In theUnited Kingdom, the termhunting generally refers to hunting with hounds, e.g. normallyfox hunting,stag (deer) hunting,beagling, orminkhunting, whereasshooting is the shooting ofgame birds. What is calleddeer hunting elsewhere isdeer stalking. According to theBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) over a million people a year participate in shooting, including stalking, shooting, hunting,clay shooting andtarget shooting.[1] Firearm ownership is regulated by licensing.[2]
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Hunting has been practised by humans in Britain since prehistoric times; it was a crucial activity ofhunter-gatherer societies before the domestication of animals and the dawn ofagriculture. During thelast ice age, humans andNeanderthals huntedmammoths andwoolly rhinoceroses by driving them over cliffs; evidence has been found atLa Cotte de St Brelade on the island ofJersey. In Britain, hunting with hounds was popular inCeltic Britain before theRomans arrived, using theAgassaei [d] breed.[3] The Romans brought their Castorian and Fulpine hound breeds[4]to England, along with importing thebrown hare (the mountain hare is native) andfallow deer as quarry.Wild boar was also hunted.[5]
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Blunderbussfirearms were improved during the18th and19th centuries andpercussion capshotguns became more popular. To protect the pheasants for the shooters, gamekeepers culled competitive species such as foxes, magpies and birds of prey almost to extirpation in popular areas, and landowners improved theircoverts and other habitats for game.Game Laws were relaxed by Parliament in 1831, which meant anyone could obtain a permit to shoot rabbits, hares, and gamebirds, although shooting and taking away any birds or animals on someone else's land without their permission continued to count as the crime ofpoaching, and continues to do so today.[6]
Hunting was formerly a royal sport, and to an extent shooting still is, with many kings and queens being involved in hunting and shooting, includingKing Edward VII,King George V (who could shoot over a thousandpheasants on a single day),[7]King George VI andPrince Philip, althoughQueen Elizabeth II did not shoot. Shooting on the large estates of Scotland has always been a fashionable country sport. This trend is generally attributed to theVictorians, who were inspired by the romantic nature of theScottish Highlands.
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The shooting ofgame birds, in particularpheasant, is often on land managed by agamekeeper usingBritish country clothing. Whenhunting withshotguns, there is a risk of accidentally injuringbirds that survive.[8] The bird struck by the central cluster of theshot typically dies and falls to the ground. However, animals on the periphery of the shot may still be hit by somepellets, which they survive but result in lifelong suffering.[9][10] Shooting from too far away also increases the risk of causing harm toanimals due to the increased spread of shotpellets.[11][12]
Game birds are shot in different ways. Indriven game shooting, where beaters are employed to walk through woods and over moors or fields, dependent on the quarry and time of year and drive game towards a line of 8–10 standing guns standing about 50 or 60 metres apart. Large numbers ofpheasants,partridge andduck, but notgrouse, are reared and released to provide sufficient numbers of game. Grouse cannot be reared intensively but the heather moorland where they live is intensivelymanaged to maximise numbers.
Rough shooting, where several guns walk through a woodland, moor or field and shoot the birds their dogs put up, is increasingly popular. It is less formal and may be funded by several people grouping together to form a syndicate, paying a certain amount each year towards pheasants and habitat maintenance.
Rook shooting was once popular in rural Britain for both pest control and gaining food, wherein juvenile rooks living in rookeries, known as "branchers", were shot before they were able to fly. These events were both very social and a source of food (the rook becomes inedible once mature) as the rook and rabbit pie was considered a great delicacy.[13]
In the UK "game" is defined in law by theGame Act 1831. Other (non-game) birds that are hunted for food in the UK are specified under theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981. UK law defines game as including:
| Species | England,Scotland andWales | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Pheasant | 1 October – 1 February | 1 October – 31 January |
| Partridge,grey andred-legged | 1 September – 1 February | 1 September – 31 January |
| Black grouse | 20 August – 10 December | N/A |
| Red grouse | 12 August – 10 December | 12 August – 30 November |
| Ptarmigan | 12 August – 10 December | N/A |
| Brown hare | No closed season | 12 August – 31 January |
Bolt action rifles are used fordeer stalking. This may take onmoors, or inwoodland.Deer hunted in the UK arered deer,roe deer,fallow deer,sika deer,muntjac,water deer, andhybrids of these deers.[14]
Only certain 'quarry' species of wildfowl may legally be shot in the UK, and are protected under theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These aremallard,Eurasian wigeon,teal,pochard,shoveler,pintail,gadwall,goldeneye,tufted duck,Canada goose,greylag goose andpink-footed goose. Other common quarry targets for the wildfowler include thecommon snipe.Eurasian coot andmoorhen are also shot, but not as much as in the past; they have a closed season that follows the wildfowl season and are classed as game.[15]
Although there is no close season forhare outside Northern Ireland, theHares Preservation Act 1892 [d] (55 & 56 Vict. c. 8) makes it illegal to sell, or offer to sell, hare between 1 March and 31 July. The aforementioned species are those primarily pursued for game shooting. To this list can be added birds as theferal pigeon,jay,magpie,carrion crow,jackdaw androok,wood pigeon,woodcock,snipe, and theGolden plover.Mammals as theEuropean rabbit are also hunted.
Black grouse are no longer shot regularly, due to a continuing decline in numbers and those that are shot are most likely to be females mistaken forred grouse.Capercaillie are also no longer shot in the UK, as they are now protected due to a long-term decline in population.
Waterfowl hunting is typically happens in the form of a single gun sitting in pursuit ofducks by a body of water, or on the coastal foreshore, often at dawn or dusk, and waits for birds to flight. This is sometimes undertaken in total darkness. Due to the ban on the use ofleadshot for huntingwaterfowl or over wetlands, many wildfowlers are switching to modern guns with stronger engineering to allow the use of non-toxic ammunition such as steel or tungsten based cartridges.[16][17]
In the UK wildfowling is largely self-regulated. Their representative body, WAGBI (Wildfowlers Association of Great Britain and Ireland), was founded in 1908 by Stanley Duncan in Hull. This Association changed its name in 1981 to become theBritish Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and now represents all forms of live quarry shooting at European, national and local levels. There are also many wildfowling clubs around the coast ofGreat Britain, often covering certain estuary areas where wildfowl are found in large numbers.[15]
As of 2020[update]game shooting anddeer stalking are carried on asfield sports inGreat Britain andNorthern Ireland. Hunting with hounds in the traditional manner became unlawful in Scotland in 2002 and inEngland and Wales in 2005, but continues in certain accepted forms. Traditional foxhunting continues in Northern Ireland. Following a trail (similar todrag hunting) rather than a live quarry has subsequently grown in importance in Great Britain, as has hunting foxes with abird of prey. In 2005 it became unlawful in England and Wales to shoot game birds while they are not in flight, an action which has long been considered unsporting.Bowhunting is illegal in theUnited Kingdom for all animals. You can be fined or jailed for hunting illegally or causing suffering to an animal.[18]
