League Against Cruel
Sports
September 2016
Around 35 million non-native pheasants and partridges are factory farmed then released into the UK countryside, with around 100,000 killed every day. In addition to the massive numbers of birds involved, damaging revelations of widespread raptor killings, environmental damage, conservation failure and animal cruelty are also plaguing the shooting industry.
As millions of non-native pheasants prepare to face the guns at the official start of the shooting season tomorrow (October 1st), the shooting industry is facing an unprecedented level of pressure about the so-called ‘sport’.
Around 35 million non-native pheasants and partridges are factory farmed then released into the UK countryside, with around 100,000 killed every day. In addition to the massive numbers of birds involved, damaging revelations of widespread raptor killings, environmental damage, conservation failure and animal cruelty are also plaguing the shooting industry, say animal protection campaigners League Against Cruel Sports.
A catalogue of incidents, including the government-sanctioned killing of buzzards to ‘protect’ pheasants so they can be shot later and the RSPB’s recent withdrawal of its support for the Hen Harrier Action Plan (because of continued persecution of these protected birds of prey on grouse moors), are shining a spotlight into the murky secrets of the commercial shooting industry.
Controversial news that the government is issuing licenses to allow pheasant shoots to kill recovering and protected buzzards in order to protect their profits has been slammed by conservation experts.
Eduardo Gonçalves, Chief Executive for the League Against Cruel Sports said: “Have you ever seen a buzzard gliding in the cool air? Their somewhat ugly name belies the beauty of these magnificent birds, which are just starting to recover in the wild after being protected for many years. Unbelievably, just as their numbers are stablising, the government has issued licences for gamekeepers to shoot them.
“Here’s the irony. They are being allowed to shoot protected birds to protect birds which will then be shot. If the cruelty and collateral damage of the shooting industry already wasn’t enough, then surely this must be enough for people to say ‘enough is enough”.
Public opinion against bird shooting in general has surged, with an e-petition attracting around 123,000 signatures supporting a ban on driven grouse shooting, triggering a debate in Parliament.
Evidence is mounting that the UK shooting industry is implicated in:
Mr Gonçalves continued: “The UK’s shooting industry is under siege. It’s impossible for them to put a positive PR spin on raptor killings, cruelty to wildlife and shooting birds for entertainment.
“With its massive support for a petition to ban driven grouse shooting, the public is seeing through the industry’s increasingly desperate attempts to justify its existence. Arguments based on conservation, the environment, morality, animal welfare and economics have all been blown out of the water.
“Every time a shooting estate kills a bird of prey, it’s taking another potshot at the UK’s economy. Every time a gamekeeper sets a snare, it’s a step backwards for wildlife conservation and animal welfare. And every time the shooting lobby tries to vilify anti-shooting campaigners, another damaging exposé reveals its true colours.
“It’s time for an independent inquiry into the UK’s shooting industry”.
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