Gundog Training Forum

There is a rumour going around that new laws have resulted in several shoots packing in and also several game farms. Is there any truth in this ? It could certainly affect the future of working gundogs.

Wullie

Now I'm totally lost, Wullie!

Bird flu rules, ok?

It made sense to me given the title of this thread.
The head picker up of a local estate phoned me last night to ask if I knew about shoot and game farm closures.
I'd heard some shoots were being a bit squeezed financially but was not aware of new legislation ,(taxes ?) being the cause of this. So I thought I'd ask a wummin like Judy coz wummin know everything !

Wullie

trekmoor wrote: ↑Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:08 am There is a rumour going around that new laws have resulted in several shoots packing in and also several game farms. Is there any truth in this ? It could certainly affect the future of working gundogs.

Wullie

What new laws??? If it's with regarding tax and beaters/pickers-up, then nothing has changed only the actual obligation of reporting to HMRC which shoots now have to do - they still don't have to deduct the tax but have to keep records of the beaters/pickers-up that turns up on a shoot day, same rules as for other casual labours. ANY money handed over to anyone has always taxable and should have been declared by people - whether people chose to or not was a different matter

Are there any other new rules out?

Natasha

... and what's it got to do with the future of working gundogs?

No shoot - no gundogs.

Wullie

There's no arguing with that!

I think your mate Nicola has something to do with putting pressure on Scottish Estates, increasing the taxation burden on Sporting Estates? Will find the article and post it.

There's more to gundogs than driven shoots!

Don't know what you've heard but there's too much money involved in shooting for it to pack up. It is very much a business these days and as such it is at the whim of demand and supply and there is only a limited amount of money chasing what may have become a glut of shooting days so sone shoots may be pushed out of business as a result of that but this may in turn give rise to smaller diy shoots or roughshoots.

Naj

Judy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 15, 2017 2:47 pm
I think your mate Nicola has something to do with putting pressure on Scottish Estates, increasing the taxation burden on Sporting Estates? Will find the article and post it.

Thats what I thought, anything to stop the toffs massacring the wildlife and she will need to raise some cash, sporting rates here you go.
Back to gundogs I agree with Naj, I think the rise of heavily stocked shooting land has in many ways worked against the sort of dogs I like, I have yet to hear of a beater getting b*****d because it was thought that their dog did not find every bird on the beat but plenty for having a dog who got out of control and so most people neither want nor really need a hard going gamefinder who doesn't need scent to keep it hunting and probably wouldn't thank you for providing them with one, calling them mad or difficult - the one thing that really (ok there is more than one thing if truth be told ) annoys me is meeting people who see my dogs and laughing say "oh we had a springer, they are mad aren't they".