Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:30 pm Post subject: An 'Anti-tastic' days shooting ;-)
So every now and then a little extra colour comes into your life during the (enjoyable) routine of the shooting season.
Yesterday we had some extra visitors to our shoot making for an exciting afternoon.
One drive runs very close to a local hunt kennels which always has its fair share of 'Antis' grouped outside ready to hurl abuse at anyone going in, or out. Its pretty par for the course. However, as per about once every two seasons, it must have been a PARTICULARLY quiet day 'at the ranch' and so hearing us shooting, thought they'd come for a little nose and to spread some of their usual love and affection for all things small and fluffy.
Unwisely, as head of the picking up team I carry a walkie talkie with me (unwisely, since I have a habit of falling in rivers, catching it on gates as I climb rendering it senseless and bashing my dog over the head with it as I take a bird from them....). So the first thing we know is during the 'drive next to the hunt kennels' the shoot captains wife calmly reports on said walkie talkie, a group of people walking towards her as she stood with a flag on a distant corner. She then reported equally calmly that they were definately Antis and not walkers and could she have a little backup. So Cue some sensible and NON gun holding fellas to pound over there and bring her *home* with bodyguards.
So we finish the drive and move to the next. This, sadly, is down a public footpath so they thought they would kindly escort us down it. Reaching parivate land we stood and with the echos of 'Bird Killers! Murderers! Inadequate Human Beings!' being bellowed we decided they were not going to beat us and so we continued, passing them giving no response except for a few 'Happy New Years' and 'Cold out Today!'s....
The funniest part was a 13 year old beating with us out for the first time. He was wholely convinced that 'the law' says that if you beat up an Anti in a wood, then its perfectly legal I feel he may of being playing a little too much Nintendo.
The drive next to them standing on the footpath was interesting to say the least. They created a unbelieveably defeaning noise with horns, whistles, screams yells, cheers, insults (and quite a few swear words even *I* haven't heard before in polite society) trying to head the birds off from the path of the guns. To a certain extent they succeeded, however not completely.
Deeds stood staring at this mad group utterly baffled. Rattled as I felt, its amazing, it can be upsetting to have a load of verbal GBH from someone you KNOW over something you have DONE to them personally... but from a bunch of strangers and spitting venom (and spit) on the farm and ground you know and love and spend endless days enjoying is REALLY wierd. I was glad Shiney had done her 4 drives in the morning and was safely back in the car as she might have been quite upset by it all being younger and less bombproof.
This is not my first experience of Antis I have hunted all my life, and they have been on our shoot before, but they were extremely close up this time and you have to question where their hatred and vile words come from. Not a set of hearts with any logic or reason behind them.
I was careful not to get seperated or stuck in a wood with them between me and the guys or I'd have to be going for a swim again to get back to the group - chuckle - but Allan managed to get surrounded with the gun he was backing up and actually seemed to quite enjoy being told he was an inadequate man with a little ding dong if he 'had to shoot birds to get his kicks...' He and his gun both mentioned to them how cold it was today hence the little ding dong but they appeared not to be in humourous mood Funny that.
So luckily the last drive took us away from the footpaths which it is more than their lifes worth to leave whilst 'showing their displeasure' and we had a BLINDER finishing the day with a warm glow.
They'll be back. As a gun said to Allan (who had not experienced Antis before despite having a few seasons picking up under his belt in the Essex area) "Welcome to the Southeast of England, mate. Anti-city."
What a VERY strange bunch of human beings they REALLY are. And suprisingly not a Dungaree or Rainbow jumper in sight much to my disappointment.
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
I am so naive but I'll just ask anyway , don't the birds you shoot get used - either as food or some for training with dogs?
I always assumed they did and if that's the case what is the 'antis' problem? Just the method of how they die......or do these people protest outside abotoirs and such too
It all seems a bit odd, protesting about how people are treating animals whilst at the same time not caring if THEY cause distress to the dogs or humans on the shoot and stooping to verbal abuse and spitting
I can catagorically say that in being on a reasonably small shoot with a bag between 60 and 80 birds usually they ALL go home with guns, beaters and pickers up to be eaten or used for training.
One gun politely and directly asked their motivation behind their venom last time they were on our shoot, and asked why they didn't stand outside Tesco protesting about the terrible life cheap plastic packed turkeys and chickens have before being killed.... they basically told him to 'F off murdering scum...'
So thats nice anyway.... as long as they have a logical reason to their beliefs....
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
I am anti fox hunting and hate the whole red jacket thing about it, I know its supposed to be to keep the fox numbers down but Im sure there are better ways to do it than this, but thats my opinion and I havent the right to stop someone doing something that they believe in.
On the other hand I dont mind shoots , or the ones I know of because the birds are shot, killed and eaten ( we used the pheasants in the farm restaurant that had been shot on the farm shoots). To me as long as the animals/birds are used for a purpose its ok, when they are just left its not.
Last edited by Jaynemaria on Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
I think the anti's issue is the idea of 'killing for pleasure/sport', isn't it?
That's why I asked if the birds were used. Like Jayne when they are used for a purpose it's quite different to me than the idea of shooting animals purely for fun.
Sorry I didn't mean to start a hunting debate I was just always under the impression that unlike say fox hunting the birds are eaten.
Don't worry Sarah if it goes to that its fine, its been a long time and people have strong views on these things. They don't just all express them the way these lunatics do.
Becs - I agree their motivation IS the idea of 'killing for pleasure/sport' indeed i'm sure in most cases (some just seem to be renta-mob). However (and I'm not saying you agree with them just because you wrote about it) if one feels that one CARES for animals to this extent then surely the manner of life and then the manner of death is more important than any human aspect of it, sport or otherwise. The animal should be the primary concern and their quality of life/death.
So if the creature lives a good life and death is swift this should override any human pleasure or sport behind it to my thinking. So shop bought Chickens would surely need protesting about FAR more, than the life your average game bird leads. But rarely are.....
Its a funny old world.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
I think the anti's issue is the idea of 'killing for pleasure/sport', isn't it?
That's why I asked if the birds were used. Like Jayne when they are used for a purpose it's quite different to me than the idea of shooting animals purely for fun.
Sorry I didn't mean to start a hunting debate I was just always under the impression that unlike say fox hunting the birds are eaten.
Edited as I called Jayne 'Linda' sorry
yes Sarah... and I am certainly not Anti, but the birds are reared for sport, if they were being killed only to be eaten wouldn't there be an easy way of dispatching them?
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but I'll just ask anyway , don't the birds you shoot get used - either as food or some for training with dogs?
