Shooting birds for fun
Most birds that are shot for "sport" in the UK are in effect factory farmed prior to being released into our countryside.
This film was taken in 2005 by an investigator for the Animal Cruelty Investigation Group at Bettws Hall Game Hatchery, Powys. It shows the reality of factory farming birds that can later be shot for "sport". There is nothing natural in this. Each year millions of these birds bred here and at other hatcheries are released into our countryside. Their presence alone and in particular the measures taken by gamekeepers to protect them until they can be shot has a devastating effect on our natural wildlife.
Some pictures of a shoot in progress - the end of one drive:-
Predator control
To protect birds reared for shooting gamekeepers wage an incessant war against our natural wildlife. Some of this killing is legal some of it illegal - all of it is unnecessary.
Foxes are widely slaughtered. Here is a picture of a scene left by the shooting fraternity to taunt those who care about our wildlife:-
Traps and snares
Thousands of these are scattered about our countryside - they are the equivalent of land-mines for our wildlife. Here a legally set Fenn trap claims another victim:-
This trap was set by a gamekeeper to protect shooting interests. Our wildlife pays a terrible price so that a few can have fun killing.