Have you ever wondered why so many of Britain's most eminent naturalists are also keen country sportsmen and women?

Or why our greatest wildlife painters and artists get their inspiration from their participation in hunting, shooting or fishing?

Has it never struck you as odd that people who live in the countryside and have an intimate knowledge of the natural world are keen supporters of fieldsports while almost all of the anti-bloodsports brigade, such as hunt saboteurs and "animal rights" terrorists, hatch their evil plots in the depths of our inner cities? It is a simple fact that those who are most vociferous in their opposition to country pursuits are, themselves, woefully ignorant of the countryside and its wild animals and birds.

It is also a simple fact that the sports of shooting and fishing contribute a huge amount to the conservation of wildlife and natural habitats in Britain. Without those activities, huge areas of our country would be a barren, polluted landscape devoid of much of our rich heritage of abundant wildlife.

And it is because people who hunt, fish or shoot care so much about the animals and birds that are their quarry, that they are also exceptionally concerned about animal welfare. It is their love and respect for wildlife that guarantees that they also despise any cruelty to animals and that they will take every possible action to ensure that their sports do not involve any unnecessary animal suffering.

This website has been designed to bring together factual information, scientific research and pointers to further study as an aid to everyone who wishes to develop a balanced and well-informed view of the crucial role played by country sports and of the animal welfare issues that are involved in these activities.

So, what are the overwhelming arguments in favour of country sports? They include:

• Introducing city people to the countryside in a positive, constructive way.
• Promoting wildlife and habitat conservation.
• Promoting self-discipline in terms of animal welfare.
• Healthy outdoor pursuits that give peace of mind and inner contentment.
• The provision of organic wholesome food such as game and fish.
• Sports that are inexpensive and classless.

Please use the links on the right side of this page to explore specific areas of concern and obtain reliable, unbiased information about many aspects of country sports.

Ignorant opponents of country sports often use the derogatory term "bloodsports" to try to whip up adverse opinion. In fact most fishers and shooters will very rarely see blood. Compared to conventional methods of food production, country sports involve far less cruelty and offer the quarry species a far better quality of life and a far kinder death than "commercial" food production.

Human beings are omnivorous. Vegetarianism is not natural. In fact, of the three species of humans that existed 100,000 years ago, two died out because they were herbivores. Only Homo sapiens - the species to which we all belong - survived because it adapted to eating meat as a significant component of a natural diet.

Given that we need to eat meat for a healthy life, compare the trout that is caught and quickly killed by the angler with the cod that is hauled from the sea and gutted while still alive before ending up on a fishmonger's slab.

Compare the duck that lives in the wild for a year before being shot by a wildfowler with the battery chicken that spends 3 months in a tiny cage before appearing in a plastic wrapping in a supermarket.

Compare the deer living free on the hill with only a sporting chance of being humanely shot by a stalker's bullet with the bullock, castrated shortly after birth and living a very short life fed on concentrates in a barn before being driven to the slaughterhouse and becoming steaks or hamburgers.

Any of these comparisons will demonstrate, beyond any doubt whatsoever, that country sports provide essential food with far less cruelty than "normal" methods of food production.

Country sports and animal welfare go hand-in-hand!

Pictures like these above, featuring country sports and wildlife subjects by Britain's leading artists, can be obtained from Sally Michell Fine Arts. Please click on any of the images to go there now.

Further Information:

British Association for Shooting and Conservation

The Economic and Environmental Impact of Sporting Shooting (Scientific Survey)

Wildfowling Information

Salmon & Trout Association

Country Sports Books

Shooting and Fishing Information

Gundog Training

Game for Food

For a superb range of game and healthy eating cookery books, click on the image above.