UK gardening - REVEALED! 40% of birds shot for ‘sport’ are wounded and never recovered

Author

REVEALED! 40% of birds shot for ‘sport’ are wounded and never recovered

Polly

2007-06-30, 1:25 pm

REVEALED! 40% of birds shot for ‘sport’ are wounded and never
recovered

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAM...sant/ALL/1615//
A former senior officer with Britain’s leading shooting lobby group
has revealed that up to 40 per cent of all birds shot at for sport are
wounded rather than killed outright, and are never recovered.

The revelation came at an employment tribunal at which the former
Training and Development Officer for the British Association for
Shooting and Conservation (BASC) was claiming that he had been bullied
out of his job.

Giving evidence under oath at the Shrewsbury hearing, Geoffrey
Underwood explained that BASC had conducted research in order to
dispose of allegations by bloodsports opponents that 30 per cent of
game birds shot at on driven shoots were dying painful and protracted
deaths because they were never recovered after being wounded.
Underwood’s evidence was that an even greater number of birds did not
die outright. ‘The BASC discovered,’ he said, ‘that 30 - 40 per cent
of birds shot at are wounded and go off to die in the woods.’

When asked by the Tribunal Chairman to explain his allegation, he
replied: ‘People are atrocious at judging the effective range of
shotguns. This is a factor of lack of training.’

During an adjournment, Underwood repeated to an Animal Aid
representative that he personally took part in the research. A number
of driven shoots were examined. He had been issued with an event
counter and recorded the number of birds who were clearly hit. (The
effective lethal range of a shotgun is less than 35 yards.) The count
of birds hit against the count of birds recovered was compared. BASC,
Underwood told Animal Aid, was disappointed that its results showed
that more birds were wounded than the number claimed by bloodsports
opponents. It took the decision not to publish the results.

Says Animal Aid Shooting Consultant, Kit Davidson:

‘Some 40 million intensively reared pheasants and partridges are
released in Britain each year to be killed for fun. Millions are run
over or die from starvation and disease before they can be shot. And
now we have it on good authority that 15 million die slowly from their
wounds or become the easy prey for predators. The Dutch have banned
the purpose-breeding of birds to be shot for sport. We urgently need
just such a ban in Britain.’

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACT...tion/ALL/1125//

amacmil304@aol.com

2007-06-30, 5:25 pm

On Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:18:48 +0100, Polly <Polly@Poll.Org> wrote:

>REVEALED! 40% of birds shot for ‘sport’ are wounded and never
>recovered
>
>http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAM...sant/ALL/1615//
>A former senior officer with Britain’s leading shooting lobby group
>has revealed that up to 40 per cent of all birds shot at for sport are
>wounded rather than killed outright, and are never recovered.
>
>The revelation came at an employment tribunal at which the former
>Training and Development Officer for the British Association for
>Shooting and Conservation (BASC) was claiming that he had been bullied
>out of his job.
>
>Giving evidence under oath at the Shrewsbury hearing, Geoffrey
>Underwood explained that BASC had conducted research in order to
>dispose of allegations by bloodsports opponents that 30 per cent of
>game birds shot at on driven shoots were dying painful and protracted
>deaths because they were never recovered after being wounded.
>Underwood’s evidence was that an even greater number of birds did not
>die outright. ‘The BASC discovered,’ he said, ‘that 30 - 40 per cent
>of birds shot at are wounded and go off to die in the woods.’
>
>When asked by the Tribunal Chairman to explain his allegation, he
>replied: ‘People are atrocious at judging the effective range of
>shotguns. This is a factor of lack of training.’
>
>During an adjournment, Underwood repeated to an Animal Aid
>representative that he personally took part in the research. A number
>of driven shoots were examined. He had been issued with an event
>counter and recorded the number of birds who were clearly hit. (The
>effective lethal range of a shotgun is less than 35 yards.) The count
>of birds hit against the count of birds recovered was compared. BASC,
>Underwood told Animal Aid, was disappointed that its results showed
>that more birds were wounded than the number claimed by bloodsports
>opponents. It took the decision not to publish the results.
>
>Says Animal Aid Shooting Consultant, Kit Davidson:
>
>‘Some 40 million intensively reared pheasants and partridges are
>released in Britain each year to be killed for fun. Millions are run
>over or die from starvation and disease before they can be shot. And
>now we have it on good authority that 15 million die slowly from their
>wounds or become the easy prey for predators. The Dutch have banned
>the purpose-breeding of birds to be shot for sport. We urgently need
>just such a ban in Britain.’
>
>http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/ACT...tion/ALL/1125//

Absolutely! But the shooting of all birds should be banned.

Angus Macmillan
www.roots-of-blood.org.uk
www.killhunting.org
www.con-servation.org.uk

All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident.
-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

LinkBot