Wondered if any of you have seen this and wish to comment:
http://www.talkangling.co.uk/upload/announcements-news/51477-call-cormorants-goosanders-added-general-licence.html
Simon Young
www.talkangling.co.uk
Unknown said:why does a fish not have the same rights as a bird?
It is illegal to take, injure or kill any wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If this was applied to fish, it would be illegal to take them from the wild. This is an odd suggestion from an angler.
Were it just the fact that I own a commercial fishery that is blighted by 'the black death' then I would happily continue to protect my fishery and living with my 12 bore.
The problem is these birds are emptying canals and rivers all across the country - they are clever and work together and decimate lakes and rivers that are left unprotected. We recently carried out an electronetting survey on a pond of around 5 acres which used to be full of fish - after 3 hours we had caught 2 fish (both over 10lb) and nothing else. We then went to a bush over the water and netted there and caught 5lb of small fish AND EVERY SINGLE FISH HAD SLASH MARKS ON IT where cormorants had tried to catch them! The rest of the pond was devoid of fish life. This is just WRONG beyond belief.
Look, I know you guys are the twichers and bird lovers and there are millions of you, there are millions of anglers that look after the environment and do alot of good creating habitat for the birds you enjoy watching (I'm not inferring you dont do good as well) but our sport is being ruined by this bird and we have collectively had enough - you should also care about the fish (which most of you dont seem to give a toss about)... we care about 99% of birds and 100% of fish - you care about 0% of fish and 100% of birds NUFF SAID!
Not too sure how fishing (usually by means of a horrific hook) equates to caring 100% about fish????
NUFF SAID!!
No predator (except humans) decimates their food source! If there are predators there, it is because there's a healthy food source! If the food source / prey diminishes, so does the number of predators! It's a natural balance!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Richard J said "It is illegal to take, injure or kill any wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981"..... how come its legal to shoot ducks etc - if thats legal then surely its fair enough to shoot a cormorant?
Unknown said:The problem is these birds are emptying canals and rivers all across the country
Perhaps you could share with us the scientific evidence you have to support this statement.If there is a serious problem at a particular fishery, then licences for shooting cormorants are already available should non-lethal methods be inaffective.
Quote.............we care about 99% of birds and 100% of fish - you care about 0% of fish and 100% of birds NUFF SAID
ROWLOCKS!!! I have a garden pond stocked with ornamental fish, after a Heron took some, I netted the pond, I didn't try to kill the Heron but I did protect the fish
You haven't declared whether you are a vegetarian or not Simon [I have!] so what rights, if you are not a veggie, do the fish that you eat have?
Looks like 'match point' to coin a phrase.........
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16304936@N06/
http://suffolk.activeboard.com/f528553/birds-of-suffolk/
Unknown said:how come its legal to shoot ducks etc - if thats legal then surely its fair enough to shoot a cormorant?
It is already legal to shoot a cormorant if you obtain a government licence. Putting cormorants and goosanders on a general licence (or eradicating them as you suggest on your petition) could put their conservation status at risk because the number of birds killed is not regulated. If a species of duck's conservation status was threatened, then we would speak out against this too.
Unknown said: The problem is these birds are emptying canals and rivers all across the country Perhaps you could share with us the scientific evidence you have to support this statement.If there is a serious problem at a particular fishery, then licences for shooting cormorants are already available should non-lethal methods be inaffective. [/quote] And if no scientific evidence is available, maybe you could explain how such a scenario could, logically, occur. Cormorants eat virtually nothing but fish. If fish are becoming more and more scarce (for any reason) Cormorant numbers can only fall, as breeding pairs will fail to find enough food to rear chicks, and adults too will starve. Of course, other fish-eating species would suffer similar population crashes - grebes, Kingfishers, Grey Herons, Otters and of course Pike :) But that's not happening. If you take a look around this forum, you will see that most members have a strong interest in and appreciation of wildlife of all kinds, and an understanding of how ecology works. That's why we don't freak out that Pike eat ducklings, that Sparrowhawks eat Blue Tits, that Great Skuas eat Puffins or that Cormorants eat fish. My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/ My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/
The problem is these birds are emptying canals and rivers all across the country
[/quote]
And if no scientific evidence is available, maybe you could explain how such a scenario could, logically, occur. Cormorants eat virtually nothing but fish. If fish are becoming more and more scarce (for any reason) Cormorant numbers can only fall, as breeding pairs will fail to find enough food to rear chicks, and adults too will starve. Of course, other fish-eating species would suffer similar population crashes - grebes, Kingfishers, Grey Herons, Otters and of course Pike :) But that's not happening.
If you take a look around this forum, you will see that most members have a strong interest in and appreciation of wildlife of all kinds, and an understanding of how ecology works. That's why we don't freak out that Pike eat ducklings, that Sparrowhawks eat Blue Tits, that Great Skuas eat Puffins or that Cormorants eat fish.
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/
Cormorant numbers were not a problem years ago when they were substantially lower, there are loads of rivers and lakes all across the UK and now their numbers are growing they are systematically moving from water body to water body and clearing them out... it may be years before they complete the wipeout of the UK's inland fish population but its coming!
To answer the narrow minded gentleman who asks am I a vegetarian - NO I am not, I like eating fish but lets not turn this thread into a 'hughs fish fight thread' as thats where I'm sure your guy is going with this.... I also like to eat duck, goose, turkey, plus many other birds! Its just a shame Cormorants have so little meat on them otherwise I would be eating them as well! These birds are the top predator in the ecosystem and nothing opposes them, since our seas are over fished they have moved inland to the all you can eat buffets of our rivers, lakes and fisheries.
Their numbers are such now that they need to go onto the general licence.
Yes you can apply to shoot them - but you are allowed to take a maximum of 6 birds a year (and getting the licence is nearly impossible) - at one time I counted 18 cormorants on my fishery in one day - even if I shot 6 that day the next day 20 might come back then I am not allowed to shoot any more and protect my living!
All we are asking is that now we be allowed to control the population of a species that is growing exponentially, up until recently the EA claimed no Cormorants nested inland - now they admit at least 1500 pairs.... I have seen reports of over 50,000 birds
I cant win this argument against you guys but it isnt half providing some interesting points of view.
Narrow minded I might be Simon but I'm no gentleman as you have undoubtedly found out:)