Beater (hunting)

In hunting, beaters are assistants of hunters who drive game from hiding into the open or towards the shooters by making noise and other disturbance: shouting, beating the trees and bushes with sticks, using rattles/ratchtets/clappers, shooting in the air, etc. In various countries hunting with beaters may be of special types and have special names: driven hunt/driven hunting¹ =no:Drivjakt =es:batida = battue = de:Drückjagd, de:Streifjagd ("strip hunting"), de:Kesseltreiben ("kettle driving")² de:Lappjagd sv:Klappjakt (""clap hunting"), pl:Naganka etc.

Beaters usually are unarmed, but may be accompanied with dogs. In Germany, high-visibility clothing is compulsory for beaters, for safety reasons.

In Holy Roman Empire there was a beater duty during lordly hunts, and there was a special tax for the Jews, called de:Federlappengeld, paid to exempt them from the duty.³

The expression "wikt:beat about the bush" or "beat around the bush" comes from the method of fowling when beaters beat about the bush where the flock is roosting.⁴

Beaters can wave flags on the ends of the drive line, to make the fowl stay within the shooting range.⁵