Setting the record straight
NORMALLY I would ignore errors and misinformation in people’s responses to my letter, but there have been so many misstatements that it is essential that people are not misinformed in relation to game shooting.
I can only assume that Mr Zonfrillo (letters, November 25) has never applied for a shotgun licence. His statement that “almost anyone capable of lifting a gun” can obtain a licence is so far from the truth that one has to wonder where he got this idea. The UK has some of the world’s strictest gun laws.
With regard to his quoted record bag for snipe he omitted to point out that this occurred more than a century ago and the values which were then current no longer apply. I am sure this omission was accidental and he was not suggesting that this happens today.
Perfection is not a thing that exists in the real world and there will very occasionally be errors made by shooters but these are isolated incidents and not the norm, as the writer would appear suggest.
It would appear that your correspondents feel it is acceptable to make unsubstantiated claims which fly in the face of research. Numerous studies show that the conservation efforts of the gamesports fraternity have had a significant effect in protecting and conserving birds on the RSPB red and amber list.
It is relevant to point out that shooters self-police and will cease shooting if the weather conditions or the population of any species are under pressure.
To quote the RSPB regarding the common snipe: “They are widespread as a breeding species in the UK, with particularly high densities on northern uplands”; Mr Maughan’s grandchildren will still have plenty to see (letters, November 25) unless even more encroachment is made into the habitat which game shooters work tirelessly to maintain.
Finally, it is essential to highlight the hypocrisy of denigrating shooters for harvesting a surplus to provide food for the table while deeming it perfectly acceptable to consume meat as long as someone else has killed it for you, as Brian Chrystal writes (letters, November 26).
As one who comes from generations of farmers, I consider it more honest to shoot, prepare and cook a bird or animal than to pretend that the pre-packaged meat in the supermarket was somehow never a living creature.
David Stubley, Prestwick.