Approximately 50 million pheasants and partridges are released annually in the UK for shooting. The welfare of these birds from release to shooting raises significant ethical and practical questions.
Released game birds experience a complex welfare picture. Those that survive encounter multiple stressors including predation risk, territorial competition, and human disturbance. Those that are shot face instantaneous death if cleanly killed or significant wounding suffering if not. The welfare of the tens of millions of birds not shot is frequently overlooked in shooting welfare debates.