I am not anti hunt, coursing or country folks way of life. But i cannot understand why anyone would want to hand rear, feed and create the tamest wild bird in the land just so the can scare it up and shoot it. They call killing the tamest bird in the country sport. mmmmmmmmmmmmm i'm missing something here.
You see these pheasants walking along roads not a care in the world. No fear of man in most of them. I cannot think of anything sicker than breeding &taming birds to kill. where is the sport in that?
if you want to hunt foxes, shoot rabbits or chase hares & rabbits with dogs get on with it, at least these animals have a sporting chance. But killing tame birds is not sport.
cheers
corni
A smile will open more doors than any key.
corni said:just think these wild animals have a chance to escape. what i don't agree with is someone maybe having to pick a pheasant up and throw it into the air so a nuttter with a shotgun can shoot it
Corni,not sure how many shoots you have been near but I have never seen anyone pick a bird up and throw it to be shot,sounds a bit dodgy for the person doing the throwing,they may be picking leadshot from places they did not know they had.If anyone picks a bird up it is probably to wring its neck after it had been badly shot so speeding its death.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
If people like shooting - why not clays.
I think there is a hunting prowess inherent in us as humans.
I have enjoyed shooting clay pigeons.
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" - Wlliam Blake
ClaireM said: If people like shooting - why not clays. I think there is a hunting prowess inherent in us as humans. I have enjoyed shooting clay pigeons.
Agree with that Claire,I have spent hours on te clays,great fun.
I am not into to hunting or any sport that means killing anything. i abhor that.
But it bothers me that many of you happily eat chicken, a beautiful bird in its own right, it never sees the light of day in many cases before short life fattened for your table.
In contrast the Pheasants I now see every day in my garden and it the adjoining fields have sunlight, food, freedom and they breed successfully. In short they have a happier more normal life than the birds farmed for profit and for your table.
I hear no outcry about the 25,000 birds in the chicken farm near me, and the millions bred everyday. Is there a double standard going on here?
Are you as guilty as the man with the gun?
Derek L said: Are you as guilty as the man with the gun?
Probably yes but to be practical we do need food to be affordable to everyone.
Hi Lewis/Seaman
I can see what is been said here about the Chickens and the Pheasants - conversation going on here.
I am a meat eater myself, and have gone through phases of being vegetarian too, and have happily done without any meat for long periods of time.
I prefer to stick to free-range or organic meat for the welfare of the animal involved - and that includes all foodstuffs.
The issue I have with Pheasant shoots, or any shoots like that is that it is built in deep tradition, and has gone on for many years (as with the Fox Hunting....another contraversel subject)... so to me, it seems to sit in with a certain area of the human population.
Shooting for Pheasants is alright with me, but it is still classed as a sport, and it is taken as that for entertainment of the kill. At least the pheasants are eaten, and the meat is not wasted so that is a blessing in itself.
Sadly, sport (not food that we need) will never go away at all as long as we all shall live from generation to come yet - so we have to live with it.
Cley Pigeon shooting is a better way to shoot for entertainment, and sport
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Derek L said: I am not into to hunting or any sport that means killing anything. i abhor that. But it bothers me that many of you happily eat chicken, a beautiful bird in its own right, it never sees the light of day in many cases before short life fattened for your table. In contrast the Pheasants I now see every day in my garden and it the adjoining fields have sunlight, food, freedom and they breed successfully. In short they have a happier more normal life than the birds farmed for profit and for your table. I hear no outcry about the 25,000 birds in the chicken farm near me, and the millions bred everyday. Is there a double standard going on here? Are you as guilty as the man with the gun?
Hi Lewis,You are so wrong.
This thread is about pheasants, hence why the debate.I have done my part for many many acts of what i see is animal cruelty, including some so horrific, i would never even begin to mention them here and i am sure other members have done the same.We can only do our bit but you are so right in that man, is responsible for all of them. However, while people demand cheap meat etc etc etc instead of fighting in the bird/animals corner we will continue to have places you mention.
It is quite insulting that on a thread like this, other issues are thrown in as if we feel they are not equally, extremely, important although i appreciate how you feel.
Back to this debate.
I am against the shooting of pheasants for fun and find it sad that the songbirds are being brought into the debate as being lucky to have a woodland that wouldn't be there if it didn't exist. It seems to me that the interest is not in helping wild-life at all anyway as it is just a side effect of the so called sport..
To suggest that if shooting didn't exist we would have no Pheasants because of loss of habitat again disturbs me.There are no exuses for taking pleasure in killing for the fun of it .
An optimist sees the beauty of the complete rose.A pessimist sees only the thorn .
Wendy S said: Are you as guilty as the man with the gun?
Why?,One should cater to ones budget as many of us have always done.There are plenty of food sources without having to resort to the inhuman conditions some animals/birds are kept in.The super markets got so greedy and bought as cheaply as they could from extremely bad sources.Hopefully, now they are just beginning to realise, we the majority of customers are not happy with that.
Hi Seaman
So true...unless you are a vegetatrian of course and then you have a valid reason to disapprove of eating meat.
There is enough food to eat and do we need more 'species' than we have already
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I am of the understanding that Pheasant meat is generally sold/given to the elite few such as other people in the same 'shooting group' or sold to restaurants like Gordon Ramsey's, or whoever has a restaurant wants food that is a little more unusual to the palate...not to forget the local farm shops too.. at a push.
Selling Pheasant in the supermarkets is something I have only seen once and that was a long time while living in Aberdeen - yes, the whole concept did not last long at all.
So it is a closed community, who want Pheasant for its food value only and is is not for every food due to the expense of the meat...easy cooking etc..