The Legislation !!!!

Hunting below ground takes place with terriers. The Act outlaws hunting with terriers (also known as terrier work of fox baiting) with a narrowly drawn exemption, described by the Minister, Alun Michael MP as existing "for Gamekeepers". The Act requires that any hunting below ground must comply with a number of conditions:

  • The activity must be carried out "for the purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to Gamebirds or wild birds which a person is keeping or preserving for the purpose of their being shot."
  • The person using the dog must have with them written evidence that the land used belongs to them or that they have been given permission to use the land by the occupier. This permission must be shown immediately to a Police Officer on request.
  • Only one dog may be used underground at any one time.
  • Reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that:
    • the mammal is flushed as soon as found
    • the mammal is shot as soon as flushed,
    • the manner in which the dog is used complies with a code of practice, and the dog must be under sufficient control so as not to prevent this, and
    • the dog is not injured.

 

 

 

 What is Terrier Work?

Terrier work is where the hunter uses terriers to hunt and sometimes depending on the quarry kill, since the hunting ban in 2004 terriers have been relegated from the traditional fox work to rats. (In this section i will only be discussing work with rats due to the laws that bind so many people).This is where a group of people will hunt rats by either a) smoking them out of there nest b) Digging/ Disturbing there nest C) Flushing with ferrets (not so common nowadays). In this section i will only be discussing the sport of ratting as described above it can only be done in the protection of gamebirds which alot of people are not envolved with.

 

 

 

Flushing With A Smoker

This is where usually a group of people will pump smoke down a rats nest  to flush them to the surface where terriers will be used to catch and kill the rats, this is sometimes a very mad affair with dogs and people with sticks spades etc running around squatting rats. to the left is a commercialy manufactured rat smoker although alot of people will use old 2 stroke engines from chainsaws strimmers etc and increase the oil they mix with the fuel to make a strong smoke.

 Disturbing the nest

As rats nest in many place's sometimes just disturbing them is enough to get them bolting for example rats can make nests in piles of wood, starw, hay, under sheds and commonly under chicken house's. particulary on chicken farms the house's are moved yearly allowing them to be cleaned and for any rats to be removed usually by the group of local ratters commonly made up of local people out for a days fun the group can involve anyone from the age of a toddler to the oap's it really is a local tradition in most places.

 

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