Take aim

Please go Large on this - button bottom right under photo.

This is a section of friend MrB’s hunting patch. The land (fields and forest) is owned largely by the parish council and several of the village farmers who form a Jagdgenossenschaft (Hunting cooperative) who tender out the hunting rights, specifying the minimum number of animals to be killed each year and specifying the steps he has to take to protect their assets and if necessary the compensation to be paid if the animals cause damage through his negligence. I think they are more driven by quality than money (until the EU hear about it) wanting to ensure their saplings and crops are not ruined by the wild animals.




In MrB they made an excellent choice – not only knowing the area well having spent years working with the previous deceased hunter but also having someone who takes his job seriously, is very responsible to his “clients”, the landowners but also (perhaps, more so) caring for the animals on his patch and mindful of his obligation in Bavarian law to allow all members of the public, free and unhindered access to the countryside.
How many hunters do you know who distribute specailly made christmas biscuits in his forest every Christmas Eve? And not for the odd passing dog walker or nudist but for the deer - aniseed flavour is the favourite.


His duties also include being on duty 24/7 for the police or public to contact to trace any wounded wild animals, especially those involved in a car accident (In Bavaria alone, around 50,000 p.a. (20% of total) with 500 injured, a few deaths and some 2.5m Euro car damage – these are only the reported incidents.) He is also, on request, able to issue an official document to testify car damage was caused by a wild animal for insurance purposes (not horses, cows, pets, chickens etc.)
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I sometimes wonder why he does it! Must cost him a bob or two. But I know he loves the outdoor life, just as happy to see a wild animal as every animal conservationist. If he had his way and could determine things himself, there would be far more wild animals and types on his area.
Now that advertising has been given the “free-fire” on Polaroid-Blip: anyone wanting a week’s shooting on his patch, whether with a camera (his brother–in-law Christian is a wildlife photographer and would I am sure assist) or with a gun ( I don’t know the law on foreign visiting hunters), I am sure he would be thrilled SO LONG AS he gets a reciprocal week in Scotland, the Yorkshire Moors or similar (even fishing, which he does too), together with a good portion of GB/Eire country tradition – he’s a sucker for all the quirks of the “islanders”. Ryanair flights from Dublin & Stanstead to Memmingen (5km away) and he has access to a basic hunting lodge. Have just discovered no Scotland flights at the moment – wonder if this is just in winter or whether totally stopped.

He even knows the odd person for a “Blip Shoot”.

AND FINALLY A BIG THANK YOU TO BLIPER "WALL" in USA for his wonderful and helpful tips on Panorama photography. Don't think Blip is perhaps the right medium for these but yesterday he sorted out my problems and the Blip above is a 180° panorama taken using the Nikon Easy Panorama function which does ALL the work.