October 1: Start of the pheasant shooting season

An important interim goal is an end to the use of metal battery cages in which thousands of pheasants, as well as partridges, used for egg production, are confined.

A major investigation, commissioned by Defra and published in August, was supposed to look at whether the cages could meet the birds’ welfare needs. Instead, it simply assessed different kinds of so-called enrichments – none of which made much difference to the birds. This is because the cages are grossly abusive and no amount of enrichment will change that fact.

In our opposition to these metal prisons, we have the public on our side. A YouGov opinion poll we commissioned last year found that 77 per cent of respondents opposed their use. That figure rose to 87 per cent when counting only those who expressed a view.

Gun lobby spokespeople, in the weeks to come, will aim to fill newspaper columns and the airwaves with a sunshine and roses fantasy picture of their bloody sport. Please counter their propaganda with the truth. Full background and undercover footage can be found on our website.

Please ask friends on Facebook and Twitter to do the same.