Magpies!

[Roughquest]

I live in a built up area but am becoming increasingly concerned at the vast number of magies we have, they are destructive, noisey creatures and they eat aything and everything and steal my cats food too! Is there anyway of culling them by putting poison down?
Thanks.
RQ xx

[Lonnie]

Wouldn't put poison down, too much danger for other birds and animals, but your right, they are the villain if the bird species, I don;t know if they're classed as pests, check, and if they are, shoot'em.

[woodchopper]

Magpies are not protected at any time so it is perfectly legal to shoot them - if you are in a built up area an air rifle would suffice if you can get close enough - and provided the police dont intervene due to someone mistaken you for an assassin - if you are in the country - a shotgun is the best.
Or a more humane way of catching them would be a Larsen's Trap.

[feebee]

How could you be so cruel! You obviously have a boring life if all you can worry about are birds.

You need to get out more.

[dave2222]

kill em and if you see any sparrows do them aswell im gona buy me a gun

[Roughquest]

Get stuffed Feebee, that is not constructive, its not cruel at all, its keeping the species down, have you got cottonwool for brains darling???
YOU NEED to get out more.
Der.....

[feebee]

Oh dear. Temper, temper.

[brooklyn77]

Roughquest......I think you should reel your neck in before someone reports you for your tone.

Keeping the numbers down? Are you sure? I dont recall magpies ever being officially classed as pests ! The fact the author of this post lives in a built up area makes this even more sickening.

Our lack of open spaces in cities has caused many species to dwindle in number and now some city dweller decides they have seen one too many magpies and wants to cull them...give me a break....try adapting to any problems, try living with them. What is the problem with that, or are you so out of touch with nature that you really just dont care.

I am no hippy, but I don believe in getting along with animals rather than just scream 'kill em all' everytime one of them gets on my nerves. I mean really how much damage cana magpie really cause. We have loads where I am and I have never had one issue.

Your a human in need of educating.

[Binky]

Having witnessed a crow try and pull my cat off of a fence last weekend, I understand your concern. Sometimes these birds are huge! Not much you can do about it. Keep the cat's food out of sight though.

[Ethel]

Magpies take eggs and young birds from the nest.

If you are seeing a lot it means that smaller birds are doing particularly well in that area.

I bet you next year the numbers will be down. It often seems to work like that.

You can shoot them if you want to, but that might upset the balance and mean there are too many smaller birds competing for food.

Stop feeding your cats outside - you will attract rats as well.

[brooklyn77]

At least the last two posts have been somewhat sensible compared to the last few posts in this thread, just to add though, that just because a bird gets a bit rough with other species of bird or other species altogether, does not mean we should then try and 'correct it' by killing that species. Its nature, let nature takes its course. Survival of the fittest I think they call it dont they.

Imagine you were living in Africa....if you saw a crocodile eating a gazelle, would you say, 'too many gazelle are dying, better go get the guns and kill those gators' no, why? cause its just nature..you should not interefere

[Roughquest]

So is culling rats, deer, foxes, badgers cruel then feebee/brooklyn? Rats are vermin, and Im afraid if you ask any conservationist, so are magpies, there are humane methods to adopt when culling wildlife, i personally would not be able to use an air rifle, i did want just some other suggestions as to stop the noisey, nasty, vicious blighters. thats all. No malice intended......i merely asked a simple question, they have become a major problem where i live - which cannot be ignored by me or my neighbours, these birds are frightening young children near me as they can and do often get rather close for comfort, like seagulls, which are also vile creatures, believe or not I am a devote animal lover.

[Roughquest]

PS - Brooklyn, how on earth can you use the word 'tone' in written context? Der..someone needs some more education.....you need to calm down and re-read the answers.....and respond accordingly, we dont need trouble makers on this site there are enough of them already my dear. If you cant say anything decent, dont say anything at all. ciao ciao.....

[Cetti]

No Roughquest, don't even think of killing a bird , even one considered a pest bird by some as all birds are protected by European Law and it is a criminhal offence!

DEFRA say that authorised persons are allowed to shoot them, but that doesn't give anyone with a rifle licence carte blanche to fire away - it must go through the proper channels.

