New Animal Aid guide gives ammunition to anti-shooters

Most importantly, How to Oppose Shooting: A Practical Guide offers clear advice on how human victims of so-called sport shooting can curb the worst excesses and seek remedies.

The guide has been produced because the number of people who have approached Animal Aid over the last two years, complaining of shoot-related problems, has risen dramatically. The reason for the upsurge is probably, in part, due to the increasing number of birds now produced every year to be shot for sport (nearly 50 million pheasants and partridges). Another reason is the intensive campaigning on the issue that Animal Aid has been undertaking in all regions of the UK. Street demonstrations – invariably featuring the giant cuddly mascot, Phileas the Pheasant – have been staged in dozens of towns. And letters exposing the cruelty of shooting have been published in regional newspapers across the country.

Included in the 38-page, fully-illustrated, online document are sections describing: different types of shooting and their seasons; ‘predator’ and ‘pest’ control; firearms law; the law relating to trespass, sporting rights and local planning; how shoots are taxed and how those taxes are often evaded; the key shooting magazines and lobby groups; and sample campaign letters.

Equally important are the series of case studies. These describe what members of the public have had to contend with and come with practical advice that serves as a guide to any reader troubled by a shoot.

Says Animal Aid Director Andrew Tyler:

‘Of course, the true victims of so-called gamebird shooting are the millions of birds – most of them purpose-bred – who are killed every year, together with the wildlife that is slaughtered because it is judged to pose an economic threat to the profits of those engaged in this disgusting activity. But a great many people who live in the vicinity of shoots also suffer grievously. As well as having to witness the carnage, they are often bullied and threatened and their privacy is invaded. How to Oppose Shooting: A Practical Guide lets them know that they are not alone and that there is action that can be taken.’

More information

• For further information and interviews, contact Andrew Tyler or Kit Davidson on 01732 364546.
• Download a copy of the Guide

Notes to Editors

• Annually in Britain, around 50 million pheasants and partridges are purpose-bred to be used as feathered targets. According to the industry itself, a mere eight million are sold to game dealers. Even pro-shooting articles have made reference to birds being buried in specially-dug pits because there is so little demand for their meat.
• Millions more animals – such as stoats, foxes and crows – are killed by gamekeepers as they are seen to pose a threat to the gamebirds.
• For background, please visit the anti-shooting campaign homepage