Ammo, amas, amat

There is nothing Britain’s best-known ferreter loves more than a day in the North Yorkshire hills and he decides it is time to put steel shot to the test

- SIMON WHITEHEAD

It wasn’t all that long ago when, during the war, people faced rationing that youngsters today would find unimaginable. Through reading contemporary reports, it becomes clear that people in villages who had the skills to harvest food from the countryside helped to feed the community. In this current time of uncertainty, these skills may end up being more appreciated than they often are. I am aware that groups of people — such as the elderly and the unwell — aren’t able to get the food they need so rely on others to supply it.

Still, life carries on as the nation locks itself indoors. The farmers must continue to provide for us and crops and land still need protecting. Supermarket shelves are emptying due to panic buying but those who really need help are seeing the community coming together.

Within the isolation of the North Yorkshire hills, I was asked to provide some meat for a few of the older generation, as well as helping to feed a few hawks when the owner couldn’t get out. With Tawny hopefully in whelp and Bella retired through injury, I took my ageing Lincoln 12bore over-and-under. As the rabbits would be used for hawk food as well as human consumption, I sourced a few boxes of steel cartridges to bag my bunnies. Steel is hawk friendly because there is no danger of lead poisoning and the damage to the carcass is minimal.

Learning curve