An ancient past-time born out of necessity

At the end of January, we will come to the end of another shooting season. The Ox Mountains are a popular hunting ground for those who still like to bag the occasional snipe or woodcock. There are mixed opinions about the age-old pursuit but, like it or loathe it, hunting has a long tradition going back to our earliest times.

Hunter-gatherers

It is widely believed that there was more than one kind of human species in the beginning. However, it seems that while some were stronger and larger, none had the intellect of Homo Sapiens, the only species to survive. We were able to outwit all other human types and indeed we were probably responsible for making them extinct. Our intelligence allowed us to dominate and, of course, it made us better hunters. 

As hunter-gatherers, Homo Sapiens travelled far and wide, north and south in our ever-growing search for food. Even larger mammals, in the most extreme climate locations, proved attractive and posed no great problem to bring down. For example, the woolly mammoth was perused to extinction right into the furthest and coldest places on earth, as Home Sapiens continued to grow in numbers, appetite and intelligence.

So, from almost the very beginning, animals and birds were hunted. Our own ancient legends are peppered with accounts of days spent in pursuit of elusive game such as salmon, elk and deer. Killing such animals defined a great hunter; someone who would be hailed as a hero in his community. It seems that hunting has always been associated with competition, success against the odds and proof of one hunter’s ability over another.

Landlords

Shooting and hunting, as we know it today, evolved from necessity; the animals and birds killed were an essential food source. Through the passage of time, the whole process became a sport and the game was seldom needed for sustenance. Hunting was just a way to prove the hunter’s ability, a trophy to be displayed, a pleasure to be enjoyed. David Jones, writing in Fieldsports Journal, provides background to these departures.

Pheasant shooting has been taking place in Great Britain since the 16th century, albeit on a relatively small scale prior to the mid-19th century when the advent of the breech-loading shotgun, which enabled sportsmen to kill a large number of gamebirds within a relatively short period, paved the way for the development of the driven shoot. Prior to this time, pheasants were usually walked-up over dogs and shot in small numbers, with little artificial rearing taking place. Indeed, wild pheasants were quite scarce in many areas, despite being preserved by gamekeepers through nest management, vermin control and poaching prevention.

Despite such advances, it was during this time that the Irish peasantry struggled to survive. Smallholdings, difficulty in paying rent and eventual famine, placed millions of people on a survival footing. In such poverty, the temptation to poach the odd pheasant for lunch or the occasional hare for supper was often too much to resist. Estate gamekeepers were on the constant lookout of any such poachers. The crime, while minimal, often attracted the harshest of punishments. Deportation was demanded by many landlords and was freely handed down by magistrates who had probably enjoyed a day’s shooting on the same landlord’s estate the previous Sunday.

Dog and Gun

While such shoots still take place on landed estates here in Ireland, they are now few and far between. These days, anyone with a mind to do so can enjoy a day’s hunting, either alone with their dog or in the companionship of the local gun club. Gun clubs generally rear and release the birds they will shoot later in the year when the season opens on November Day. While the cock pheasant remains the ultimate trophy bird, snipe and woodcock demand a different skill from the hunter. With these, gunmen must be fast and accurate if they want either bird for soup the following day.

A number of species of birds are shot during the season, chief among them are pheasant, snipe, woodcock and mallard. Birdwatch Ireland provides a little bit of history and geography on each bird.

Pheasants are native to Asia, but were introduced into much of Europe by the Romans, possibly arriving in the UK with the Normans in the 11th century. Largely forgotten and locally extinct up until the 19th century, they became a popular gamebird once again and are extensively reared by gamekeepers.

Snipe are a winter visitor from the Faroe Islands, Iceland and northern Scotland. A relatively common wader but not easily seen, unless flushed out of marshy vegetation, when it typically towers away in a frantic zig-zag fashion. The disproportionately long, straight bill is easily visible in flight.

The woodcock is a winter visitor from Scandinavia and Russia. With its long straight bill and plump body, it resembles a large Snipe. It is rarely seen on the ground, due to its secretive nature and camouflaged plumage (which mimics dead leaves) and spends most of its day hidden amongst vegetation on the woodland floor.

Wild Mallard, another favourite for hunters, has a longer shooting season than pheasants. We have resident birds as well as winter migrants from Iceland, Russia, Poland, Denmark, and Germany. Additional captive-bred birds are released each year for hunting.

Big Game 

In recent years, big game hunting is proving attractive and many hunters come from overseas to avail of what Ireland has to offer. Bookyourhunt.com gives and interesting insight into an aspect of tourism that many of us may find distasteful. Their blurb, Hunting in Ireland, makes for interesting reading and reflects tones of a bygone era.

The Emerald Isle’s mountains, lakes, and stunning Atlantic seashores offer a beautiful setting in which to pursue red deer, sika deer, fallow deer, and several varieties of feral sheep and goats in acres of wild and windswept countryside. Ireland has one of the densest populations of sika deer in Europe, and stalking these elusive animals in the ancient forests and green hills of the Irish countryside makes for a true challenge. Bird hunting in Ireland is outstanding, with some twenty species of game birds including excellent high-volume shooting for wood pigeons.

A Different Soup 

As a younger man, I spent my Sundays walking the local bog fields with my gun. My dad was a keen shot, as they say, and mostly hunted for pheasant, mallard and hare - for food purposes only. Shooting was the only sport we had in common and it helped us to connect in a certain way. We could chat about shooting the same way that other men would chat about football or drinking.

I grew out of hunting as time passed, preferring instead to walk the fields without a gun. I still enjoy the thrill of a bird breaking cover but I no longer have the desire to shoot them down. These days, I get my soup in SuperValu.