I know I m going to get my head bitten off but here goes anyway

merlotgran

You can't shoot pheasants in August so he should be safe.

Can you shoot peasants in August??

I'll leave you all to rabbit on

If you see hunters coming at you, duck!

If you see hunters coming at you, duck or grouse!

I knew I didn’t like these 2, now I know why!!!! Shooting poor innocent birds, disgusting!!! Just cannot bear the thought of ANY animals getting killed for humans.

I agree with you bluebells it’s totally unacceptable behaviour.

I don’t think the people shooting grouse for fun are starving or in wretched poverty.

I really cannot see the difference between this form of killing for food or the slaughter of cows, chickens, pigs, etc. They are all bred to become food... I always find it rather hypocritical when I read people’s outrage at seeing photos of a hunter gloating over their kill when those same people don’t think twice about buying a chicken in a supermarket.... killing anything is wrong but then again I’m vegan so I have a tendency to feel strongly ?

I can’t understand why people don’t mind seeing intelligent animals like pigs or chickens abused and tormented on an industrial scale but are horrified that other culture do the same to dogs and cats

The thing with grouse shooting it’s done for pleasure, not food. Some of them get eaten but most don’t. Also the management of grouse moors has meant killing by trapping or shooting numerous wildlife species, some of whom are protected.

Lemongrove, you are correct. Pheasant are safe until 1/10.

I really cannot see the difference between this form of killing for food or the slaughter of cows, chickens, pigs, etc. They are all bred to become food... I always find it rather hypocritical when I read people’s outrage at seeing photos of a hunter gloating over their kill when those same people don’t think twice about buying a chicken in a supermarket*

Well you are quite wrong the shooting of birds or any hunters trophy is NOT for food but for FUN so that’s the difference
isa66

merlotgran

*trisher*, My experience of shooting parties is that they are strictly protected from inexperienced townees who can't just turn up because they have shedloads of cash. They have to have a gun licence for a start and be approved by the owner of the shoot.

Any dog killing a bird would never be allowed on a shoot again. Retrievers are soft mouthed and are trained to take injured birds back to their owners or dog handler. They are instructed in the direction to take when they retrieve. They are not allowed to just 'run in.'

Beaters are not allowed to break the line. Their own safety depends on them obeying the rules.

Injured birds are swiftly dispatched.

I wish I could believe that things are as safe as you say merlogran unfortunately I think this is such big business now that it is unlikely that any real checks are done on the shooter. I could in fact book a shoot for £75.
There are over 1000 pheasant shoots available on this website www.gunsonpegs.com/shooting
Many duck and other shoots. Grouse shooting is rarer -only 100.
It's not difficult to get a gun licence, no one tests your ability, just your criminal history.
So the dog will just carry an injured bird in its mouth? That doesn't make me feel better.

I haven’t been to many shoots but the ones that I have been to have been meticulous in checking licenses. You can shoot without one but then someone with a license has to let you use their gun and be responsible for you. That means your behaviour as well as your ability to shoot. At every shoot the gamekeeper is watching the guns. If someone was just messing about and hadn’t got a clue what they were doing they would be stood down.
A representative from the police visit each gun license holder in their home on a regular basis. They check that the guns and cartridges are being kept in a safe secure place. I don’t even know where myDH keeps the keys.

I haven’t been to a shoot that hasn’t, IMO, upheld the highest standards of care but I haven’t been to many. I expect that there are some that don’t.

At the last shoot there were 8guns. The average kill was 8 birds. Each gun was allowed a brace. The rest went to a game dealer.

It's not difficult to get a gun licence

I'm sorry trisher but this is absolute nonsense; obtaining a gun license has become a lot harder in recent years, and a good thing too.
The application for a shotgun, or any firearms licence, has to be made via your local police force or completion of an online government application form. You need 2 referees, ideally from your GP and one other person who has known you personally for more than 10 years. The police check to see if the applicant has any criminal convictions and if they have, the police can just deny the issuing of the license, not just in your area, but nationwide, so that ban will follow you wherever you move to. Once you have your firearms licence, you then have to apply for another license to be able to buy ammunition for it. Your gun must be kept in a registered gun cabinet; it must be bolted to a wall so that it can't be stolen along with it's contents. Your ammunition must be stored in a separate safe cabinet. You get a visit from the police or firearms officer, at least once a year, and they check that your gun safe and ammo store is to standard. If it's not, they revoke your licence until you rectify it and arrange another inspection. In the unfortunate event that your gun is stolen, you stand a high chance of losing your license. Because if your gun had been kept safe, it wouldn't have been stolen!

Remember, a shotgun and ammunition are a gamekeepers work tools. They respect the laws and licenses that allow them to keep a gun and take no risks.

So the dog will just carry an injured bird in its mouth? That doesn't make me feel better.

I think it is better for an injured bird to be carried back to a handler by a soft mouthed retriever than left to die where it has fallen, trisher

PamelaJ has covered the first part of your post so I don't have anything more to add.

PamelaJ has covered the first part of your post so I don't have anything more to add.

And Chewbacca

I can understand vegans being against this, but anyone who eats meat !

Much is anti royalist and or wealth , class war again .

Anniebach

I can understand vegans being against this, but anyone who eats meat !

Much is anti royalist and or wealth , class war again .

Whenever I see the 'g' being left off hunting, shooting and fishing, I agree with your last sentence.

It's not difficult to get a gun licence, no one tests your ability, just your criminal history.
None of answers indicate that there is any ability test. If I want to drive a car I am tested, but I can shoot a gun as long as I buy a licence.
merlotgran I think it is better for an injured bird to be carried back to a handler by a soft mouthed retriever than left to die where it has fallen, trisher
I think it would be better to restrict shooting to experts who kill cleanly and not let all and sundry have a go.

killing for fun ? Anyone who thinks thats normal needs to give their head a wobble .Killing for food is different ,but not gleefully shooting "game" ...the word says it all .Its barbaric and its wrong .I do live in the country and my OH had a shotgun when we met ,its long gone .

But killing animals which are loaded into a lorry and taken to
a slaughter house is acceptable, you can smell the fear and hear the cries.

Am I correct in assuming that all those who are appalled and outraged by game shooting never eat venison, partridges and hare?

Would it be correct to assume that those condemning the slaughterhouses are vegan?
I've never eaten any of pheasant, hare or venison, by the way.

I don't condemn anybody's eating habits. Each to their own, we all have to eat but I defend eating game for all the reasons already stated upthread.

Those who criticise the 'fun' element have clearly never been to a livestock auction where a great deal of pleasure is to be had in the bidding for and selling of animals destined for the slaughterhouse.