Neighbour shooting (1 Viewer)

[XAlex]

Guys. Sorry to join just to ask this question, but it's in the birds interest too! Over the past 3 years my neighbour has shot (around 6) pigeons and collard doves which have fell into my garden dead or fatally injured. Yesterday it hapened again. I took the dove to the vet who put it to sleep. I asked him if he had shot it and he answered, "yes" with a smirk on his face. My contentions are:
I have asked him on each occasion to desist.
The dead/injured birds upset my wife and child.
He must have shot out of his boundry due to the position of dead birds in my garden, although he would not admit to this.
His garden is only 50ft x 20ft
He uses a high-power air rifle
He says he shoots them because "they bully the little birds".
He puts seed out to attract them.
I am fairly sure he is not an, "authorised person", and that even if he were there would be no justification for shooting as we do not have a problem with pigeon/dove numbers.

Yesterday i called the Police and am waiting for them to contact me. Am I doing the right thing by involving the police?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[KnockerNorton]

Ok, he's definitely breaking several laws, both firearms and wildlife.

It is illegal to attract birds (any birds) with food and then shoot them. A test case several years ago showed this, and the guy was prosecuted. It is also illegal for the pellet to leave his boundary, which it clearly is doing if the bird is falling into your garden.

What you need is evidence. So save a dead bird (put it in a bag in the freezer). It will hopefully have a pellet in it, but a pellet wound should do. You then need to call your police station and ask for the Wildlife Crime Officer. Tell him all about it, show him the bird if he comes round. Tell him about your concerns about the gun and stray pellets - emphasise this fact, as gun crime is taken more seriously than wildlife crime and is more likely to be addressed. Also tell himm the bloke is baiting the area in order to attract pigeons.

You can only kill pigeons/doves if they are causing a problem to human health or conservation or ecomonic activity. It is actually technically illegal to kill them willy nilly. If you are baiting them, then you're causing the problem yourself, and you're legally obliged to stop feeding BEFORE picking up a gun.

 

[XAlex]

...OK, thanks for the reply. I will persue with the police. I've asked him nicely several times to stop, but he obviously just gets a kick from killing things.

 

[Osprey_watcher]

If the pellets are going out of his garden then surely they pose a danger to anyone who may be walking by?
I think this would be taken more seriously by the police than just a case of shooting pigeone/doves, unfortunately.

 

[Wells-man]

I agree. He is breaking the law.

See
http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/gunlaw.htm

In particular>>>


"Protection of Birds

Most birds are completely protected by law. It is sometimes thought that those birds which are often called vermin can be killed at any time by anyone. That is not so. Birds which are regarded as pests (magpies, woodpigeon, crows etc.) may only be killed by what the law calls an 'authorised person', that is the person who owns the land or who has permission to shoot pests. A trespasser or a person who shoots at such a bird in a public place will commit offences against the Firearms Act for having a gun and also against the law on the protection of birds by killing, or even trying to kill, a wild bird when he is not an authorised person."

and

"Any gun is a serious matter. It is normally an offence to have any firearm in a public place, unless safely covered. Even if it is safely stowed any firearm, including an airgun, could reasonably be reported to the police by a ranger. Anyone firing any weapon on or over a piece of land without the permission of the landowner is probably guilty of an offence, and should certainly be reported to the police."

K.

 

[Mary Evelyn]

Best of luck Alex.I am pleased you rang the police.This guy needs sorting and is also a danger to others too.

Attracting birds into his garden so that he can shoot them seems to be his hobby and the bullying of small birds is simply a cover up.

If i were you, i would definately make a big deal about other peoples safety too as it will help.