The Glorious Twelfth!
Start of the shooting season.
Keep your heads down, chaps.
If you’re a grouse, or other game bird, 12th August is a very bad day. I don’t notice it much, but around my village it’s the 15th June that has people up at midnight waiting to cast a line into the river – since that is the end of the closed season for fishing. All these seasons are to protect the wild populations of birds, fish, deer, etc in the breeding season. They say that shooting actually promotes better grouse and maintains their habitat, and compare grouse in the UK with grouse in Scandinavia where there is no shooting (apparently) to prove their point.
I think maintaining suitable habitat for different species is a great idea. Just restrict the shooting to photographs.
Then again, if you’re going to kill an animal, please do it the honour of eating it. (photo from slowfood.org.uk)
I’m with you, Jemima: if you’re going to shoot it, you’d better eat it, too. I hate when animals are killed for trophies or for one specific body part. Aside from being wasteful, it’s just plain stupid.
(Don’t worry, I’m not going to get on a soap box. I could, you know, but I won’t.)
Soapboxes are always available here – but I shouldn’t stand on one, either 🙂
Don’t have a grouse hunting season here, but I applaud your statement: If you shoot it, eat it. Our game wardens here in the US have their hands full during deer season.
I suspect they are much the same – with fewer ‘accidents’ here as grouse shooting is always on private land – and earns a lot for the landowner.