Danger on quail trail

E-collars are an invaluable safety device for hunters’ dogs in South Carolina, and David Tomlinson makes the case for their use here

- David Tomlinson

ONE OF MY LONGstanding but unachieved ambitions is to pursue bobwhite quail on horseback with pointers and setters. This is a uniquely American type of hunting, practiced principally in the southern states of Louisiana, Georgia, and South Carolina. It’s a 150-year-old tradition and, according to the experts, one of the most exciting and challenging sports for “shotgun wingshooters”. The dogs hunt widely, so when a dog comes on point, you canter over to it, dismount and hopefully get into a position for a shot.

Bobwhite are secretive birds, more often heard than seen, typically found in coveys of up to 20 birds. When they flush, the entire covey lifts as one and fast reactions are essential to get a shot. Sporting etiquette insists that once a covey has been flushed, it’s not pursued again, so the dogs have to find a fresh covey.

Like our own grey partridge, the bobwhite has declined hugely in recent years, with numbers falling by as much as 80% in some areas. Those areas where healthy populations still exist are much prized.

A friend, Angus, who has been lucky enough to go quail shooting every season for more than 30 years, was prompted to email me in response to my article on electric collars (No huge shock, 2 June). He said in all the quail hunts he has taken part in, he has yet to see a dog working without an e-collar, including spaniels and labradors. However, he added that he has hardly ever seen a dog get shocked, which prompts the question as to why the dogs all wear collars.

The answer is simple: snakes. South Carolina, for example, has nearly 50 varieties, including seven highly venomous species. The latter includes the timber rattlesnake, whose Latin name,