Here we go again. The remains of shot gamebirds and geese have been found dumped at the side of the road, this time in Nottinghamshire in early February 2025.
Many thanks to Helena M who has given permission for these photographs to be published. She writes:
Hi, yesterday in my village of Carlton in Lindrick Worksop Notts, I came across a very distressing sight of many dead birds at the side of the road.
Some of these birds were intact, others were in many pieces.
Please find attached photos of these poor birds remains.
This sad event has got to be the result of a barbaric act by humans, and if so can anything be done to try prevent it happening again? I think I know the answer but you can but hope that the needless suffering of animals at the hands of people may one day cease to exist.’
Regular blog readers will know that this is a common and widespread illegal practice that has been going on for years. The disposal of animal by-products (including shot gamebirds) is regulated and the dumping of these carcasses is an offence.
Previous reports include dumped birds found in Cheshire (here), Scottish borders (here), Norfolk (here), Perthshire (here), Berkshire (here), North York Moors National Park (here) and some more in North York Moors National Park (here) and even more in North Yorkshire (here), Co. Derry (here), West Yorkshire (here), and again in West Yorkshire (here), N Wales (here), mid-Wales (here), Leicestershire (here), Lincolnshire (here), Somerset (here), Derbyshire’s Peak District National Park (here), Suffolk (here), Leicestershire again (here), Somerset again (here), Liverpool (here), even more in North Wales (here) even more in Wales, again (here), in Wiltshire (here) in Angus (here), in Somerset again (here), once again in North Yorkshire (here), yet again in West Yorkshire (here), yet again in mid-Wales (here), even more in mid-Wales (here), more in Derbyshire (here), Gloucestershire (here) more in Cheshire (here), some in Cumbria (here), some more in the Scottish Borders (here) and again in Lincolnshire (here).
Unless someone was seen dumping these shot gamebirds (and geese) there’s no way of knowing who did it or from which gamebird shoot they originated. There’s no requirement for shoot managers to fit identifying markers to their livestock, which would make them traceable, because gamebird ‘livestock’ absurdly changes legal status to ‘wildlife’ as soon as the birds are released from the rearing pens for shooting (see Wild Justice’s blog on Schrodinger’s Pheasant for details).
Bizarrely, the legs/feet of the geese and one of the pheasants appear to have been cut off – you can see some of them scattered around in photo 4 – but they don’t appear to have been de-breasted (the meat removed for human consumption).
As ever, it’ll be the taxpayer who has to pay for these bird remains to be removed, not the senseless, arrogant moron who dumped them. And presumably the council workers tasked with the job will have to be wearing full protective clothing given the recent declaration of a nationwide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ).
Thanks, gamebird shooting industry, for yet another example of your magnificent custodianship of the countryside.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Heartbreaking. My blood boils at this news.
Poor poor innocent creatures…when will this barbarity be stopped.
im hoping very much that a law comes in to STOP THE MORONS who do this for fun. But I fear it won’t happen anytime soon. Surely there’s someone somewhere has a voice loud enough to be heard.
Justice against this practice has to STOP.
Labour will not stop Shooting, they claim its lucrative, So when you see ABUSE LIKE THIS DISTRESING ORDEAL, MAKE e sure they ALL see it, MINDLESS BARBARIC SLAUGHTER .
maybe we should stop all wildfowl and gambird shoots until this avian flu episode is over – but we all know that a ban won’t stop them….
This could/will be illegal for many reasons. GL41 states, among many other conditions:
“The Environmental Protection (Restriction on the use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 prohibit the use of lead shot:
for the shooting of all ducks and geese, coot and moorhen”
Curiously, the law (see above) actually states something slightly different:
“These Regulations (“the Regulations”), which apply to England only, prohibit the use of lead shot for shooting with a shot gun–
any wild bird included in Schedule 2 to the Regulations. These birds are ducks, geese and swans (all species of each); coot; moorhen; golden plover and common snipe (regulation 3)”
However, here is the official Government ‘get-out-clause’ (dated 1 January 2024):
“You do not need to apply for general licence GL41, but you must comply with its conditions.”
So… no one will have any record.
Therefore, the Police and/or Local Authority might think it is not worth bothering to check:-(
Yes but they could have been shot with non lead shot. The geese may have been ringed hence the foot removal, for some reason folk who shoot wildfowl think they have offended if the bird is ringed. They haven’t unless they used lead. What about those of us that feed kites and buzzards with dead ( not shot with lead) pheasants?
“Yes but they could have been shot with non lead shot.”
Indeed… but will anyone even bother to check when there isn’t a list of license holders against which to check (AFAIK)?
I am sufficiently cynical to think that someone who knowingly illegally dumps carcasses by the road side is unlikely to be dutifully complying with the Environmental Protection (Restrictions on the use of lead shot) Regulations.
Besides which, the few stats I have seen, and published in this vital blog, indicate low to very low compliance with what little law we have on the use of lead shot:-(
“What about those of us that feed kites and buzzards with dead ( not shot with lead) pheasants?”
Would they be dumped by the roadside? I think if I were going to feed them I’d want to be able to watch… I don’t see the point of scattering such carcasses at random: Kites and Buzzards are not in much danger of starving to death.
This of course will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog or the government and they are STILL PUSSYFOOTING around instead of banning lead shot.
Perhaps the good person who took the photos could contact the local police – a crime has been committed.
She could also send the pictures to her MP telling him of her disgust.
A message to the appropriate Minister in the Labour government might get some action. Oh, no… probably not.
[Ed: Still haven’t found the courage to post under your real name, ‘Mudman’? Given your persistent abuse of me and my colleagues on another forum, I don’t know why you think your comments are going to be published here. Arrogance? An overblown sense of entitlement? Who knows. Who cares.]
Well done Helena M for highlighting and helping bring attention to this appalling barbaric treatment of these poor creatures so unnecessary and upsetting for everyone. just so so sad again my real thoughts and words wouldn’t be printed .