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

I'm sure eating game is no different than eating any other animal, to my mind.

It's the "sporting" element that I find distasteful.

If you remove the competitive element from sport the definition describes an activity involving physical exertion and skill.

Add in the pleasure of training and working your dog and you have a much healthier pastime than brawling outside a football stadium.

The website posted here do shots which incorporate all those elements, but don't involve live prey, though.

Oh my rotten phone!!
It keeps making up it's own sentences.

I think it's going to start posting it's own opinions, soon.

MissAdventure

Chewbacca

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

I have eaten all three Chewbacca. I don't eat them now, in fact I eat very little meat. I have a friend whose husband shoots deer, he's employed by local farmers to keep the numbers down because they are such a problem. He shoots them quickly and cleanly which means they die swiftly and the numbers are kept at a level the land can support. It isn't a social occassion or an opportunity to show off, it's doing an essential country job. I have no problem with that.

MissAdventure

Oh my rotten phone!!
It keeps making up it's own sentences.

I think it's going to start posting it's own opinions, soon.

That's my excuse too

It's the "sporting" element that I find distasteful.
What about angling?

My phone says it doesn't like angling, either.
Although it did mention the grey area surrounding the question of whether fish can feel pain.

How about bull fighting?
Or throwing goats off tall buildings?

Callistemon Don't most anglers set their catch free? I know Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer do!!!

Yes they do, trisher if it's coarse fishing. Salmon and trout are game so they can be taken home to eat.

MissA A scientific panel commissioned by the EU stated that after examining research “the balance of evidence indicates that some fish species have the capacity to experience pain” and that “responses of fish of some species and under certain situations suggest they are able to experience fear”.

Ah, thank you.
I'd better cross fishing off my non existent bucket list, then.

My OH fishes but puts them back The local river 100 yards from my door has Salmon ,it costs a lot of money for a permit so its not a poor mans sport /pastime

I dont eat fowl ,any fowl...nor pork and very little red meat .I was vegetarian but was advised to eat a little meat because of a health issue .I dont have a problem with meat eaters,any meat that comes into my home is local ,so I know who reared it and how it was reared .I also know it wasn't someones idea of a good laugh to kill it

DH hasn't been game fishing for years. He's likely to do himself a serious mischief trying to cast a fly with no peripheral vision.

He hates carp fishing with a passion. The fish are overstocked and artificially fed attracting people who are generally unsporting trophy hunters.

Coarse fishing is his hobby these days and the rules are you put them all back.

I also know it wasn't someones idea of a good laugh to kill it

I've never met anyone who thought shooting game was 'a good laugh'. Most take it very seriously. The enjoyment comes from being out in the countryside, pitting their skills against birds who have a good chance of getting away and working their dogs who are keen to show off their skills.

Bringing home a share of the bag is part of an enjoyable day out. Surplus birds go to game dealers, restaurants etc.

There might be some friendly rivalry as there is in any sport but no gloating.

Another little known fact is that after the public have gone home, many open- to- the-public estates including botanic gardens, "cull" the grey squirrels because of the damage they do to the trees.
A necessary evil?

I think it is, although we have a resident one in our garden and he/she does look so sweet when nibbling on the hazelnuts.
Yes, I know they are classed as vermin and are a nuisance but this one has a name!

It would be wonderful to see the native red squirrel increase in number and area.

Has William said grouse shooting was a good laugh ?

Yes Callistemon we all love tufty but again there has been a cull of the greys in order to encourage the reds.
I am not sure where I stand on this. Is it the slippery slope to animal cruelty or is it good land management?.
At least they aren't poisoned.
What do others do with unwanted mice, snails or slugs? I kill them but I don't take a selfie.

Those cute little grey squirrels can be deadly to red squirrels.

Squirrel pox is a highly infectious disease that is fatal to red squirrels. Grey squirrels are carriers of the disease but do not suffer any symptoms. It only takes 1 grey squirrel to introduce the disease into a red squirrel population after which it can spread rapidly.

There has been several confirmed cases of squirrel pox at Formby recently (autumn 2019). Squirrel pox is carried by grey squirrels but they do not normally suffer from any symptoms. However, it is often fatal to red squirrels which will develop lesions around the eyes, mouth and on the paws.

So yes, grey squirrels do need to be managed.

Poor grey squirrels. They have a right to live too.

If it’s just being out in the countryside with dogs that’s pleasant and not the killing, there there are plenty of long walks to go on.