Bloody Animal Activists...
Having lived on a farm in Ireland for a while, I'd like to think I'm slightly more clued up on the 'countryside code' than most - i.e. don't leave gates open, don't worry livestock, don't engage in stupid acts of wannabe eco-warrior terrorism in the name of animal rights... that sort of thing.

However, some people....

When I was but a young'un - we visited the grandparents on their rather nice plot of farmland in Kerry. Now said Grandparents had given up the farming business and Grandpa Coops had taken up fishing... in a big way. He'd got all his mates down from the pub, hired a JCB and dug himself a virtual fish farm where the grazing land once stood. Then filled it with freshwater breeding stock. Then went even more eco-friendly and started to encourage wild deer, game birds.etc onto the land to make the place look like the set of a sickly Disney movie - there where wild animals everywhere.

Then one day, some well meaning, guardian reading, leftie, sandle wearing goddamn hippies broke into a mink farm about 15 miles away...

...and all hell broke loose. Previously contained species of mink (think half rat, half ferret - but with the eating habits of vampires) spread out over the countryside and started to breed. and eat. fish.
From Granddad's ponds.

Overpopulation and the resulting carnage meant that at the tail-end of this mink escapage, the little bastards were getting more desperate for food and were willing to take more risks - small dogs, cats and even the odd pet rabbit were attacked and mauled. There were scare stories about not leaving prams outside "just incase".

So imagine my horror at the scene of devistation one moring - half eaten brown trout everywhere, lying on the banks of the pond. It looked like the invasion scene from Saving Private Ryan. So we cleared up as best we could, then hit on a cunning plan - cut back some of the vegitation that surrounded the biggest pond, and open up what we later called 'the killing field'. We set traps, laid bait and then sat on the back porch and waited - armed with a shotgun each. Soon, we had our first victim, the slimey rodent had tried to make it to the pond, but didn't quite get there. That didn't stop some of his mink brothers and sisters trying too. One by one the little bastards tried to attack, all were sent to furry hell by a 12bore...

Apologies for length, but it had 2 barrels.
( HSDriver was probably still at work on, Fri 25 Apr 2008, 8:38, 3 replies)

I hope they didn't die in vain
and that you made a nice mink coat with the pelts!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 25 Apr 2008, 8:55, closed)

How do you worry an animal?

Are they afraid of a house price crash or global warming?

Or do you simply leave Bertmonkeysex alone in teh field with some lube a car tyre and some rhohypnol laced grain.
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Fri 25 Apr 2008, 9:00, closed)

^ You go up to them furtively
Then whisper to them that you think they've left the gas on.

Gets 'em everytime!
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Fri 25 Apr 2008, 15:19, closed)