Farmers in Northern Ireland are being encouraged to take advantage of a pest control scheme being run by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU). Ian Marshall, Deputy President of UFU, is encouraging farmers to get in touch with people who shoot. This he pointed out, can help reduce the damage that pests cause to farmers’ produce. The pest control operation is free of charge and in operation from August of 2011, proving to be popular with both UFU and BASC members.
Tommy Mayne, Director of BASC NI, says it’s a win win situation for both farmers and shooters. By giving BASC members new shooting opportunities to shoot, the farmers are helped with pests that damage crops or livestock and spread disease. BASC members are covered by the BASC’s robust insurance policy, which will please the farmers who are involved. Mervyn Dougan is a member farmer of UFU, who had made use of this pest control scheme recently. He contacted BASC NI, who solved the problem of foxes taking away his chickens, by sending a member shooter living nearby, to help him tackle the problem. Shooters who are not members, but like to join can contact BASC by phone- 028 9260 5050, or go to the website- www.basc.org.uk or email to – nire@basc.org.uk. Farmers who like to join UFU can do so by phoning-028 9037 0222.
