Game bird cruelty (From Oxford Mail)

Game bird cruelty

10:00am Wednesday 25th May 2011 in Letters

Congratulations to Penny Little for her exposure of the cruelty of the game bird industry (Oxford Mail, May 13).

To people such as gamekeepers and others involved in this business, anything is ‘fair game’. Of course, as with all people of such mentality, they like to present their conservation credentials as an alibi for their activities. But the truth is that they are creating a total imbalance in the ecology of the area by eliminating those species that are naturally part of it, while introducing other species in large numbers merely for profit and sadistic recreation.

Most people don’t realise that game birds are often reared in factory farm type conditions, and on big estates it is also common practice to bury large numbers of those birds excess to requirements in large pits.

Penny Little also makes reference to the vandalism of local councils in destroying grass verges. Until civilised people start to speak out against the routine exploitation and destruction of our countryside, our wildlife and its habitat will continue to suffer and decline.

Susan Smith Banbury Road Oxford