'There should be a limit'

Duck and bird hunting season started on September 1. Reporter Nicole McDermott caught up with Ricky Sheridan, Secretary of Ballinagh & District Gun Club, which has just under 30 adult and junior members, to speak about the hunting tradition..

AC: How are new members trained, particularly in identifying species? From the outswide it can be difficult to identify a bird in flight?

Ricky Sheridan: New members have to do a training course organised by the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC). They have to complete a safety course before they’re allowed to handle a gun. The course also teaches them about species and what they might encounter on a morning or evening flight.

AC: So you learn about nature and when different birds are active?

Ricky: Exactly. In the mornings, you’d know if you were seeing crows or something like that.

You can spot a duck coming towards you; you hear the whistling of its wings and recognise its shape and long neck.

AC: How often do you go out?

Ricky: You can go out seven days a week if you want. There’s no limit here in Ireland, unlike in some places. Personally, I think there should be a limit. You see people posting photographs, and it can become almost a competition over who shot the most that week. I don’t think that’s right. There should be a limit per person, in my opinion. As for me, I’d usually go out on a Saturday or Sunday, sometimes with a couple of friends, and do a bit of duck shooting.

AC: Do you go to different locations?

Ricky: Yes. We have a few main places where we launch the boat, and then we’d go up or down the water, tuck into a corner and set out decoys. There are sanctuary areas, and you have to know where they are and where the boundaries lie. They’re brilliant places for birds to rest and breed. Personally, I’ve always thought September is nearly too early to start shooting, because there are still young birds about. I was out training the dogs a few weeks ago and there were still young ducks around, little birds that wouldn’t even be fit to get up properly. Sanctuaries give birds a chance to rest.

AC: Someone told me that if you went to Lough Sheelin these days, it would be ‘like being in Beirut’. What do you make of that?

Ricky: On a good day, there can be a lot of shooting there because Lough Sheelin fills with migrating tufted ducks in winter. It’s a big area and, if a lot of men are out, with people using decoys, you can hear a lot of bangs. That may be what people are reacting to.

AC: What is your relationship like with landowners?

Ricky: Farmers in our area contact the local gun club. We help with vermin control, which is useful if foxes are taking chickens or if farmers have problems around lambing season. Crows and magpies can attack newborn lambs, sometimes going for their eyes as they’re being born. It’s a horrible sight; they can be worse than foxes. The farmers are grateful, and give you access to the land. You look after them, and they look after you. It’s a good relationship.

AC: What do you do with the birds you shoot?

Ricky: Everything we shoot goes towards Sunday dinner or a meal at home. Nothing goes to waste. That’s how it has always been for us. My little one is only 11 and loves eating duck, rabbit and things like that. It’s lovely food, and you know what you’re eating. There are no preservatives or injections.

AC: Are you concerned about bird flu?

Ricky: We saw it last year, and it was horrible. We were out in the boat, and wherever you went, there were swans lying dead or floating in the water. It was cruel to see. The NARGC put up information about what to look for, including signs in the liver, as you would when dealing with deer.

AC: Is there anything you think people misunderstand about gun clubs?

Ricky: Gun clubs also do work to support bird populations. People I know breed mallard and release them into game sanctuaries, where they can’t be shot.

They raise the birds, let them lay eggs, incubate and hatch them, and then rear them before releasing them. In that way, they’re putting back what they take away. During the summer, we also make and put out nesting boxes for wild mallard. We use a pole about six or eight feet high, which helps keep pine martens and mink away from the nests so they can’t get at the eggs. We make homemade nests out of mesh, fill them with straw and put them out for the birds to use during the breeding season. People don’t always see that side of what we do.