I started on this idea awhile ago after the Close Up episode prompted by Guy's game dinner. Tim and I talked about this the other day, which is why the unfinished draft has percolated up my thought ladder. History: given that shot game was to be served at a restaurant, Guy got an opinion from AWF&G's Legal Counsel on whether serving pheasant from Lakelands was on the light side of the law. Apparently not - Bruce Stainton's view was that the giving of game, or any part of game, to persons other than immediate family is illegal. That part of the law needs a bit of work, not that anyone would be in any danger of getting sprung for giving a handful of feathers to a fly tying mate, or at least one would hope not. Where it got fuzzy was that a chef came along saying that he'd willingly pay for shot pheasant from preserves and all of a sudden the article took a dangerous curve. The sentiment expressed was that thousands of birds were being wasted/thrown in holes and would be better sold. Not true; but none the less it is hard to defend a situation where the people doing the shooting aren't doing the cleaning and eating*.
I'm slightly cold on the idea of selling those preserve shot birds even though we know it works overseas.
But I'm colder on a law that calls me criminal if I give a duck to a neighbour, soup kitchen or old people's home.
A Law tweak is needed, but extra vigillence is needed to ensure that the change does what its meant to.
*This includes all those parrie and goose culls where the meat is sometimes wasted.
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