| More and more of us are taking an interest in the | | | | destined for the pot, whether that of the shooter |
| provenance of our food, and like to find out | | | | directly or to a member of the public through a |
| where and how it was produced. Nowhere is this | | | | game dealer. The animals are not being killed |
| more the case than with the meat we eat. While | | | | cruelly, and with a good marksman will not feel |
| to some people eating meat is totally unethical | | | | any pain. |
| and immoral, and should be avoided completely, a | | | | If we set aside any misgivings engendered by the |
| sizable number of us take a less strict stance, | | | | link with sport, we can see that game is probably |
| believing that it's ethically justifiable to kill and eat | | | | the most ethically sound meat we can eat. |
| animals, providing that certain standards are | | | | There's no classification of meats into free range |
| adhered to. | | | | or organic here - each animal lived a completely |
| The welfare of the animal, under this way of | | | | free life, behaving exactly as its species has |
| thinking, is paramount and takes precedence over | | | | evolved to, and was very likely to have met its |
| such considerations as profit, economy and | | | | end without any stress or pain at all. |
| availability. The animal must be given the chance | | | | It will have eaten a completely natural diet, and |
| to live a life free from suffering, in conditions that | | | | will not have been given any routine medication |
| allow it to express its natural behaviours, and | | | | such as antibiotics or growth hormones. It will not |
| when the time comes for slaughter the process | | | | have lived in cramped, overcrowded, conditions, |
| should be as free of stress and pain as is humanly | | | | and will have in fact avoided almost all contact |
| achievable - which is, in this day and age, almost | | | | with humans completely! |
| wholly so. | | | | Compare this to the misery we routinely inflict on |
| Under these standards, what could come higher | | | | intensively reared animals such as broiler chickens, |
| on the ethical list than game such as venison, | | | | pigs, and veal calves, both in life and death, and |
| pheasant, or wild duck? Opponents of game will | | | | it's clear that game animals will have had much |
| often base their dislike of the subject on the fact | | | | the preferable existence and dispatch, whatever |
| that the usual method of killing the animals is | | | | prejudices we may hold against those who shoot |
| through shooting, which suffers from a reputation | | | | as a sport. |
| problem by being linked in with other 'blood sports' | | | | And luckily for ethical meat eaters, game is |
| such as fox hunting. In contrast to cruel sports, | | | | amongst the most delicious food we'll ever put on |
| though, the results of a game shoot will be | | | | our plates! |