Creatures and discomfort

Who would be mad enough to spend a cold night shooting rodents on a muddy farm? Anyone who loves ratting, according to Mat Manning

- Mat Manning

Turning your back on a comfortable sofa and a warm house in favour of a night out after rats on a cold, muddy farm may not sound like the best way to spend a winter evening. But there is an excitement to ratting with an air rifle that never wears thin. I have whiled away hundreds of autumn and winter nights helping farmers to reduce numbers of rodents over the past 30 or so years, and my urge to get out there is still as strong as it ever was.

The combination of targeting a crafty and disgusting adversary under the cover of darkness and to a soundtrack of hooting owls and lowing cattle makes for a heady cocktail for those of us touched with the ratting affliction. I can heartily recommend it to anyone who has yet to give it a try.

Shooting this year has been very productive. An early cold snap followed by a very long spell of wet weather seems to have pushed a lot of rats of flow-lying and exposed ground and on to the farms, where they can find food and shelter in abundance. It’s a serious problem for farmers but it means that I can usually expect to get lots of shots when I head out after dark with my air rifle.

Poison

The reason that many landowners prefer rats to be controlled with air rifles rather than poison is mostly down to the risk of secondary poisoning to pets and livestock. Several conservation-minded farmers I know are also concerned about the risk posed to owls. And by shooting rats, you are able to collect and properly dispose of all the corpses at the end of the session, rather than having dead and dying rats scattered around the holding.

Entertainment

My latest ratting session was on a mixed farm, where the rodents have been helping themselves to poultry and cattle feed and stored grain. I was joined by my good mate Kev Hawker. Kev usually adds a fair slice of entertainment to an outing, and he didn’t disappoint on this occasion.