Eating dead stuff from the garden

[Will]

The only thing I'd be worried about eating city dwelling animals would be any diseases it may have.

Looks great though!

[BBx]

I will be kindly declining any dinner invitations from Chez Jonny

I think this is gross - but well done!

The gutting didn't gross me out... seeing as I have de-breasted pheasant now

Just the thought of what it had eaten in the London suburbs!

BB x

[Jonny69]

Lots of fruit and seeds by the looks of the contents of its backed up gut

[Kitten]

Bit like Mei Mei here, am in awe of what you're doing but would never do the same in a million years! Good on you though, and glad it was nice and tasty (and you survived!).

[SidewinderINC]

Nicely done! looks delicious.

I have a question that goes down the roadkill route, I have always been under the impression that you can't collect pheasants if you've run them down yourself for reasons along the lines of poaching - is this correct or an urban myth?

I was nearly in an accident last week whilst being a passenger in a car driving through Devon, a rather large deer decided to jump down the 10ft bank and in front of the car - if we had not stopped in time and hit/killed it (and miraculously not written off the car) what are the laws on us strapping that thing to the roof and driving it home?

I'm assuming you've looked into the whole roadkill thing a bit

[BBx]

Originally Posted by Jonny69

Lots of fruit and seeds by the looks of the contents of its backed up gut

I meant Stuff its absorbed into its bloodstream though?!

Lol you are quazy!

(the stomach and contents of it make me gag-even just seeing undigested seeds!)

BB x

[volospian]

Originally Posted by SidewinderINC

Nicely done! looks delicious.

I have a question that goes down the roadkill route, I have always been under the impression that you can't collect pheasants if you've run them down yourself for reasons along the lines of poaching - is this correct or an urban myth?

That's what I've always been told as well, although I have no idea whether it is really true or just an urban myth

I'm not sure about it, tbh, as I believe the law says that an animal is technically "owned" by whoever owns the land that it is on at the time. So, for example, if an estate raised pheasants for shooting, and some of those birds landed in fields on the next farm, that farm could legally shoot and keep the birds as they are on its land. It may not be good form to shoot your neighbours birds, especially if they have invested money in their stock, but I believe it is legal (my Grandfather had a farm that backed onto such an estate. I remember he occasionally had a couple of pheasants hanging in the shed... He also had a couple of friends that he occasionally used to let go hunting for "rabbits" on his land. Obviously if they came a cross the odd pheasant or deer that had found its way into his fields, that was their good fortune...)

Because of this, I suppose any "roadkill" pheasant belongs either to nobody (or indeed everybody) as it's on a public road, or perhaps to the government as "owner" of the road. If it's the former, then I can't see how anybody could be done for poaching, although if it is the latter, I suppose technically you are taking the property of Madge and she may be allowed to chop your head off, or something...

As I said, that's what I believe from what I was told growing up on the farm. I am aware that this fact may not make it true though, simply that my grandfather was never caught, lol. Someone must know this for definite though...

[Tak]

Just googling, this seems to be the main answer:
"All game, if not enclosed, are unowned. This includes pheasants, hares, deer etc. As soon as they are dead they belong to the landowner upon whose land they fall dead. If it's on the highway, they the council or highways agency own them."

And I know its only wiki but there doesn't sem to be anything mentioned about legality on this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadkil...United_Kingdom
Considering there was a BBC show on it, I'm sure there would have been some kind of media whirlwind if they were encouraging people to break the law

[volospian]

Originally Posted by Tak

As soon as they are dead they belong to the landowner upon whose land they fall dead.

Unless, I think, a hunter shoots an animal while on/over their land and it's trajectory means it lands on anothers land, I belive the hunter owns the rights to the bird (assuming it was legally hunted in the first place, of course).

I don't think they automatically have the right to trespass in order to claim the animal, but they still have a legal right to it.

[SidewinderINC]

sweet, time for a rampage over portsdown hill country lanes next time we're back in portsmouth

Fancy Dinner next time I'm back, Sam?