Grousemore said:
...Certainly not that I've read and I wholly agree with your points about fines; but zealots are on the loose with a 'worthy' cause, so it doesn't matter.
The very worst of Birdforum has been exhibited on this (and a similar) Thread, in that facts and proof are irrelevant when faced with an opportunity to have a go at those whose hobbies we don't share.
You asked earlier about how many 'PF's' have been convicted; the lack of any response speaks volumes to me.
Hi Grousemore,
I'm up early this morning so that I can catch up on my BF 'hate mail' but Mrs Morton is not amused, even though I have taken her a cup of Earl Grey tea!
In reply to your question, to the best of my knowledge there has only ever been one conviction which related to pigeon fanciers. This was several years ago in South Wales, where two fanciers were quite rightly convicted of setting a poisoned bait in an area frequented by Peregrine Falcons. This has been mentioned on BF several times before and I have also publicly condemned it in my postings - but this is invariably quickly forgotten. As you will appreciate, the lack of further convictions does nothing to support the anti-pigeon fancier hype being whipped up by some members.
Based on this one conviction, however, something I will not do is simply put my hand up to act as some kind of convenient whipping boy whose job is to take the blame on behalf of all the UK's pigeon fanciers every time a BOP is found dead or goes missing, or when a raptor's nest is robbed or destroyed. I have never said that all pigeon fanciers are 'whiter than white', or that out of pure desperation some of them are not capable of doing wrong, but without any proof or evidence whatsoever all that's left is rumour, insinuation and unsupported accusations. In effect, the actions displayed by some here is best described as little more than an ornithological version of the Spanish Inquisition crossed with the Gestapo!
Much as I would love to, time and space does not allow me to answer all my critics, or the few members with a genuine interest and desire to hear the other man's point of view. Worst of all in my opinion, are those few who seek to deny the fact brought out several times in the past by The Tom that anyone who keeps pigeons cannot also be a lover of wild birds. Just for the record, I have held a life-long interest in wild birds which stretches back well over sixty years. By comparison, I have only kept pigeons for a mere 18 years!
I was responsible for starting this thread when I repeated a question asked by the late Chris Mead in one of his articles I had just read in relation to another thread which I did not wish to hi-jack. That is all I did, because I did not attach any comments or thoughts of my own on the matter. Almost instantly, however, the 'BF Spoilers' sprang into action to prevent any serious discussion on the subject. Why? What's wrong with the question; 'Is 2,000 pairs of Peregrine Falcons enough?' that causes this over-reaction from some quarters? Reactions like this make me suspicious, so what are those members concerned afraid of, or is there something they wish to hide? After all, I only asked another man's question!
Anthony