Do you, or anyone you know, shoot living things for sport?

jackyann

artichoke wrote: »

we do see a lot of "road kill" badgers that suddenly appear one night .....no raod kill for weeks then suddenly 6 in one night... so i also think people are finding their own solutions..

I have also seen people lamping badgers - which worries me as i have black and white springers that run through the same fields at night..

We have not got a TB problem here - we keep the cows as far away from the fields with the badger sets...and try and keep everyone's immune systems healthy..

Art

Some years ago, the police asked us to report all dead badgers for this reason. However, I last rang up about 3 years ago, as they said "not interested any more".

And if OP is still following this, she might like a little story about a family I knew. Their philosophy was that they would eat some meat as long as "the animal had led a happy life". This led to their young childen questioning every family they went to tea with "did the piogs that went into these sausages have a happy life?" "Ummmmm...."

Lotus-eater

jackyann wrote: »

And if OP is still following this, she might like a little story about a family I knew. Their philosophy was that they would eat some meat as long as "the animal had led a happy life". This led to their young childen questioning every family they went to tea with "did the piogs that went into these sausages have a happy life?" "Ummmmm...."

Not bad though is it? Maybe it made some people think.

artichoke

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Not bad though is it? Maybe it made some people think.

yep my kids always ask this when served meat.. they ask which farm did it come from? where was it killed? as they know the standards at the different local farms and they know which abattoirs we use and what we think of some of the others, plus if it is poultry they know how we hand kill them..

DS age 6 always pluck his own chickens.

My kids are young primary but they do ask difficult questions about the meat they eat.. i used to feel embarrassed but now i do think it makes other people think about the cheapo chicken they are eating.

Art

aliasojo

alyth wrote: »

To the OP are these oganised shoots or randoms killing the animals - I have a vague idea where you live and from memory that are no estates in your locality.

to the OP - don't you come from up north - do you know the damage that is caused by deer straying onto the A9?

And for deer you can also insert pheasant. Here they are bred specifically for shooting parties - but they are a nuisance - and having hit one at around 30 mph when it flew into my car windscreen, I'm well aware of the damage they can cause!

I would be surprised if you did know anything about estates in the area we live now or came from as I have never mentioned anything other than 'Highlands' or 'central belt' in my posts. As these are wide areas, you wouldn't really be able to pinpoint much?

They are organised shoots.

As it happens, I do have first hand experience of the damage deer can do but this isn't really relevant to the subject of pheasant shooting. Also on our journey down here, our self drive van mirror was hit by a huge bird of prey and it caused a surprising amount of damage. Sadly, it must have died instantly. So no different to the damage caused by pheasant but again not really relevant imo.

purpleprincess wrote: »

I haven't read the whole thread but I'm surprised this is new to you...haven't you just moved from an area where this is REALLY popular?

Deer, pheasants, grouse, rabbits, foxes, migrating geese etc...I would have thought you'd be (sadly) used the sound of gunshot.

Clearly this does happen in the Highlands too but I can hand on heart swear that I have never seen or heard it before now. We're much more rural now than were then so that obviously plays a part.

Fritillary

Peater wrote: »

Indeed, if they were true roadkill, you would find a car minus radiator and sump a few hundred yards up the road. Tough little !!!!!!s!

I never see Badger roadkill round here but when I go visit my parents I occasionally see maybe 10 Badgers at a time dead on a busy stretch of road. I always thought 'how do so many get run over at once?' Can't believe how stupid that sounds now!

Derivative

I don't understand the mentality of someone who can take a life or cause pain to another living thing *just* for fun. These people are not hunting for food, they are hunting for sport. I also don't understand why they can't substitute clay pigeons in place of a live bird. The object is to hit a target so why does it have to be a live one?

Why should they substitute clay pigeons?
If they are happy shooting live game then the only reason to do so would be to satisfy your emotional needs.

There is no need to project your viewpoint onto others' activities.

I don't shoot, but I see this line of argument all the time - what they are doing does not affect you. Why do you feel the need to demonise it?

aliasojo

EdgEy wrote: »

There is no need to project your viewpoint onto others' activities.

I don't shoot, but I see this line of argument all the time - what they are doing does not affect you. Why do you feel the need to demonise it?

Ah, so really we should go through life not having opinions? Or at least not sharing them or discussing them?

That's pretty much what you are saying is it not?

In fact, you really just posted to tell me I shouldn't hold this opinion, end of.

I'm glad some posters were able to offer more informative comments, as I have taken on board some things I hadn't considered before. If all comments had been similar to yours, the whole thread would just be one useless big argument.

Seanymph

The OP has asked to educate herself on something she had no prior experience of. I think that it's wonderful that so many people have learnt so much (I too drove past several badgers the other morning on the way to school and wondered why three had been hit in the same night - duh).

Fritillary

EdgEy wrote: »

Why should they substitute clay pigeons?
If they are happy shooting live game then the only reason to do so would be to satisfy your emotional needs.

There is no need to project your viewpoint onto others' activities.

I don't shoot, but I see this line of argument all the time - what they are doing does not affect you. Why do you feel the need to demonise it?

Talking of 'demonising others activities'. I would like to demonise Greyhound Racing.

I wonder how many people who shout about shooting game have a night out 'at the dogs'? These poor animals are treated terribly, beaten, starved, killed if they don't 'perform' all for the entertainment of people who want a 'fun' night out.
I use to work for someone who rescued greyhounds and some of the injuries inflicted on them were awful. (including one dog who had a hot poker shoved up his backside to make it run) I put it on a par with how fox hunting used to be done. At least a fox meets its death, greyhounds have to live their nightmare over and over again.

Surely a far worse 'sport' than shooting?

victory

This is a very interesting website about pheasant shooting and how 35 million are special bred, while they are imprisoned many die from diesases,starvation and being hit by cars before they even get shot....
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/images/pdf/factfiles/pheasant.pdf