzi but then until the last few years I
never imagined that I would want to protect America from its own
government.... Before I became as paranoid as I now am I could not see the
harm in having government documentation of who has what weapons..... Wow!
at this rate I'm going to be having electrified barb wire around the pond
(and house)....

On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 23:25:26 -0500, "jedi"
wrote:

control of the owners.

Sincerely, Len.

There is a rec.guns group and several screaming squirrels who share
your views can be found there. You might also learn something about
gun control, but can we get back to ponds, please.

Regards,

Hal NRA Life

Mike Patterson wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:30:29 GMT, "Yabbadoo"

I live in a little village. I can sit out in the yard overlooking the
countryside and enjoy my pond without the remotest possibility of a
"drive-by" shooting or accidental firearm discharge posing a danger, unlike
many parts of the world where gun ownership is rife and legal, as is lack of
control of the owners.

You can tell yourself that f it makes you feel better, but the fact is
that gun-related crmes rose dramatically in the UK after total gun
prohibition was enacted.

You can tell yourself that if it makes you feel better, but the fact is
that gun-related crime in the UK is still vastly lower than in the US,
or even Canada. "Facts" make it quite clear that gun-control or the
lack of it makes almost no difference to crime rates. _attitudes_ to
guns, make a huge difference.
--
derek

Hal wrote:
On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 23:25:26 -0500, "jedi"
wrote:


There is a rec.guns group and several screaming squirrels who share
your views can be found there. You might also learn something about
gun control, but can we get back to ponds, please.

Sure, blame Jedi. She didn't turn the topic to gun control. If the
flaming NRAers would stick to rec.guns, we could talk about ponds.