Grim photos of dead pheasants and ducks in Angus show “gamebird dumping” is “widespread” across the UK.
That’s according to Dr Ruth Tingay, who runs blog Raptor Persecution UK and who published the photographs earlier this week.
The images call into question the shooting industry’s pledge to treat all gamebirds killed during the sport as food, first and foremost.
They show dead pheasants, partridges, ducks and a pigeon next to the A94 in Angus.
The photographs also appear to show a woodcock – which although legal to shoot has been red-listed due to dwindling numbers.
Inclusion on the red list means the species is of “highest conservation concern.”
Most bodies linked to the shooting industry have signed up to The Code of Good Shooting Practice.
The code has “five golden rules.”
The first paragraph of the accompanying Guide to Good Game Handling reads:
“One of the Code of Good Shooting Practice’s five golden rules is that game is food and must always be treated as such.”
Signatories include The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Scottish Land and Estates and the National Game Dealers’ Association.
How common is “gamebird dumping”?
Dr Tingay said: “The dumped shot birds in Angus are just the latest in what is clearly a widespread practice across the UK.”
She said the dead birds had been “dumped by the same game-shooting industry that wants licences to kill birds of prey to ‘protect’ gamebirds.
“It’s insane.”
A spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “It is difficult to establish the truth or motivation from photographs appearing on an anti-shooting website, so we will not speculate.
“The Scottish Gamekeepers Association is a signatory to the UK Code of Good Shooting Practice which defines good practice for all shoots.
“As an organisation, we advise all members on responsible game handling.”
How have people in Angus responded?
The pheasant and duck shooting seasons ended in Scotland on February 1.
Blog readers responded to the initial post by visiting the Angus site and taking more detailed photographs of the dead birds.
They speculated shooters had prepared the dead woodcock for the pot.
The blog goes on to list 23 historical incidents of dumping, including one in Perthshire.
I asked Dr Tingay whether outrage over the “dumping” had been more pronounced this shooting season.
“I couldn’t say whether there is more attention or outrage this year as I haven’t looked at the metrics.”
