New licensing for game shoots could stop poisoning of birds of prey

Scheme planned for England could also curtail tradition of releasing pheasants for people to pay to shoot From the end of August, Land Rovers load up with tweed-clad shooters, who go off to large estates and compete to fill the biggest “bag” of game birds, often shooting dozens at a time – a practice which has long appalled bird conservationists.

Soon, the years-long campaign to stop the poisoning of birds of prey, as well as the release of tens of millions of pheasants into the countryside, could be victorious as a result of government plans for a new licensing scheme for shoots.

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