There's nothing glorious about the twelfth August, the first day of the grouse-shooting season, which is the first game bird-shooting season of the year.
Grouse shooting is cruel because grouse fly low and fast and are difficult to kill cleanly. However, no skill or training is necessary to go grouse shooting; the only qualification is money - blood sports are big business. In the UK, anyone who doesn't have a criminal record (of a custodial sentence of more than three years) can obtain a shotgun licence. Grouse guns do not even need licensing when shooting with the landowner’s permission.
This blood sport is cruel because the management of moorland for game birds subjects grouse to a life cycle of over-breeding and disease. Moorland management is destructive because it destroys any wild animals which compete with the blood sport business.
For more information, go to
www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_shooting/ALL/1848//
and www.basc.org.uk/content/grouseshooting
Today (8th August), LACS (the League Against Cruel Sports) posted an article online about game bird shooting, called 'Mass slaughter is not glorious'.
To read the article, go to www.league.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=1089
For ways to take action, go to www.league.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1587
According to 'The Times' (12th August), the traditional way to eat grouse is roasted and served in its own blood.