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Encouraging responsible metal detecting
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nigelswift
8112 posts

Re: Encouraging responsible metal detecting
Jul 28, 2005, 02:24
Having spent every day for a year talking to detectorists and attending a club meeting and several rallies and reading all the reports and stats I think I now have a good handle on what goes on. IMO the whole issue is stuck in a bind, as illustrated by what has been said here. Bad stuff goes on, good stuff goes on. Complaints about bad stuff get defended by citing good stuff. Curate's eggs aren't bad but they sure ain't good.

So ALL that can be done, rationally, is to say "how much is bad and does the good outweigh it?"

I've taken the kindest possible figures from the hobby's point of view: 1750 reported finds last year, 8,000 didn't. On that basis, I deduce bad stuff is probably dominant, BUT I haven't called for a ban, merely for social pressure.

My reasonableness in all this should be measured against the fact that Bill Wyman, celebrity detectorist, recently put the number of detectorists at 150,000. He's probably wrong, but many other estimates have been far higher than mine, none have been lower so it might be that my figures for the number of non-reporters are way too kind. What doesn't change however, and is a matter of solid official record, is that after 7 years of the scheme only 1750 people reported to it last year and that's not on. Unless it changes the govt. will pull the plug on PAS as a lousy investment and then banning the hobby altogether will follow.
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