Perception is all

Not long ago, fieldsports were something you only encountered if you went looking. But these days, in the age of social media, anybody can find content that’s been uploaded by those who love shooting. Some of it is wonderful. Almost daily, I see posts about readers’ conservation work and pictures of delicious things they’re doing with game.

But we don’t always get it right. Over the past few months, I’ve seen rooks piled up on top of each other, images of people holding shot foxes, and pigeon stuffed into the back of trucks.

There are people who are going to dislike shooting whatever we do, but there is also a large proportion of the population who are on the fence. They rarely think about fieldsports but they probably like the idea of conservation and free-range food. When we post the right things, we win these people over, but when we get it wrong, we give them cause to dislike us.

Native Americans believe that if you respect game it will return but if you don’t it will go. Three seconds asking yourself how respectful you are being before uploading that picture could be time well spent.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @paddycgalbraith