Category: Hunting
-
Episode 55: Tick Talk Ireland with Mary Ferry Smyth
Listeners to this podcast, outdoors people, are a high-risk group when it comes to Lyme disease, a serious bacterial infection that gets passed to humans through tick bites. Spending long hours in the wild, often off the beaten track, exposes us to insect bites more than regular folks. But Lyme disease is not only a threat to bushwhacking deerstalkers. Even children on the playground are at risk. The consequences of untreated Lyme disease can be devastating and nothing short of…
-
Episode 54: The National Biodiversity Data Centre with Dave Wall
Many of us outdoors people like to keep records of the animal and fish species we have encountered, caught or seen during our time in the outdoors. To keep those records we use spreadsheets, databases, dedicated apps and, perhaps, a pen and paper if you’re a little old-timey chap. As it turns out, there is a website that can not only help you record and explore your sightings but also include your data in the national dataset that is used…
-
Is Angling a Blood Sport?
Just the other day, my buddy and I were unpacking our gear and were about to take a walk to our fishing mark. A passing family with two small kids waved at us and wished us good luck. This was not an uncommon occurrence. Many times, over the years, I have been greeted by, and even gotten into friendly chats with, non-angling passersby. On that day, while walking to our destination, we began to talk about how nonparticipants accept angling…
-
Episode 48: Green Party with Pippa Hackett
This is another episode of the podcast where I talk with the representative of a political party. The goal is, as always, to dig a little deeper into some of the issues affecting the outdoors lifestyle. This time our guest is Pippa Hackett who is a Green Party Councillor and a spokesperson on Agriculture, Food, Forestry, Heritage & Animal Welfare. Once again I want to include the disclaimer that it is not my intention to promote any political party. Instead,…
-
Episode 47: The Killing of Hen Harriers on Grouse Moors
Hen harriers are ground-nesting birds of prey whose UK population is in critical condition. Unfortunately, time after time we hear that a hen harrier has been killed illegally on grouse moors, a heavily-managed grouse habitat used for driven grouse shooting. In this episode, I discuss this hot issue with a field sports journalist Matt Cross.
-
Shooting for Hunters
Following on the success of our HCAP video series, I decided to extract the shooting positions footage and present it in the form of a few separate videos. I hope that these can be found more easily and used by people interested in shooting in general. After all, shooting is an outdoors activity! So there you have it. Download this FREE guide: How to Get Started Hunting Deer in Ireland
-
HCAP – Hunter Competence Assessment Program – Range Test
Download this FREE guide: How to Get Started Hunting Deer in Ireland This is the second of a two-part video series where we discuss the HCAP exam. In this video, we deal with the Range Test portion of the exam. You will learn what to expect and how to prepare. We also show you correct shooting positions, demonstrated by a veteran army sniper, Aaron Turner, from the Wild Atlantic Game hunting service.
-
Episode 40: Pleistocene Megafauna with Richard Doran Sherlock
This episode of the podcast is going to take you back in time to the Pleistocene epoch of the Quaternary period, an epoch often referred to as the Ice Age. Our guest is Richard Doran Sherlock who has a particular interest in Quaternary science and megafaunal collapse. Over the years Richard has worked in many capacities including research for rewilding projects and not-for-profit groups. Since I also have a keen interest in natural history I was really glad when Richard…
-
HCAP – Hunter Competence Assessment Program – MCQ
Download this FREE guide: How to Get Started Hunting Deer in Ireland This is the first of a two-part video series where we discuss the HCAP exam. In this video, we deal with the MCQ portion of the exam. You will learn what to expect and what the pass rate is. You’ll also pick up some useful tips that will help you successfully pass it.
-
Wolves and foxes
I want to add a few comments to a recently published blog post about fox hunting with hounds. The issue has to do with opposition to fox hunting. I hit on this briefly in that previous post because there is no way to talk about fox hunting without mentioning its opponents. I have had a few interactions online with folks who are wholeheartedly opposed to fox hunting and I have come to an interesting conclusion about their motivations. I started…