Dunno about not hunting them but certainly a limit on shooting them.
2or3 a day not 9or10. No need for it.

Capercaille wrote: »

The link is for great snipe, a different species. (Common) snipe have experienced a 34% decrease in breeding numbers over the last 40 years. Wintering snipe have increased by 6% over the last 30 years. Snipe are the most common wader in Ireland, not difficult though since all other waders are in steep decline.

The OP didn't dpecify species to be fair. And great snipe are found in Ireland and are in decline in all habitats. Other species as discussed.

That put a downer on things alright.around me snipe are plentiful.Thats what i mostly shoot.woodcock are going to be red listed also.Look these people in europe are slowly getting their way.bird after bird are been slowly perfected until their is none left.iv seen more snipe this year then any other year.

Capercaille wrote: »

A handful of records in the last 100 years. Great snipe have no relevance to (Common) Snipe in Ireland. Where have Great snipe been seen in Ireland?

The link was an example as the species is in general decline ... But yes great snipe are a recorded species.

Look up some of the twitcher sites for details on sightings ...

Capercaille wrote: »

Great Snipe breeding requirements are very different to (Common) Snipe. The link you gave is totally irrelevant since Great Snipe are a totally different species to Common Snipe. You seem to know about Great Snipe in Ireland, where are they found?

Pedantic much? The link is nothing to do with specifics of any particular variety of snipe - rather the general decline in snipe populations. Both Common and great snipe belong to the 'Gallinago' family and are infract closely related. Apologies if I confused you. Just ignore.

On the subject, anyone get a phone call about bag returns this week??

gozunda wrote: »

Erhh no definitely not. But hey post whatever you wish.

For the benefit of clarity - common snipe go by the Latin name Gallinago gallinago and great snipe are called Gallinago media. Gallinago delicate aka wilsons snipe are a shore variety a sub species of common snipe afaik.

ive seen loads of snipe this year so far .where every theres a wet patch there be snipe. next it be pheasant and duck to be off the list .if habitat loss is the problem wouldnt ya think the nargc would be doing something to save key areas like bogs and wetlands .same think happened to the curlew there wasnt the habitat for them so there numbers droped save the habitats and youl save the birds .there wont be a any bird left to shoot if there going to keep this crack up ,bogs are been cleared for wind turbines,forests are been cut down.ditches been took out .land been drained .
and with all the so called research why do they always leave it till the last minit when theres only so many breeding pairs of birds left surly they would no after years of research when populations are going down then is the time to do something about it not leave it to the last minit when theres only a few breeding pairs left .if the nargc bought little pockets of dirty land and gave it out to gun clubs wouldnt it be a huge help knowing that piece of land will always stay that way un-touched ,where's a farmer might decide next year he will reclaim that spot of land and that be another spot lost .

Capercaille wrote: »

NGO's like NARGC/BWI are too small and lack adequate funding to buy up large tracts of land. The Government lack the political will to preserve bogs from widespread turfcutting and prevent continued land drainage of agricultural land. Harvest 2020 will only intensify habitat destruction for snipe.

i wouldnt be taking buying large areas of land only dirty corners not even half acres spots of land not used by farmers these small pockets witch hold vast numbers of birds and wildlife are keys spots that are not been used and will end up only be reclaimed by the farmer in a few years i seen this happen in my area where a farmer had a dirty piece of land fenced off not been used would of happly took small money for ,was only a dirty corner in the field and now its reclaimed and still not been used if the likes of a club or the nargc only asked for this spot to be even left it probably wouldnt have been reclaimed farmers would only be happy to leave or sell spots like this but when not they just reclaim them .clubs need to start buying or renting or doing something for these dirty spots to try save them from be reclaimed

shotie wrote: »

i wouldnt be taking buying large areas of land only dirty corners not even half acres spots of land not used by farmers these small pockets witch hold vast numbers of birds and wildlife are keys spots that are not been used and will end up only be reclaimed by the farmer in a few years i seen this happen in my area where a farmer had a dirty piece of land fenced off not been used would of happly took small money for ,was only a dirty corner in the field and now its reclaimed and still not been used if the likes of a club or the nargc only asked for this spot to be even left it probably wouldnt have been reclaimed farmers would only be happy to leave or sell spots like this but when not they just reclaim them .clubs need to start buying or renting or doing something for these dirty spots to try save them from be reclaimed

The sad thing is that a lot of farmers would be happy to leave these wilder bits alone if it wasn't for the pressure they are under from muppets in the Dept of Agriculture forcing farmers to destroy any bit of natural cover on their land to claim their full Single farm payment grants. The even have a whole section in the Dept that uses satellite imagery to spy on farmers and make sure they clear any bit of scrub etc.they might have in a field corner. The irony is that this provides little benefit to Irish farming since the price of lamb, beef etc. has been tanking for years due to over production here and elsewhere which makes clearing extra bits of land totally nonsensical. This government has also diverted large amounts of money that was ear-marked for wildlife friendly farming by the EU into the pockets of bigger more intensive farmers who already bag most of the CAP money.

PS: On the subject of snipe I have not noticed any decline in wintering numbers in any parts of the country I'm familiar with(and the links mentioned here back that up). Which is why I don't think they'll be taken off the shooting list anytime soon. Breeding numbers might be down a bit but there is growing populations now on many of BNM cut-away bogs in the midlands and West. If these places don't get sterilized under wind farms then they will act as important refugees for the species if habitat loss elsewhere intensifies

was in a 20 acre field of spuds yesterday their was up on a hundred snipe in it every where we went their was snipe must have just arrived in from Europe best number of snipe I have seen in a few years, we have to fight this and not let Europe tell us what we can shoot and what we can not.

dodderangler wrote: »

True enough.
It really does annoy me.
In a days hunt I'd be happy with a pheasant and a snipe or two and that's it. If I got them in first 20 mins I'd just walk around the land and enjoy what I got.
Not always about killing.

