Is it legal to shoot on a public right of way?

[DragonSlayer]

Well said Jen cotts xx the noise is a big clue !!!

Dragon - would you like a brace xx

Hahahaha!

I know you are keen on the shoot, but I ain't gonna judge ya!

 

[mulledwhine]

Bless you Hun xx you can have a brace if you want ?

 

[DragonSlayer]

Bless you Hun xx you can have a brace if you want ?

Will it be oven-ready?? If someone handed me some feathery beasts, I'd have to have a full state funeral for them!

 

[Sandstone1]

I have to say this post is getting my back up a bit - you are on a footpath / bridlepath on some one else's land - they have a right to do what they want with it. Yes this may inconvenience you a few times a year, but its their land !!

When I hear the shoots going, I simply change where I am going out hacking to avoid them.

If you are on a footpath with dogs, you have nothing to fear. Although if you are roaming where you please with your dog off the lead that is another matter entirely.

Not too impressed when some idiot townies decide its terribly amusing when their dogs run up to me on my own farm, a long way from the footpath when I am practising archery. Yes I appreciate you cannot hear it, but people should keep their dogs on leads as you never know what people are doing on
their own property and the countryside is not a park for the masses

I have to say YOUR post has got my back up! first im not a "idiot townie" Im born and bred in the countryside as were my parents and grandparents thanks

Second, Im not in the habit of wandering where I please with my dogs off lead. I was on a public right of way with my dogs under control. The shoot was on the footpath!
As for people doing what they like on there own land fair enough, but not if its a public right of way and you are putting peoples life at risk. In any case it was not the landowner shooting i dont know if they had permission to shoot there or not.
My question was if its legal to shoot on or near a right of way, I didnt ask to be slated for walking my dogs on a right of way!

 

[Sandstone1]

To be honest, the shoot probably existed before the right of way!!

So if you live in the country, you will have to get used to it.

I love shooting, but current pony hates the guns, so I spend an hour every week standing with him making sure he is calm and happy

Country life = country pass times

Once again im born and breed in countryside thanks! Have been using footpath most of my life (And thats quite a long time!) and never seen shoot there before. I asked if its legal to shoot on a public right of way I didnt ask to be told I will have to get used to country ways! In fact im probably more used to the country side and its ways than you! Please dont assume!

 

[flyingfeet]

I have to say YOUR post has got my back up! first im not a "idiot townie" Im born and bred in the countryside as were my parents and grandparents thanks

Please "read" my post
"Not too impressed when some idiot townies decide its terribly amusing when their dogs run up to me on my own farm, a long way from the footpath when I am practising archery. "
Was this you then?? Had you hired a house in our village for Christmas and let your spaniel run loose?? If so you'd have got the idea I was quite pee'd off

If you were on the footpath with your dog on a lead you'd have been safe, unless it was some hicks drinking and lamping, but hopefully this wasn't at night!!!

 

[Sandstone1]

Yes I did read your post thanks please read mine! I was on a footpath with my dogs under control, The shoot was on the foot path and it was not the landowner shooting.
my question was simply is it legal to shoot on a public right of way, not what landowners have or have not got a right to do on their land!
I have no idea what "idiot townies" have to do with it or mad springers come to that!

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Yes I might do that but although I know who owns the land I didnt know any of the shoot. It seems like common sense to me not to shot on or near the right of way

Agree, but not everyone has common sense until someone with it helps them by pointing out the obvious )

Contact the landowner rather than the police in the first instance, if he is allowing the shoot he will want it to be behaving responsibly and may well do your work for you by reminding them of the code. If he hasnt then he will be onto it even quicker!

Not exercising common sense is silly but since they may be unaware they need to be given the chance to do so, before going to the lengths of involving the police.

 

[Mike007]

my question was simply is it legal to shoot on a public right of way,!

In that case the answer is yes it is.

 

[flyingfeet]

Is it legal for people to shoot on and near to a public right of way? I ask because today when walking my dogs along a public footpath across some fields, I meet several people with guns, gun dogs etc who were obviously out for a days shooting.
During my walk I heard many gunshots, which as the footpath crosses fields and goes around hedgerows etc i found a bit worrying!

