Send for the duck docs
Shooting Times & Country|March 18, 2020
Disease among our wildfowl is thankfully rare but how prepared would Great Britain be to deal with such an outbreak, wonders Stanley Duncan
Stanley Duncan
Send for the duck docs

Rarely in this country do we meet with disease in wildfowl. The only instance I can recall was attributable to pollution by the over-abundance of a colony of blackheaded gulls, when ducklings died through the state of the water. The remedy was a reduction of the gull colony. In subsequent years there was no recurrence of the trouble.

Pigeon diphtheria — a canker on feet and bill of woodpigeon — is a malady not prevalent at present yet I have seen it very bad and hundreds, probably thousands of birds affected with it. The pigeon appear in a thin and emaciated condition and eventually die. Birds affected have often reached us from the Continent, for the most part “late breds” — that is,in late summer — and it is understood the disease is contagious.

But of British wildfowl we have no disease worth mentioning. The migratory habit over sea and land sustains this remarkable status. While there is but one “animal” that dominates the world today — Man — the fact remains that British wildfowl in winter are not so much at his mercy as might be supposed.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 18, 2020 من Shooting Times & Country.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 18, 2020 من Shooting Times & Country.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY مشاهدة الكل
United we stand
Shooting Times & Country

United we stand

Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors

time-read
5 mins  |
August 02, 2023
Serious matters
Shooting Times & Country

Serious matters

An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning

time-read
3 mins  |
August 02, 2023
They're not always as easy as they seem
Shooting Times & Country

They're not always as easy as they seem

While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort

time-read
5 mins  |
August 02, 2023
Debutant gundogs
Shooting Times & Country

Debutant gundogs

There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting

time-read
4 mins  |
August 02, 2023
When the going gets rough
Shooting Times & Country

When the going gets rough

Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique

time-read
5 mins  |
August 02, 2023
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
Shooting Times & Country

The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition

In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make

time-read
4 mins  |
August 02, 2023
A step too far?
Shooting Times & Country

A step too far?

Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work

time-read
6 mins  |
August 02, 2023
Two bucks before breakfast
Shooting Times & Country

Two bucks before breakfast

A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem

time-read
6 mins  |
August 02, 2023
Stalking Diary
Shooting Times & Country

Stalking Diary

Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill

time-read
2 mins  |
August 02, 2023
Gamekeeper
Shooting Times & Country

Gamekeeper

Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside

time-read
3 mins  |
August 02, 2023