Until 28th February 2014 ON SALE Irish COUNTRY SPORTS and COUNTRY LIFE 5.00 € 02 9 771476 824001 Volume 12 Number 4 Winter 2013 £3.00 / 12 Number 4 Volume www.countrysportsandcountrylife.com 4 ROI Comment 86 Linda Mellor - A Chance to Sample Linda’s Year of Countrysports 5 Northern Comment 92 David Hudson - From Beginning to End 6 Countryside News Bonnie Scotland Offers So Much Cover: 'Winter Woodcock' 36 Frank Brophy - The Legendary from an oil painting by 96 Readers’ Reflections John R. Moore Professional Hunter, Robert Ruark 98 Dr Anthony O’Halloran - Memories Flood 38 New Books Reviewed Back with A Boy & Gundog 42 Art & Antiques with Michael Drake 101 Derek Fanning - Clay Pigeon and Best 46 Tom Fulton’s Hunting Roundup Guns at Lakeland Shooting Centre, Mullingar 50 Derek Fanning Visits Derrinsallow’s Acclaimed Shooting Operation 106 FISSTA’s News and Views 56 Heather Inglis - Are Crows really 112 Michael Martin - An Unusual Year’s ‘Feathered Apes’ or a ‘Murder?’ Icing On the Cake 60 A Glimpse of Autumn - and a 114 Johnny Woodlock - Well Should We BRAND NEW COMPETITION REALLY Blame Europe For Fisheries? 62 Tom Fox - Reports on The Chatsworth 116 Steffen Juhl - Fishing The Kola International Retriever Event 2013 Peninsula’s Umba and Grand Varzuga 64 Billy Lewis - Country Chat on Minor 119 Peter Smith’s - Gundog Gossip Breeds, Shoot Captains and 121 Emma Cowan - A Culinary Christmas Public Enemy No 1 124 Abbeyleix Manor Hotel - A Review 68 Margaret Annett Goes Horse Racing in Mauritius 128 Steven McGonigal - How a Puppy Repaid Its Cost in Full 72 The Red Mills Interview 132 Margaret McStay - Looks Back at Dog 80 Tom Dunne - The Irish Kennel Club’s Shows 2013 Championship for Pointers & Setters 137 AJ’s Angst 82 Julian Schmechel - Spine Chilling Revelations with A Laird’s Revenge The online version of the magazine will be updated monthly. Visit www.countrysportsandcountrylife.com/Magazine Managing Editor: Albert Titterington, ROI Editor: Derek Fanning, NI Editor: Paul Pringle, Associate Editor: Irene Titterington Sales and Marketing: Paul Robinson Publishers: (Editorial & Advertising) Country Lifestyle Exhibitions Ltd. Cranley Hill, 5b Woodgrange Road, Hollymount , Downpatrick BT30 8JE Tel: (028) (from ROI 048) 44839167 Email: [email protected] [email protected] URL http://www.countrysportsandcountrylife.com ROI Office: ROI Office: Derek Fanning, E: [email protected] Tel: 05791 20003 Printed by W.&G.Baird Distributed by Easons (Dublin), E M Distribution Also Available by Subscription ISSN No. 1476-8240 The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or the publishers. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that information published is accurate and reliable, the publishers cannot be held responsible or accept liability for any errors or omissions in this pubication. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the owner. No liability is accepted for the safe custody of unsolicited materials and manuscripts. Publication of accepted articles is not always guaranteed and the publishers will not be held liable for any manuscripts, photographs or other materials lost or damaged while in their possession, although every care will be taken. The editor reserves the right to amend any such articles as necessary. Published in association with Ireland’s country sports and country living web portal http://www.countrysportsandcountrylife.com Country Sports and Country Life RoI Comment uring the summer, the Animal any hunter co-operate or trust him? He DHealth & Welfare Act was has pressed the button to resurrect RISE passed into law and it's an act just in time to target Fine Gael candidates which has been partly welcomed in the local elections!' Prior to the introduction of the by the hunting and shooting Animal Health & Welfare Bill, legislation fraternities. The act was much allowed for any person to dock the tail of debated and as so often the small any dog. This was of course a totally anti-hunting lobby was very vocal unacceptable situation and had to be during this period. Much to their changed. However it was also obvious to chagrin neither fox hunting, hare many that to not allow exemptions for coursing nor any other fieldsport, hunting dogs such as spaniels, pointers was threatened by the new and terriers would be an erroneous thing legislation. The antis are of course to do. During the Autumn, prior to the livid because anger and lack of Minister coming down on the side of reasonable debate seems to come Veterinary Ireland, the NARGC pointed out that at the moment tail docking was naturally to them. Despite all their being carried out very effectively by trained people who weren't shouting from the rooftops, the government decided to vets. In September Veterinary Ireland threatened sanctions against do the right and sensible thing. vets who