Here we go again….
Matt Collis (@Mattcollis9) has posted photographs on Twitter of a bagful of shot gamebirds that he found today, dumped on Withyditch Lane, Peasedown St John, Somerset:
Matt wrote:
‘I’m not against hunting. But there is no honour in sport shooting. No respect for the life taken. No honourable harvest. Certainly not from this person. Rest assured I will restore that respect, always grateful for what nature provides‘.
His next tweet:
Keep an eye out for piles of dumped shot gamebirds along hedgerows, roads, laybys, local woodland, fields etc. It happens every year, despite the desperate claims of the shooting industry reps who pretend that, “Every bird shot in Britain goes in to the food chain” (Tim Bonner, Countryside Alliance).
The annual photographs of dumped gamebirds suggest otherwise, e.g. see previous reports of shot dumped birds in Cheshire, Scottish borders (here), Norfolk (here), Perthshire (here), Berkshire (here), North York Moors National Park (here) and some more in North Yorkshire (here) and even more in North Yorkshire (here), Co. Derry (here), West Yorkshire (here), and again in West Yorkshire (here), N Wales (here), mid-Wales (here), Leicestershire (here) and Lincolnshire (here).
It seems to be a widespread problem, doesn’t it? That’s hardly a surprise when the game shooting industry is permitted to release as many non-native pheasants and red-legged partridge as it likes (estimated to be nearly 60 million EVERY YEAR), with minimal regulation, and no requirement to report on what happens to those birds once they’ve been shot for a bit of a laugh.
And let’s not forget this is the same game shooting industry that is responsible for the vast majority of illegal raptor persecution, done, it says, to protect gamebirds. That’ll be the gamebirds that are shot and then dumped, with no respect for the quarry and no respect for the local residents who’ll have to foot the bill to have the carcasses removed, unless decent, public-spirited individuals like Matt Collis find them first.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Pointless, wasteful and so damaging to the environment. No respect for wildlife, no dignity for them.
Its not wildlife that was dumped they do their best to hide all that savages all of them.
I can just hear the shooting fraternity “Fake News” “It’s a plant” “It wisnae me” “Santa dropped them” and other such ballderdash.
Such pictures HAVE to be distributed to all the members of the public who are not affiliated with any natural history organisations, to let them see what we have been saying for years.
Just evil….to think one of those poor creatures could’ve been our ‘Phinn’, the elderly, friendly and lovely pheasant who visits us daily..I despise these monsters and wish ill on them, sorry.
Phinn should not be here at all I am sorry to say but tgere can be little doubt this bird was s result of a release by these savage buggers with a view to shooting him later time it was all stopped in a modern civilised society.
I see this as a deliberate gesture by the ‘shooting bullies’; it’s two fingers to those who value and care for wildlife delivered where they know we will see it. Not caring – about anyone else but themselves – is what they do and what they want us to see that they do. Confronted by such a mindset one wonders how it will be possible to have a meaningful discussion about the future of shooting.
Utterly sickening picture, but then that is the product of the activities of sickening people who obtain pleasure from killing for fun.
Prior to reading about this I came across a similar killing spree in Spain.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55435940
What a disgusting spectacle.
Just look at the pictures of these “people” who obtain excitement from premeditated violent killing and suffering of some of the most beautiful creatures on earth.
Who would want to mix with such people or think that they may be in positions where they mix with and potentially influence children.
That such practices are tolerated is plainly wrong and immoral on all counts.
A reminder; there is no other country on earth that has industrialised game shooting to the extent that the UK does. Not even close. It is a shameful and sickening statistic, which puts in to perspective just how powerful the landed classes still are. Huge bag days have nothing to do with sustainability, respect or consideration for the wider environment; they are entertainment for people who enjoy killing sentient life. The sooner driven shooting is completely banned, the better.
once again “You Forgot the Birds” to quote Lord Beefy of Brexit xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx – with added lead poisoning of course
Disgusting acts by disgusting individuals. Absolute shame on them.
I’ve never understood who the people who shoot living souls don’t see them as LIVING SOULS?!
I am assuming that the reason the dead game birds bodies were dumped, was that upon inspection they were found to be too difficult to remove all the Lead shot. I think it is a terrible waste of life.
Question. Why are we still using Lead shot ?
Non toxic alternative to Lead must be available in the 21st Century. Why is the Legal system not enforcing the use of an alternative material ?, or at the least be encouraging the use of an alternative material.
Initially, I thought that the bodies could be donated to wildlife for a free meal, ie, local foxes, but realising that the Lead would poison them by ingestion, the bodies are only fit for worm food. Very sad indeed 🥺
Question. Why did the shooters not bury the bodies themselves, when they realised that they were unfit for consumption ?
I think that the answer to that one, is that the birds were shot purely for the joy of killing them, blood lust, power of life n death in their hands. A “true huntsman” would never show such disrespect for the life that they had taken.
Lead ??? They should not be shooting at all if this is fun god help them.
