Archived from groups: uk.rec.shooting.game (More info?)
I thought this article may be of interest its from today's Mail.
Regards
I
A badger spotter was left fighting for his life after a hunter mistook his
night vision goggles for a fox's eyes and shot him in the chest, a court
heard today.
Conservationist Trevor Lawson spent two days in intensive care and had to
have a lung removed after being shot while out watching wildlife on farmland
in April last year.
Anthony Burns, 52, fired a high-powered hunting rifle after a friend's red
filter lamp picked up what appeared to be a "massive set of eyes".
Burns, of Blacksmith Lane, Prestwood, Buckinghamshire, and two friends were
out "lamping" for foxes - a form of night-time hunting - and had already
shot one fox when the near-fatal accident happened, Aylesbury Crown Court
heard today.
Mr Lawson had been out walking his dog in fields near the village of Hyde
Heath, Buckinghamshire, when he heard shots and thought that there may be
poachers in the area.
He returned to the scene shortly afterwards without his dog but equipped
with a pair of night vision binoculars which he normally used for watching
badgers.
Night binoculars and camouflage
But seeing a red glow sweeping across the field, he realised that the shots
had come from legitimate night hunters and decided to stay out looking for
wildlife.
He had brought a cloth cap covered in camouflage material, which he wore
when watching badgers, in his pocket just in case.
Nearby was Burns and two friends - one friend at the controls of a jeep
while the other operated a red filter light ideal for spotting foxes as the
creatures' eyes do not pick up the colour.
When Mr Lawson saw the red light sweeping across the field he raised his
binoculars for a closer look and was spotted by the hunters.
'Massive set of eyes'
The court heard that, while Burns had seen a fox about 50 yards away shortly
beforehand, when he spotted the eyes he did not see the profile of an
animal.
And in fact the target turned out to be human. Prosecutor Neil Moore told
the jury that Burns had fired a special hunting bullet designed to expand
and disintegrate inside the animal's body in order to kill it more quickly.
As he fell to the ground, Mr Lawson reached for his mobile phone and pressed
the redial button to speak to his wife as he was gasping with pain.
Mr Moore said: "She heard him say 'I'm going to die, I've been shot, I'm
going to die, I love you'."
The hunters also heard Mr Lawson's cries and immediately rushed to the
scene, realising what had happened.
Mr Moore told the jury that Burns spoke to an emergency services operator on
the telephone and explained what had happened.
He said: "We were out lamping for foxes and we saw what looked like a
massive set of eyes at the end of the road and the guys got out their
binoculars and that's what we picked up and so I pulled the trigger."
But Mr Moore said Burns had gone on to accept that something had been amiss,
telling the operator: "F***** stupid thing to do."
With his wife by his side, an ambulance arrived to help Mr Lawson and took
him to Stoke Mandeville Hospital near Aylesbury and later to the John
Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he had emergency surgery to save his
life, which left him with only one lung.
Burns was later arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm. He
denies the charge. Mr Moore told the jury that guidelines for night shooting
specifically stated that hunters should make sure that they could see the
profile of an animal before they shot at it.
He said that, although the Crown did not claim that Burns had deliberately
intended to harm Mr Lawson, he had acted "recklessly".
He said: "All he saw was what appeared to be the eyes of an animal. He did
not take the basic and fundamental precaution of looking for the animal's
profile, he simply assumed that it was the fox that he had seen some time
earlier."
The trial has now been stopped for legal reasons
I thought this article may be of interest its from today's Mail.
Regards
I
A badger spotter was left fighting for his life after a hunter mistook his
night vision goggles for a fox's eyes and shot him in the chest, a court
heard today.
Conservationist Trevor Lawson spent two days in intensive care and had to
have a lung removed after being shot while out watching wildlife on farmland
in April last year.
Anthony Burns, 52, fired a high-powered hunting rifle after a friend's red
filter lamp picked up what appeared to be a "massive set of eyes".
Burns, of Blacksmith Lane, Prestwood, Buckinghamshire, and two friends were
out "lamping" for foxes - a form of night-time hunting - and had already
shot one fox when the near-fatal accident happened, Aylesbury Crown Court
heard today.
Mr Lawson had been out walking his dog in fields near the village of Hyde
Heath, Buckinghamshire, when he heard shots and thought that there may be
poachers in the area.
He returned to the scene shortly afterwards without his dog but equipped
with a pair of night vision binoculars which he normally used for watching
badgers.
Night binoculars and camouflage
But seeing a red glow sweeping across the field, he realised that the shots
had come from legitimate night hunters and decided to stay out looking for
wildlife.
He had brought a cloth cap covered in camouflage material, which he wore
when watching badgers, in his pocket just in case.
Nearby was Burns and two friends - one friend at the controls of a jeep
while the other operated a red filter light ideal for spotting foxes as the
creatures' eyes do not pick up the colour.
When Mr Lawson saw the red light sweeping across the field he raised his
binoculars for a closer look and was spotted by the hunters.
'Massive set of eyes'
The court heard that, while Burns had seen a fox about 50 yards away shortly
beforehand, when he spotted the eyes he did not see the profile of an
animal.
And in fact the target turned out to be human. Prosecutor Neil Moore told
the jury that Burns had fired a special hunting bullet designed to expand
and disintegrate inside the animal's body in order to kill it more quickly.
As he fell to the ground, Mr Lawson reached for his mobile phone and pressed
the redial button to speak to his wife as he was gasping with pain.
Mr Moore said: "She heard him say 'I'm going to die, I've been shot, I'm
going to die, I love you'."
The hunters also heard Mr Lawson's cries and immediately rushed to the
scene, realising what had happened.
Mr Moore told the jury that Burns spoke to an emergency services operator on
the telephone and explained what had happened.
He said: "We were out lamping for foxes and we saw what looked like a
massive set of eyes at the end of the road and the guys got out their
binoculars and that's what we picked up and so I pulled the trigger."
But Mr Moore said Burns had gone on to accept that something had been amiss,
telling the operator: "F***** stupid thing to do."
With his wife by his side, an ambulance arrived to help Mr Lawson and took
him to Stoke Mandeville Hospital near Aylesbury and later to the John
Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he had emergency surgery to save his
life, which left him with only one lung.
Burns was later arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm. He
denies the charge. Mr Moore told the jury that guidelines for night shooting
specifically stated that hunters should make sure that they could see the
profile of an animal before they shot at it.
He said that, although the Crown did not claim that Burns had deliberately
intended to harm Mr Lawson, he had acted "recklessly".
He said: "All he saw was what appeared to be the eyes of an animal. He did
not take the basic and fundamental precaution of looking for the animal's
profile, he simply assumed that it was the fox that he had seen some time
earlier."
The trial has now been stopped for legal reasons
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