Woodcock can be legally shot in the UK from October to January. The ethics and welfare impacts of shooting a declining species are increasingly debated.
The welfare of shot woodcock depends critically on shot placement — their cryptic behaviour in dense cover means shots are often taken at flushed birds in poor visibility. Wounded birds that escape die slowly over days. The ethical dimension is compounded by the declining resident population — shooting resident birds is acknowledged by game organisations to be undesirable. The voluntary moratorium on early season shooting when only resident birds are present represents a welfare and conservation improvement.