They look to be in pairs. I guess they are someone’s take home share after an organised shoot: a share which they didn’t want, so dumped beside a quiet road.
Would anyone know if this is a sensible assumption?
A possibility for sure.
On the shoot close to where I reside surplus birds can be offered to the “helpers”. Many are young lads involved in beating who only want a few quid for a day’s beating.
It’s a sensible and logical assumption.
But what could this tell us about the person who so carelessly discarded them?
Firstly they are ignorant of the law surrounding littering?
That they place no value on the lives of 10 birds they have just slaughtered?
A person who appears devoid of compassion and human decency?
A person quite prepared to kill creatures for no reason other than the perverted thrill they get from such wickedness?
(Surely it should be expected that if someone is going to shoot a game bird, then surely that person should at least have the decency to eat the bird or give it to someone who will?)
We must never forget a creatures life has been deliberately taken when a game bird is shot, and who knows what other suffering has been endured by other creatures to provide that bird to be shot?
If it’s just a matter of shooting a moving target, that can be accomplished with clay pigeons.
So yours is a sensible assumption; and we can make other assumptions, that at the very least the person who dumped these birds is a callous, selfish, spiteful individual lacking in ethical and moral value, ignorant of the law. Someone who cares nothing for the environment and the wildlife which inhabits it!!
What we might describe as thoroughly horrible individual!
Nothing at all to do with raptors or you ,nobody persecutes people for keeping birds of prey,even though a lot escape with jessies still attached causing injury and sometimes death,unfortunately the few spoil it for the majority as is every part of life
Antis again buying shot game from the butchers and dumping them to discredit shooting.why would anyone dump anything to be so easily found.only a publicity stunt.supprized there wasn’t a dead hen harriers keeping them warm!..fools to those that believe such rubbish.
In English please.
These people are mentally sick. What pleasure in killing a small defenceless bird. Cant believe this is still legal. And shotgun control is still too lax. xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Fly-tipping is defined as a criminal offence which is committed if controlled waste is:
(1)Deposited, or caused or allowed to be deposited, in a way or place not allowed by a waste management licence.
(2)Kept or managed in a way that is likely to cause pollution or harm to human health.
Fly-tipping differs from littering in that it involves the removal of waste from the premises where it was produced with the deliberate aim of disposing of it unlawfully.
The offence of fly-tipping, and the additional offences of ‘knowingly causing’ or ‘knowingly permitting’ fly-tipping, are set out in Section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Every year there are numerous reports of large numbers of game birds being dumped in our countryside or on verges.
This is fly tipping.
This is a criminal offence.
Businesses which transport waste have to have a waste carriers licence.
The Environmental Agency even has the power to seize vehicles used for fly tipping.
Anyone who produces waste has a duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure that it is disposed of properly. Therefore a person may be guilty of an offence under section 34 if their waste has been found to be dumped, even if the dumping was carried out by someone else. So the landowner or estate management company which controls a shoot can be prosecuted if dead birds from that shoot are found dumped.
Littering is described as; to throw down, drop or otherwise deposit and leave litter in any place open to the air, including private land.
Littering is also a criminal offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA), (as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005).
This would also include the act of depositing a plastic bag filled with dead game birds on the roadside, but fly tipping legislation would be more appropriate in most cases.
It would also include a failure to to pick up spent shotgun cartridges after shooting.
Litter which causes a nuisance to the public or which is prejudicial to public health (e.g. if causing infestation by rats and mice) could amount to a statutory nuisance under s 79 of the Environment Protection Act. Depositing dead animal carcasses at the roadside is very likely to be prejudicial to public health.
The fact that the dead birds are being wrapped in plastic is another matter.
Plastic is the scourge of the natural environment.
Even school children are aware of the damaging effects of plastic waste.
So what does this tell us about those engaged in shooting who dump dead birds in plastic bags in our countryside?
Clearly they have no thought or consideration for the natural environment.
Perhaps they have failed to learn about the bad effects of plastic, or maybe are so witless they can’t understand ? They appear to be quite prepared to engage in illegal behaviour.
Are such people “fit and proper” persons to be owning or managing our countryside and natural environment?
I am sure there are those estate and shoot managers who take their responsibilities very seriously and dispose of all the waste associated with shooting carefully and legally.
But there is a huge amount of evidence which shows this isn’t always the case.
Evidence which indicates just how riddled with criminal behaviour the game shooting industry is.
This criminal behaviour won’t just be confined to dumping dead birds at the roadside, it will manifest itself in all manner of activities, including raptor persecution.
So it doesn’t really matter what front pieces for the shooting industry, like Mr Botham have to say when trying to extol the virtues of killing wildlife. Every word is undermined by the hard facts of what is really taking place.
Or perhaps like all the other lies and mistruths which are so frequently told by this industry, we were to be provided with an account that these dumped birds were in fact carefully placed at the roadside, so that they could sprout new wings and be reborn as unicorns!!
Absolutely horrifying and extremely wasteful. Estates should be ashamed of these activities and they should certainly be properly regulated.