carried out docking operations and not every vet agreed The act also covers the subject of tail docking and during the with Veterinary Ireland's position on this. Tail docking is in fact a Autumn tail docking became a heated debate, because the Minister non-skilled procedure and people can be trained to do it. For years said he would shortly announce details of those dogs which would dog breeders carried out the procedure perfectly adequately be exempt from the tail docking legislation in the act. Veterinary without any veterinary assistance. The procedure of course cannot Ireland expressed its disapproval of these proposed exemptions be carried out after the dog is older than four days. which would permit tail docking in certain instances; and would 'The vets are screaming blue murder,' said Des Crofton when permit trained persons, and not just vets, to carry out the operation. speaking to me in October, 'and we are very concerned that their As with so many debates surrounding animal welfare there was a opinions may sway Minister Coveney to not sign the bill.' He added great deal more heat and emotion than calm and reason in the tail that at the moment it is perfectly legal to tail dock working dogs in docking discussion. A little bit of detached reasoning displayed how Northern Ireland. 'Therefore people will cross the border for tail incorrect the emotional debaters were being. docking. Secondly, banning it will drive the practice underground The NARGC (National Association of Regional Game Councils) which would be very bad for animal welfare. If the practice goes said during the autumn that they were giving their backing to the underground it means there will be no legal structure to govern exemptions to the animal welfare bill which were being proposed, training, the age limits for docking or the breeds affected.’ as they could see they made perfect sense. Des Crofton of the Shooting dogs are docked because they are vigorous tail waggers NARGC said that while there would be a general ban on tail who are called on to do a huge amount of work in heavy, thorny docking it should not extend to certain dogs such as those used in cover. Tail docking prevents damage to their tails when they are in shooting. The bill being proposed was the same as the bill currently thorny cover. When springer spaniels or pointers suffer damaged in existence in the UK. tails because of unforgiving undergrowth it is a painful event for Veterinary Ireland was very exercised by this subject and put them and healing sometimes takes a long time.What the NARGC huge pressure on Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food wanted was legislation which firstly, restricted those people and the Marine, to not permit this exemption for certain working permitted to carry out tail docking to just trained persons; secondly, dogs. Unfortunately, their pressure paid off because at the end of to restricts the breeds to which this applies to only three of the November Minister Coveney announced that under the new Animal working breeds and thirdly, restrict the procedure to taking place Health and Welfare Act 2013 the docking of dogs' tails and removal within four days of birth. The NARGC rightly pointed out that in of dew claws by non-veterinary professionals would not be essence, the practice of tail docking was now moving from being permitted. The Minister also confirmed that any procedures carried unregulated into a regulated legislative structure. 'For anyone to out for purely cosmetic reasons would also not be permitted. suggest,' said Des Crofton in October, 'that this is not a major Consideration would be given to the docking of certain breeds but improvement is to ignore the facts. However, if there is a total ban only if scientific evidence showed that it was of a welfare benefit. then the largest group of dog owners in the country, i.e. hunting The three national animal welfare organisations, Dogs Trust, the groups, will be alienated and it is likely that many of them will not ISPCA and the Irish Blue Cross which lobbied together with the cooperate when it comes to compulsory microchipping of their Veterinary community welcomed the Minister's announcement and dogs.’ He said a complete ban would in fact leave matters congratulated him and his officials on the Animal Health and considerably worse than they presently were, which would be a bad Welfare Act which was the most extensive piece of animal welfare outcome for animal welfare. legislation since the foundation of the state. One aspect of the Animal Health & Welfare Act 2013 which has Reacting to the news Des Crofton said this outcome was not pleased hunters and shooters is the fact the Act requires that 'disgraceful.' He said the Minister had pandered to the view of only every dog in the country is registered by a micro-chipping system.