So just to be 100% clear
- you heard shots
- you saw people who had been shooting
However you didn't see them physically stood on the footpath shooting, or shooting across the footpath

If this is the case, I would strongly recommend you talk to the landowner before rushing off to the police, otherwise you'll be mighty unpopular.

 

[Alec Swan]

Yes, you are right, it's illegal to shoot any nearer than that to a public footpath but I have seen it happen quite alot round here, they even shoot over your heads at pigeons.

I'm sorry, but that's not so. A PRoW, is just that, a Right of Way. The public do not own the land, it is owned generally by one person, assuming that it bisects land which is owned by, one person. If a PRoW defines a boundary, then the LAND upon which the Right of Way crosses, will be in shared ownership, by the land owners on either side.

If a land owner chooses to stand smack bang in the middle of a pedestrian PRoW, and chooses to shoot on or across it, then they are perfectly entitled to do so. Putting the safety of others at risk, is an entirely different matter, and it would apply to a firearm carrying person, regardless of where they were standing, on a PRoW, or not.

Hopefully, those who are permitted to own firearms act in a responsible and correct manner, and those who don't will have the authority taken away from them.

Alec.

 

[cremedemonthe]

I'm sorry, but that's not so. A PRoW, is just that, a Right of Way. The public do not own the land, it is owned generally by one person, assuming that it bisects land which is owned by, one person. If a PRoW defines a boundary, then the LAND upon which the Right of Way crosses, will be in shared ownership, by the land owners on either side.

If a land owner chooses to stand smack bang in the middle of a pedestrian PRoW, and chooses to shoot on or across it, then they are perfectly entitled to do so. Putting the safety of others at risk, is an entirely different matter, and it would apply to a firearm carrying person, regardless of where they were standing, on a PRoW, or not.

Hopefully, those who are permitted to own firearms act in a responsible and correct manner, and those who don't will have the authority taken away from them.

Alec.

I'm talking about a public footpath

 

[cremedemonthe]

I'm sorry, but that's not so. A PRoW, is just that, a Right of Way. The public do not own the land, it is owned generally by one person, assuming that it bisects land which is owned by, one person. If a PRoW defines a boundary, then the LAND upon which the Right of Way crosses, will be in shared ownership, by the land owners on either side.

If a land owner chooses to stand smack bang in the middle of a pedestrian PRoW, and chooses to shoot on or across it, then they are perfectly entitled to do so. Putting the safety of others at risk, is an entirely different matter, and it would apply to a firearm carrying person, regardless of where they were standing, on a PRoW, or not.

Hopefully, those who are permitted to own firearms act in a responsible and correct manner, and those who don't will have the authority taken away from them.

Alec.

Yes, you are right Alec, I checked with my mate who shoots he said, can't shoot within 50 feet of a carriage way which I misinterpreted as meaning a footpath, apologies, Oz

 

[Pedantic]

People, common sense, all in the same sentence, don't make me larrrrff, people can't even abide by simple straight forward parking rules, never mind give them a gun, or even a cutlery knife for that matter, in fact I think we should all pass a test before being allowed loose on the roads with cars, oh what, we do already, ohhhh dear.........


Enshrine of tools.

 

[Thistle]

Everyone is getting the 50ft rule mixed up with 50 m, there is a big difference!

50ft is only just over 15m, that's 15 big steps, not very far at all. That is all the law requires from a carrigeway, not a footpath/bridleway

 

[Sandstone1]

Thanks for the replys, I will probably have a word with the landowner, as I say im not sure if the shoot had permission or not or if they had strayed from nearby private land. They were certainly on the footpath, but I didnt see anyone shooting there, but from the shots I heard while walking the rest of the footpath and the fact that they were still there on my way back does point to the fact they were shooting on or very close to a public right of way.

As I have said Ive been brought up in the countyside and lived here most of my life so its not a case of "townies" not liking what goes on in the country.
The way some people assume that if you question anything to do with hunting/ shooting etc you are a "townie" and should just get used to it is very annoying!