The SGA have been made aware of a mistake in the Autumn issue of Scottish Gamekeeper magazine, which members should now have.
We wanted to clear up any errors immediately.
In the article on the Hunting with Dogs Bill, which explains why Field and Spaniel trials will not fall foul of the proposed new Bill, the editor made an errors in relaying the descriptions of the 2 different disciplines (field and spaniel trials) which were accurately given by Roddy Forbes.
We apologise to Roddy for this error in quotes attributed to him and we will also be issuing a correction in the Winter edition.
For clarification, 2 Spaniels hunt separately, on each side of the line, under each judge. The dogs are hunting different beats and are not sent out together. This complies fully with the principles set out in the Hunting with Dogs Bill draft.
At Spaniel trials, there are 2 dogs in a line, not 4. Retriever trials have 4 dogs in line, 2 with the right hand judges and 2 with the left hand judges. Dogs are sent out one at a time to pick up shot game, again complying with the Hunting with Dogs Bill draft.
We hope this clarifies the mix up between the different trial terminologies, reinforcing the point that Field and Spaniel trials will not fall foul of the Hunting with Dogs Bill, as currently drafted.
