Shooting policy
The League Against Cruel Sports is opposed to the shooting of animals for sport. Our policy is based both on our moral objection to killing for sport and because of the unnecessary suffering that is caused by sport shooting. These problems are particularly notable in (but are not restricted to) the commercial shooting industry.
The League campaigns to raise public awareness on shooting for sport, and seeks government and parliamentary action to address these concerns. The League believes that the shooting of wild and farmed birds for sport is morally wrong and should be banned.
Intensive rearing
Every year, tens of millions of pheasants and partridges are bred to supply live targets for shooting. The birds are subject to chronic overcrowding, resulting in stress-related behavioural problems, including cannibalism. The aggression seen in the birds is 'managed' by the use of bits and masks. Even the British Association of Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has been forced to acknowledge that some current rearing conditions are unacceptable.
The League believes that the conditions inherent in the intensive rearing of gamebirds are inherently cruel, and that such intensive rearing should be banned.
Insufficient research has been done on the environmental impacts of mass releases of gamebirds and this should be addressed. However, it has been estimated that the autumnal release of reared gamebirds represents a pheasant biomass 600% greater than all other UK birds together. Clearly, this cannot be good for biodiversity. Of the tens of millions of birds released, less than half are actually shot by paying customers. The remainder die of disease, are taken by predators, killed on the roads or otherwise disappear.
The League believes that the release of intensively reared gamebirds into the wild is inherently cruel, is damaging to biodiversity and should be banned.
Predator control
Many shooting estates seek to maximise the birds available for shooting by killing predators. Persecution of endangered birds of prey on shooting estates is a widely acknowledged problem. Shoots are responsible for the slaughter of millions of mammals and birds every year in an attempt to prolong the lives of the gamebirds so that they may become feathered targets.
Extrapolation from the Game Conservancy Trust's own research suggests that, on average during the year, as many as 12,300 mammals and birds are snared, trapped, shot or poisoned every day. These millions of sentient victims of commercial shoots have included protected badgers, foxes, hares, stags, owls and kestrels, as well as untargeted domestic livestock and pets. While some of this wildlife slaughter, undertaken by gamekeepers at the behest of shooting estate owners, is illegal, much is currently legal.
The League believes that the killing of wild animals to facilitate further killing for sport is wrong and should be banned.
One for the pot
Our position is simple. We are against killing for sport and against using a live animal as a target. If someone wants to eat a pheasant, it should be raised and killed humanely. Abandoning it into the countryside and then stalking and killing it with a gun is a bloodsport not a necessity.
Injuries
Shooting by amateurs, the deliberate selection of difficult shots (such as high shoots), and the shooting of moving animals and birds will inevitably lead to wounding. Even a wounding rate as low as two in every hundred (2%) would suggest that hundreds of thousands of gamebirds are wounded each year.
Guns and licences
The League believes that no one should be licensed to use a gun without adequate training and before having passed a suitable competency test, which would also cover the issue of utility.
The League believes that no one should be given a licence to use a gun to kill live animals for sport or entertainment.