The hunting etiquette that matters

The lack of respect shown by some threatens the sport for all...

In an industry under obdurate scrutiny, where it only takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel, we must ensure that all involved lead by example and show no cracks that can be exploited. Country sports are never dry of anxious waters, where prying organisations and ill-informed busy bodies lurk like ravenous crocs. Therefore, education has to be on-going to ensure inaccurate belligerency doesn’t overcome common sense.

Looming clouds, however, grow darker, and unless addressed they threaten to burst. It boils down to ethics and etiquette. Not the obvious and repeated field etiquette lists that should be instilled in all who don tweed and draw a peg (not stealing a neighbour’s bird, tipping the keeper, not running out of cartridges on a drive, turning your phone off and thanking the beaters at the end of every day), for these are wholly trivial when put into the bigger picture. This is industry etiquette.

Irrespective of experience or ability, anyone can stand on a peg and empty their cartridge bag at pheasants that are quite simply out of their league. Little do they know how many they are pricking. It is far better sportsmanship to cleanly kill a low bird than tickle a 70-yarder. The glamorisation of long shots, and the element of conceited competitiveness that occasionally accompanies, is as abhorrent as it is disrespectful to the quarry. Pre-season, and during, those heading to the shooting field should invest time practising on a shooting ground, and receive tutoring if necessary.

The gluttony of some endangers the sport for all – such unbridled excess disintegrates any arguments of justification. To the untrained eye, a team of Guns get ferried from peg to peg in plush Range Rovers while a line of men and women herd unsuspecting birds towards them, whereupon they are shot out of the sky – all in the name of sport. They don’t single out those who shoot ‘big’ days, and whether you rough shoot to bag the odd bird for the pot or take 40 days a season on the country’s most prolific estates, we are all in the same boat – a vessel which many want to sink.

Ask yourself this: what does your preferred bag size say about the way in which you view the sport, and what does it say to those who watch on, baying for any excuse to relegate shooting to the archives?

Every single person is accountable for their birds shot. For those who see this to be of minor importance, you’re in the wrong place, and should find a new way to fill your Saturdays.

In all honesty, do you take a brace home after every day? For many, the answer will be a resounding “of course” as a custom prerequisite, and the idea of doing otherwise may seem ridiculous. But I have spoken to a number of keepers who have stated that this isn’t always the case. It is a supercilious mentality that is dangerous to the sporting values we must thread through future generations. Eat what you kill is an ethos on which the shooting industry must remain steadfast.

What is most concerning, however, is the way that young people are introduced and educated. They should not assume that big bags and high birds are the norm. Once this distorted outlook takes hold, a precedent is set. Days of 60-100 birds become inane small fry.

There is far more to shooting than just shooting. It is about the occasion, the camaraderie, the lack of prejudice towards age, gender or background – everyone is welcomed with open arms. It teaches children about the wonders and ways of the countryside and to appreciate the tireless efforts of those who spend their lives shaping, maintaining and safeguarding the land. Young Guns follow the shooting etiquette bestowed on them by their fathers – we must ensure we do our very best to set a good example.

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