Thread by @GeorgeMonbiot

Certain nations have grotesque cultures of killing. Ours include driven grouse shooting and the mass stocking of pheasants. In the US they include this, enthusiastically promoted on a site called Outdoor Adventures jessmooreweb.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/coy…

These hideous practices might be "traditional". This does not make them right. We should oppose them everywhere.

In my experience, those who shut their feelings down when inflicting suffering on animals often tend to shut their feelings down when inflicting suffering on other people. I don't know which comes first, but I think it is in all our interests to challenge these cultures.

This is not just a hunch. There's a long-established link between cruelty to animals and violence towards humans. If you engage in one, you're more likely to engage in the other.
aldf.org/article/the-li…

Lots more evidence referenced here, via @urbanlorax:
You can see this tendency at work in the violence meted out by fox hunters and hunt followers to those who seek to record their illegal activities.
peta.org/issues/animal-…

Last night @Channel4News revealed appalling cruelty towards foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, otters, cats and many other species by British grouse moors. Almost all wildlife is treated as vermin, and often killed in the most disgusting ways.
channel4.com/news/calls-to-…