The UK government
has announced that it will be reviewing the current regulations around the mass-breeding and shooting of pheasants and partridges. While we don't know where this will lead yet, it's a great step in the right direction to care about the well-being of all animals!
Creating a sport out of hunting game birds, who never even got to live a wild life, is unmistakably cruel. Help us urge the British government to ban the practice of "game bird" shooting! Sign the petition!Right now, people who participate in this cruel 'sport' breed and raise huge numbers of birds, all set to one day be released into the air and shot and killed. These animals' only purpose is to be live target practice - nothing else.
Even worse, while pheasants and partridges are being raised, they don't even experience the bare minimum quality standards of other birds like chickens and turkeys. Poultry birds are covered by different animal welfare laws, which ensure a minimum amount of space within cages, and requirements for enrichment, like perches. They're also protected by recurring welfare inspections. But
"game birds" such as pheasants and partridges don't have any of these protections. And yet, they're being raised on an "industrial scale" anyway.
Luckily, with the government's review of practices surrounding pheasant and partridge shooting, there's an opportunity for change. Already, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has stated it is concerned about the welfare of the birds, as well as the detrimental effect of this 'sport' on the local ecology. For example, when birds are released (to be shot), they can interfere with other wildlife and pollute the environment.
There's no way to justify using live animals as target practice 'just for fun.' Animals deserve to live full, free lives and avoid horrific suffering caused by human breeding, confinement, and hunting practices.It's time to end this disgusting and grotesque tradition now. Sign the petition!