Is bird shooting ethical?
Of course not.
It is simply unethical and immoral to raise and sell huge numbers of birds as live targets for consumers (the clients of shooting estates and shooting syndicates) to maim or kill.
It is unethical to kill protected birds of prey and a countless number of foxes to ‘protect’ those live targets long enough for them to be sold to shooters.
And it is unethical of shooters to wilfully turn a blind eye to the damage and illegality linked with their hobby. They know full well what is taking place but choose to say nothing.
Besides which, birds are sentient, intelligent animals. Even a government that had previously shown scant regard for animal welfare recognised all animals as sentient in April 2022 with the approval of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill.
Sentience means that animals have the capacity to experience positive and negative feelings such as pleasure, joy, pain and distress.
In what world could anyone claim what they’re doing is ethical while causing suffering, pain, and distress to sentient animals?
The shooting industry would rather we don’t think of the birds they sell as living or sentient. It hopes we won’t see the wildlife crime that underpins it. It protests that there is nothing wrong with killing millions of animals for ‘fun’
Of course it is wrong and we will challenge shooting’s narrative on every occasion possible through our campaigning and media work.
