hunting licence
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Belgium
Posts: 996
hunting licence
I just started a 45h course to get my official belgian huntinglicence. It's a official degree in environment management.
We have to pass a theoretical exam which covers the biology of all species, habitats and maintenance of them. All so the laws about weapons and hunting in general. If you pass then you need to do a practical exam on firearms and legal hunting, you need to shoot clays and a still target on different ranges and complete a course in hunters safety. After that you are an offical hunter in charge of pest control and maintaining species in your area.
You can get charged by farmers for damages to crops done by any huntable animals in your territory.
The laws here are incredible, for instance we can hunt from sun up to sundown except on rabbits, these you can hunt from 1h before sun up to 30min after sundown. And a small deer species you can from 1h before and 1h after sundown. But not when there's snow on the ground. etc.....
Unfortunatly we live in an overpopulated country where hunting leases have to be 40 acres without being cut by railroads, highways and canals ( which is virtually impossible here )
And to make things worse, the country is divided in three language spoken provinces, french, flemish and german which have laws on their own.
You can hunt deer but you can't move the shot deer from the french side to the flemish side without a special permit
Some species are protected in one area, some aren't....
I have around 500 pages to study...
But what's cool is that you actually have a degree afterwards which is the best defence against so called environmentalists who try and tell you what you have or can't do in the forest.
Do you americans have similar issues, I wonder.... ???
Frank
Belgium
We have to pass a theoretical exam which covers the biology of all species, habitats and maintenance of them. All so the laws about weapons and hunting in general. If you pass then you need to do a practical exam on firearms and legal hunting, you need to shoot clays and a still target on different ranges and complete a course in hunters safety. After that you are an offical hunter in charge of pest control and maintaining species in your area.
You can get charged by farmers for damages to crops done by any huntable animals in your territory.
The laws here are incredible, for instance we can hunt from sun up to sundown except on rabbits, these you can hunt from 1h before sun up to 30min after sundown. And a small deer species you can from 1h before and 1h after sundown. But not when there's snow on the ground. etc.....
Unfortunatly we live in an overpopulated country where hunting leases have to be 40 acres without being cut by railroads, highways and canals ( which is virtually impossible here )
And to make things worse, the country is divided in three language spoken provinces, french, flemish and german which have laws on their own.
You can hunt deer but you can't move the shot deer from the french side to the flemish side without a special permit
Some species are protected in one area, some aren't....
I have around 500 pages to study...
But what's cool is that you actually have a degree afterwards which is the best defence against so called environmentalists who try and tell you what you have or can't do in the forest.
Do you americans have similar issues, I wonder.... ???
Frank
Belgium
#2
Frank, We don't have anything remotely close to those requirements here in IL to get a license.
I really think there should be testing as well as marksmanship testing, but with the financial state of most states I don't see it happening. They just want your $$
Dan
I really think there should be testing as well as marksmanship testing, but with the financial state of most states I don't see it happening. They just want your $$
Dan
#3
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Belgium
Posts: 996
Ow, I forgot to mention this whole process will cost me around 500 euros as well, before I get the degree.
And if I fail, well then I'll have to pay more than half again...
I saw people who went through this 4 times before they passed...
F.
And if I fail, well then I'll have to pay more than half again...
I saw people who went through this 4 times before they passed...
F.
#4
But what's cool is that you actually have a degree afterwards which is the best defence against so called environmentalists who try and tell you what you have or can't do in the forest.
Do you americans have similar issues, I wonder.... ???
Do you americans have similar issues, I wonder.... ???
(just kidding)
Some states require that you pass a hunters' safety course, to be eligible for a hunting license. Some states require out-of-state hunters to pass an IBEP class (International Bowhunters Education Program).
But, I'd say we have too many people hunting with little to no oversight. I know your system is inconvenient. But, it likely weeds out "some" that don't give the privelege the respect it deserves.
Good luck.
#5
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Belgium
Posts: 996
Yes, in that way the system works. You have about a 60% chance of passing. The exam has three x 15 questions, multiple choice. But here's the tricky part, when you answer wrong, you get -1.
It weeds out the incapable, for sure, but it isn't dickhead proof.
Too many times a guy with a gun in his hands thinks he can do what he wants.....
F.
It weeds out the incapable, for sure, but it isn't dickhead proof.
Too many times a guy with a gun in his hands thinks he can do what he wants.....
F.
#6
That's way over the top IMO. I understand knowing the law and being competent w/the weapon of choice, but no need to go through anything like that. I guess kids are out of luck?
Our state requires a hunter safety education class, which takes a day and a half of course work and ends with a test. The instructor (in my hometown anyway) goes over the test questions before everyone takes the test. Most kids get 90 - 100% correct. I think it is great because that way they learn what they need to know. After the always point the barrel in safe direction, unload before crossing a fence, how to carry a gun stuff, a lot of the real learning comes from in the field experience; dad, mom, grandpa, buddy, making mistakes, etc. There is no need to learn Biology in order to hunt. Way over the top.
Our state requires a hunter safety education class, which takes a day and a half of course work and ends with a test. The instructor (in my hometown anyway) goes over the test questions before everyone takes the test. Most kids get 90 - 100% correct. I think it is great because that way they learn what they need to know. After the always point the barrel in safe direction, unload before crossing a fence, how to carry a gun stuff, a lot of the real learning comes from in the field experience; dad, mom, grandpa, buddy, making mistakes, etc. There is no need to learn Biology in order to hunt. Way over the top.
#8
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Belgium
Posts: 996
actually it think it's a little too much, but on the other hand, I think it has done good for the public opinion. Most hunters here are respected people who do more than shoot critters. We maintain a balance between people and animal habitat.
It's very hard to have an ecosystem in balance, we have 10 million people living in a small industrial country. So making sure that flora and fauna can survive here is not easy.
1/3 of all living native species are endangered so having a bunch of guys killing everything doesn't help. But some animals have found there niche and are prosperous, so we do have some controlling to do on deer populations, wild boar, pigeon and fasants....
before we had those laws, we had wolves, bear, two more species of deer, lynx, so you see.....
F.
F.
It's very hard to have an ecosystem in balance, we have 10 million people living in a small industrial country. So making sure that flora and fauna can survive here is not easy.
1/3 of all living native species are endangered so having a bunch of guys killing everything doesn't help. But some animals have found there niche and are prosperous, so we do have some controlling to do on deer populations, wild boar, pigeon and fasants....
before we had those laws, we had wolves, bear, two more species of deer, lynx, so you see.....
F.
F.