Shoot rats instead

When I was a youngster in Rotherham, there was little I enjoyed more than being out with my air rifle shooting. I was an excellent shot and picked off many a bird, rat and rabbit with an unreserved, and understandable, childish enthusiasm. I took pride in pulling off a difficult shot, for example a shot to the head over distance with a stiff cross wind.

But I am no longer a child. I realise now that my childish "hobby" did much harm and caused immense suffering. Apart from the birds I killed cleanly with a well-aimed pellet, there were the ones I did not see: the ones that I wounded and left to die in drawn-out agony; the chicks left to starve.

It is a part of growing up, this realisation. What a pity that, here, so many adults have not grown up and remain content to shoot any species of bird at any time of the year. And while as a youngster I used a single shot air rifle, these crass individuals employ 12 bore shotguns to achieve the same result.

I am not against hunting. But the indiscriminate actions we see, hear and read about on a daily basis cannot and should not be classed as such. If anyone does want to hunt they should consider ratting as a way of getting a good day's sport while simultaneously providing a useful service.

It's an undeniable fact that rats abound on these islands. Too many visitors see them at first hand. This public nuisance and health hazard is a worthy target of the hunter.

There's little to compare with the exhilaration of a farm visit accompanied by some eager terriers and armed with stout sticks. Guns, if present, should be stationed well away from the centre of the action to pick off runners - and to ensure the safety of beaters and dogs as rats are driven from their hiding places under straw bales, or flushed from their holes by a good ferret.

I recommend this activity to hunters. In undertaking it you will find a shortage of criticism but no shortage of quarry.