Around 50 million pheasants and partridges are released annually in the UK for game shooting, with welfare concerns about rearing conditions, release mortality, and the welfare of unshot birds.
Game bird rearing and release involves welfare concerns at every stage from intensive rearing pen conditions through the release period to the fate of surviving unshot birds. Release pens can house thousands of birds in conditions that cause injurious pecking, requiring beak trimming. The release of pen-reared birds into the countryside subjects them to predation, starvation, and road traffic mortality that takes a heavy toll on individuals who have limited experience of wild foraging. The welfare of the released birds is arguably more significant than the shooting itself, as most bird mortality associated with game shooting arises from release rather than from the hunt.