Thermal on .410 is just the job for rats

Essex farmer Robert Bucknell has a problem with rats around his pheasant feeders. He doesn’t like to use poison in case it harms the owls. But he has a plan. He’s fitted a HIK Micro Thunder thermal scope to his Hushpower .410 shotgun. If he waits up in the warmth of his truck at dusk, he should be able to hit the rats while they’re lurking in the undergrowth.
For more about HIK Micro thermal scopes, go to www.hikmicrote...
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We’re proud to promote enjoyment of fieldsports and the countryside. There are three guiding principles to everything we do on Fieldsports Channel:
▶ Shoot responsibly
▶ Respect the quarry
▶ Ensure a humane, clean and quick kill
Why shoot rats?
There are thought to be more than 10 million rats in the UK (…yuk).
Rats carry many diseases which can spread to humans, normally through their urine, including: leptospirosis or Weil's disease, salmonella, listeria, toxoplasma gondii and hantavirus.
Rodent contamination also presents a significant risk to livestock health. Both cattle and sheep will ingest a large proportion of faecal contamination (Daniels & Hutchings 2001).
Rats can also inflict structural damage. They can cause fires by gnawing away the insulation around electrical cables, floods by puncturing pipes and they chew through gas pipes. The insurance sector has estimated that rodent damage to wiring is responsible for 25% of all electrical fires in buildings.
Finally, rats can ruin an organisation's reputation. If clients and customers spot evidence of rodent infestation in the premises you manage, they are unlikely to want to do business with you.