Partridge take a shot at flying school
WE HAD an airborne exercise the other day; teaching red-legged partridge to fly. We weren't in the flat lands of Buchan to shoot large numbers, but to give the birds some practice for when the paying guns come.

Celebrity chef faces hare-coursing charges
CELEBRITY chef Clarissa Dickson Wright and racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott are facing charges relating to alleged hare coursing.

Illegal hare coursing on the rise
POLICE are receiving at least ten reports of hare coursing every month, despite the "barbaric" blood sport being outlawed in Scotland five years ago.

Two fined over banned hunting
TWO men were found guilty yesterday of illegally hunting deer with hounds.

Silence of the doves as hundreds shot on way back to Europe
EXHAUSTED and starving turtledoves returning from Africa to nest in Europe were greeted in Cyprus yesterday by shotgun-wielding hunters delighted at a rare opportunity to blast them out of the sky.

Court frees hunt accused
ANDREW Barron, the first person to be convicted of hunting deer under new laws, was admonished when a sheriff said the offence by the 18-year-old from Hawick, whose dog did not actually catch a deer, was at the lower end of the scale.

Critics gun for National Trust hunting plan
ONE OF Scotland's leading conservation charities has come under fire for promoting grouse shooting and deer stalking with the aid of public money.

Dogs' tail-docking: the kindest cut?
RURAL campaigners say the latest Executive ban - against docking dogs' tails - is further proof of the gulf between town and country.

Voice of the countryside grows louder
IT WON'T come as a shock to many people that the public's faith in Holyrood has diminished since the Scottish Parliament was established.

Foxhunting growing in popularity
HORSES twitched with excitment. Hounds bounced about eagerly. Thirty riders, bedecked in hunting livery, shifted in their saddles. All waited for the call. Through the mist, a horn heralded a boxing day tradition: The Lauderdale Hunt was off in pursuit...

Thousands due at Boxing Day fox hunts despite ban
HUNDREDS of thousands of people were expected to attend fox hunts across the country today despite the ban which came into force nearly two years ago.

Trust 'must ban deer hunting'
THE League Against Cruel Sports is calling on the National Trust to approve a total ban on killing injured deer on its land.

Interest in hunting hits pre-ban high
HUNTING in Scotland is enjoying a renaissance, with more people registering to join the new season than before the ban on hunting foxes with dogs was imposed.

Glorious opportunity to take on Glendoyne lease
THE Glorious Twelfth is just three weeks away and while the prospects for the grouse season are reported as being mixed after an exceptionally late spring, interest in sporting estates has never been higher.

Charges dropped against huntsman
ONE of Scotland's leading huntsmen spoke of his relief yesterday after a charge of flouting the ban on hunting with dogs was dropped.



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