Letters: Shoots should be about quality, not quantity

Bad sport

Sir: At last a respected member of the shooting community has popped his head above the parapet. Patrick Galbraith has had the courage to express the view that many of us from the ‘bygone sporting era’ hold, but have either been too afraid of the commercial consequences, or too idle, to go public (‘Dangerous game’, 12 October). The shooting fraternity has done an awful job of educating newcomers about what constitutes a great day out. It has allowed quantity to prevail over quality. It has failed to ensure that appreciation of the ‘craic’ and the environment are an essential element of the experience. Like all activities, when you do it to excess, you draw unwelcome attention. It is time big commercial shoots led by example and reverted to the bygone era.
Hugh Fell

West Fleetham, Northumberland

Good for wildlife

Sir: Patrick Galbraith may have enjoyed reminiscing about the past as he sat on the Queen’s sofa at Sandringham, but game shooting is more popular and accessible than ever before, precisely because it has embraced change.