Well said Janie (That from someone from the British Isles), Olddude I appreciate and fully understand your total disgust at the event you were forced to witness and act upon. As you say whoever was responsible was not a hunter by any stretch of the imagination.

I liked this very illuminating statement from Richard Bridge that clearly demonstrates that the man hasn't got the foggiest notion about the subject:

" Nobody in the first world needs to hunt meat."

Really? There is actually more need for hunting in first world countries like the UK than you would think - WHY?

- Because our largest native "wild animals" have no natural predators (In the case of the UK that would be the Red Deer - whose unchecked numbers are such that they are close to being classified as vermin)

- Breeds of deer that happen to be herd animals living in restricted habitat need to be culled, their numbers need to be reduced for the health and well-being of the species (Other deer such as Roe Deer are not herd animals so do not require similar measures to be taken - large populations of Roe are a nuisance and cost to farming and forestry - the reasons for culling them is financial)

- Complete and utter twats like Paul and the late Linda MacCartney introduce wild boar to their estate in Peasmarsh, East Sussex then just let them multiply unchecked and run amok (Totally irresponsible and inconsiderate). Put in perspective these animals particularly the males can weigh up to 900lbs and they can be extremely aggressive and dangerous.

Blanket 50% culls of both Deer and Wild Boar have been recommended for the sake of the animals themselves (i.e. if we wish to have them around long into the future). Only problem is that due to "British" urban attitudes and left-wing class warrior Wolfie Smith types like Bridge we neither have the guns or the hunters in the UK to provide the solution to the problem, so teams of hunters arrive on our shores from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany to do the shooting.

Where I hunt, each year you must register, you must fire a given number of practice shots before taking a shooting test and you must of course pass that test for every single rifle that you intend using that year.

When hunting if you shoot at an animal and it does not fall immediately, hunting in the area is immediately suspended for the day, specialist trackers with dogs are brought in to trace the animal and no further hunting is allowed until that animal is found and finished off if wounded. This routine is followed even if the shot was a complete miss, this will be indicated by there being no blood at the place where the animal was shot and the tracks and speed of the animal will remain "natural" and constant if the beast is unharmed. It is then the judgement call of the tracker whether to declare the animal unharmed or whether to continue tracking for another day.

If you go hunting what is killed is eaten. If you shoot, you field clean the animal, bring it out and prepare it for hanging. F**k all to to with "posh folk in tweeds banging away at anything in their sights". Hunters in general have a far, far better idea of the "health" of the environment that most and it is usually left-wing urban prats who seem to be only too keen to dictate to others as to what they can and cannot do that lay down the law speaking from a standpoint of complete and utter ignorance.