Shooting Porn

The 'antis' have launched another so called 'campaign' designed to damage yet again the reputation of shooters and shooting. Details can be found at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/9500707/Shooting-porn-should-be-on-the-top-shelf-say-animal-rights-groups.html

This latest campaign from the animal rights tofu munching brigade is yet more evidence that they have no clue what they're talking about. They are getting totally hung up on the use of the word 'sport' in sport shooting and are not taking into account wider issues.

They cannot or will not acknowledge that shooters and shooting organisations:

1. Do a huge amount for conservation
2. Employ a vast number of people
3. Provide food

As far as #3 is concerned thanks to the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall game is rapidly becoming a mainstream meat that is now available in butchers and some supermarkets. Rabbit for example is very cheap and frankly eating a rabbit that was shot in a local field is far more ethical than eating soya beans (more on this below)! In addition by shooting rabbits crops are protected. Rabbit damage costs the farming industry huge amounts of money every year. It also badly affects the planting of new trees and hedgerows that provide habitat for other wildlife.

A leading member of Animal Aid was saying on the radio recently  that it is immoral and barbaric that children should be introduced to shooting and hunting. My view is that the sooner people make the connection between plate and field the better. I get as irritated by meat eaters who say 'oooh I couldn't kill an animal' and think all meat comes from Tesco as I do by namby pamby  vegetarians who think the world should revolve round them and their so called ethics.

It struck me yesterday that whilst the veggie brigade are going on about not eating meat they are failing to recognise that vegetable and fruit production is rarely ethical as it often involves pesticides and air miles. In addition the large scale production of food crops such as soya has caused huge issues in terms of animal habitat and the exploitation of labour (Google it) and I won't even start on palm oil - but hey why let awkward truths get in the way of prejudices?

Vegetarianism and veganism are life style choices that are available in the Western World. In some parts of the world people would be very happy to eat meat but due to poverty simply cannot afford it. If it were a choice been starvation and eating a game species I had shot I'm pretty sure even dyed in the wool veggies would ignore their principles. I was speaking to an old boy recently who grew up in Somerset during WW2. He was telling me that his father would often go and shoot rabbits and without this supplement to the family diet he and his siblings would have really suffered. Admittedly no one starves in the UK BUT the animal rights brigade really should take a wider view.

I will continue to shoot and  will enjoy doing so.

 

Toad in the Wood Pile

I know we are finally enjoying some heat and sunshine but I like to be prepared for every eventuality so having cut the grass I decided to sort out the wood pile in readiness for a delivery of seasoned branches that will have to be cut up, split and stacked.

Whilst doing so I found this very handsome Common Toad (Bufo bufo) sitting at the bottom of the pile. He was very relaxed and stayed around long enough for me to get the camera and take these pictures.

Chopping Wood

Exercise as we all know is good for the body and soul but the form that exercise takes can be the difference between ecstasy and utter misery. Pounding away on a treadmill is hard on the joints and going for a sedate non heart rate increasing ride on an exercise bike is a total waste of time. My favourite form of exercise is chopping wood.

Much of the wood I chop comes from my coppicing activities which I have discussed elsewhere. The wood that is not going to end up as posts, rails or other coppice products is loaded into the back of my trusty Landrover 110. The wood I’m coppicing at the moment is chestnut and is loaded in lengths, short enough to fit in the back of the Landy, so they’re sizeable lumps weighing up to 100 kilos. Carrying them is a fantastic all over workout as all the major muscle groups are exercised and heart and breathing rates are raised over a long period of time.

The cord wood then has to be driven to its final destination, unloaded, sawn up into logs and split. This is the fun part. I have a wonderful old axe with a good heavy head and using it has become something of a ritual as it has to be sharpened using a file and a well soaked whetstone. Once it has a decent edge on it I’m ready for action. There is an almost primeval joy in taking a log, standing it on a stump and splitting it. The axe goes through a full arc, the sun glints off the edge and comes down with a force that splits the log in two. I think of myself as being one with the axe as I have used it for so long I know exactly where the balance point is and I have a very well practiced technique. As you can see from the photos below I have a great deal of wood all of which I have cut and split myself. So, now you know how I maintain a healthy weight and keep my fuel bills down.