Very true, so many hunters won't have manners and have to shoot everything they meet. I'd have to agree that snipe generally have declined a lot in the last twenty years. If things keep going the way they are we will be all just walking the land cos there'll be nothing left on the list for us to hunt.

With reference to the snipe being taken off the quarry list, it is taken out of context what was said (at the NARGC AGM) was "we need to increase the numbers of snipe/woodcock wings that are sent to the NARGC wing count as these figures are the best combat we have to any efforts to take these birds off the open seasons order.
So if you shoot any of these birds this season please submit one wing either through your county secretary or to the appointed national officer.

Earlier in this post there was some good ideas that the NARGC should be doing or take up as policy, If any member of the compensation fund has any worthwhile ideas they should bring them up at a county body meeting and try to get them debated at national level.

The NARGC is all of its members not just a few at the top, what the NARGC does is down each one of us.

blackpearl wrote: »

when I go shooting I hunt for a full day and would shoot pheasant , woodcock, snipe , pidgeon, duck, I will speak the truth when I say no I will not walk around with a gun empty after shooting one or two birds, I like my hunting to much I put a lot of work into my dogs I shoot 3 days a week and shoot a lot of game that is enjoyed at the table by my family and friends over the year.To hell with mister nice guy when it comes to these people in Europe,their problem is if woodcock,snipe, ect is scarce in Germany, france and Holland because they drained most of their bogs and done away with a lot of cover,they expect us to give up our shooting,well they can go and well you know what I mean.What are we paying the n.a.r.g.c. for they should fight this and tell them that they are the problem not us.

The problem is that our Snipe are their Snipe as well. Snipe are summer visitors from west Europe and west Africa and winter visitor from Faeroe Islands, Iceland and northern Scotland.
Unfortunately Snipe are now amber listed in Ireland due to concerns over the European population which has undergone recent decline.

We can shoot all we like but the fact that remains that many species are migratory so what happens in another country will effect the numbers arriving on our shores. Actively managing migratory populations is something we have all to subscribe to. No point ignoring that there are limits to what we can take.

what happens to the irish snipe what country do they migrate to ,and what about the skylark and trushes that were slaughtered in france and Italy these people make me sick they are the same people who pay big money to come over here and take big bags of snipe and woodcock on the west coast of Ireland and are now pushing for a ban on snipe shooting the whole thing is a joke ,most of my hunting is pheasant shooting with a mix of the rest, a lot of my friends in the midlands rely on the snipe and woodcock so their future is bleak as far as hunting is concerned.

Well I am sorry lads , but I whole heartily agree that they should be taken off the quarry list and I have said this for many a year among my group of friends.
Other than what you feel is your right, it make no sense to be shooting a species that is in trouble. Have a look at the size of the bird and how many you have to shoot to feed your family and how many failed clutch's of snipe did it take to produce what you have on your plate. I have been shooting for 40 years and you would not believe the amount of wet corners and pockets that are no longer there, and any wet pockets that are left are hammered. I have shot in Ireland the greater snipe, and if you are going to remove one you should remove them all as, the speed that they take flight with and the speed that you have to mount you gun and fire , well very few people are going to be able to tell the difference, till the dead bird in in their hand. I feel the same about woodcock as well. I am getting old and sentimental, I don't think so.

blackpearl wrote: »

I THINK SO.Wee don't need a post like this ,wee are in a hunting forum the antis would just love people like you,what about the duck and pheasant nests that failed should we not stop shooting them as well,welsummer I think it is time you joined a golf club and got into another hobby,you are really getting soft.

Yep, we are, and hunting is not about shooting game irrespective of whether or not its sustainable. If there is a problem with numbers and habitat, it needs to be addressed, not ignored. In any case, a perfectly healthy discussion for hunters, and imho, if you are not prepared to even discuss the conservation element of hunting, you should'nt be hunting.

who said anything about getting barrels hot, hunting 35 years done a lot more for wildlife than most,i am in favour of bag limits never said anything about killing big numbers of birds,what I am saying these rules are coming from countries who have done what you are saying no bag limits trushes skylarks you name it,most hunting men in Ireland have great resepct for the game they shoot,why should we lose yet another bird of the hunting list, because they will not no when to stop,ask the people who hunt snipe and woodcock do they want a ban what will they say a lot of people on here could not care about a ban on snipe or woodcock because they don't shoot them.if the goverement gave out payments to farmers for leaving wet corners alone on their farms instead of paying them to drain them and the clearing of bogs in the midlands and else where for turf,that would do a lot more for snipe than a hunting ban .

at last

Ohhh every club!!
our clubs 'senior' members reckon us trigger happy young lads are destroying the place shooting everything.
im not having a dig at the older lads but some have to realise we don't just go shoot all we can,when we can
some of us conserve, not shoot.

as for snipe, i have seen very good numbers in wetland where i havnt seen them before

Capercaille wrote: »

Bird Atlas 2007-2011 The Breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Irish breeding population is down 34% over 40 years. Wintering population up 6% over 30 years.

forgive me if im being stupid, but what evidence have they that breeding is down?
is it a case of whoever runs the study isn't finding many?