Magpies do take baby birds, but then so do Greater Spotted Woodpeckers. The birds they take are generally The Blue Tit family. One of the reasons why these birds have such large families - to make up for those lost. Left alone nature addresses the balance. Cats outweigh them all with the destruction of wildlife - and I certainly wouldn't advocate killing cats.

If you need a reason for more and more Magpies etc coming into our gardens you only have to look to the countryside for loss of habitat. Don't blame the animals and birds for all our problems.....look to humans!!

[Champagne]

Hi Roughquest. You'll be glad to hear that there is an easier solution!! You can buy a bird-repellant device which gives off a magpie distress call. You can buy it online and you need to set the unit up outside and out of view of the birds so they don't realise it's a hoax! I heard about this on Room 101 on TV and supposedly it worked a treat. It only requires one or two uses to resolve the problem.

[brooklyn77]

Roughquest - You are such a child. If you look back at your answer to feebee, although you may not agree with her answer, you dont say to someone 'get stuffed' and refering to 'cotton wool brains' There was no need for it, and that IS a 'tone' in the written sense. Just like your last post to me had a real pathetic 'tone'. But I will try not to stoop to your level.

I did read the answers and I noted a couple of things...Binky had the best attitude, admits they are a pain but adapts..ie: takes the cat food inside...

dave222 just said 'kill em and if you see sparrows do them as well' I did not hear you say that was 'not constructive' and tell him to 'get stuffed' like you did feebee. This clearly shows you are one track minded, and dont listen to anyones views but the ones that fit in with your own ideals.

Anyway, on a final note...if you were intelligent enough, you would have read my post and decided to argue it in an intelligent way. Instead of just mouthing off like a 15 year old like you did. How about addressing what I wrote and actually give some educated answers and show us that you can actually make a post without insuling people.

Good day to you. Hope the magpies are thriving.

[Rock'n'Roll]

If your criteria is ,they kill other birds, and they're nasty vicious blighters,i'm betting they kill nowhere near as many other birds as cats do and nowhere near as nasty. can't see culling cats would go down well though,so why birds?

[woodchopper]

Dear Cetti,

Along wit my current firearms license is a list which the Police/ Government provide to advise shooters which species can and cannnot be shot,
Birds such as Magpies, ravens rooks, crows, starlings,hooded crow can be shot at any time as they are classed as pests/vermin and should ( in my opinion) be treated as such.

If you would like to furnish me with details of the specific Eureopean law which you say bans shootinmg any birds I would be much obliged.

It may help you to remember that not all European laws are applicablein the UK. ( Thank God ! )

[informashun]

magpies are very destructive bids but thats nature.

nature.
magpies are part of nature but to come to the point it is permissable to shoot them but only within the confines of your property.?
yes this is ambiguous. if he wished to cull them he would be very busy prince charles that is.
however this is the law.

[Cetti]

woodchopper - Read my post again then you will see the word 'authorise'. There has to be some legislation or else everyone with a gun licence will be killing any member of the crow family (or any other family) that annoys them. Some of the UK shooting websites make my blood run cold with the gung ho approach to so called pest species. Yes, if say magpies, crows, rooks etc are causing problems then this must be addressed, but in the correct way - only authorised personnel.

This has been a hot potato on many wildlife boards for great number of years and I don't see it ever going away. This is an article from the RSPB site - there are many others http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/unwantedvisitors /magpies/law.asp

[brooklyn77]

Cetti - Well done, you are one of only a few people with a brain on their shoulders..I have taken liberty to copy and

..use of the Larsen trap.
This is legal as long as the decoy bird is humanely treated and given food and water daily.

The trap must be checked regularly, at least every 24 hrs. Any magpie or crow caught may be humanely destroyed. Any non-target species must be released.

Magpies may be shot for the purposes outlined above. Shooting must be well away from public roads and houses, so is seldom possible in urban areas.

So.....You have to be an authorised person. And if using a gun you cant shoot near roads or houses. So that pretty much rules out our city fellow doesn't it. And if you use a larson trap you must kill them humanley. Doubt that will happen though. So in other words...people who dont like magpies...your stuck with it...so adapt to nature...not defeat it.