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08 Sep 2003
p. Many of our car journeys around Somerset (of which there were few--we walked most places) were considerably impeded by huge flocks of game birds mooching about on the roads. I don't think I've ever come across birds with fewer survival instincts. Despite the fact that I slowed to an absolute crawl, they seemed determined to hurl themselves into my path. If I braked to avoid a partridge on the left hand side of the road and steered around it to the right, the silly thing would suddenly run back into my path at the very last minute. Alternatively, a pheasant would run at its top speed along the road in front of the car, eventually get up enough ground speed to get airborne, only to land again about 10m ahead of the car.
p. I love animals to the extent that I avoid eating most of them[1], but these flippin' birds started irritating me so much that I was almost tempted not to bother with evasive action. I don't know a lot about game shooting, but I can't imagine that these specimens would be particularly good sport. If they can barely avoid getting squished by a car going at 3mph, I can't see that they would take a great deal of marksmanship to bring down. In fact, I can easily imagine that one might sit on the barrel of the shotgun, force its head into the muzzle and squawk, "Fire!".
fn1. I have a simple rule; if I couldn't personally kill an animal, I don't eat it. I don't think that there's anything wrong with eating meat per se (though modern industrial farming techniques can make the animals' lives pretty miserable), but if I can't actually kill the food myself, then I am--in effect--hiring an assassin to do my dirty work for me. In case you're interested, this limits me to eating fish, shellfish and Crustacea. But not squid or octopi--they look at you funny. I don't claim that this is in any way logical, but it works for me.
2
I am myself a lacto-ovo-pescatarian. Commenting to a wise old friend one day that I was sick of having to explain my reasons for my chosen diet, he recommended that when people start to question me on the subject I should just say: "I don't like meat" - and guess what: he was so right! (Well, he is, as I say, a wise old friend.) That line of explanation works a treat, and I've now taken it as my standard response. It's rare that I receive any follow-up questions. Phew!
by David (TEFL Smiler) @ 09/09/2003 7:10 pm • Permalink •
3
David: I don't really mind explaining to people who are interested. Having said that, I do tend to just call myself vegetarian if I'm booking an airline meal, going to dinner with someone who doesn't know me, or booking a hotel. It's not accurate, but at least you know you won't end up with chicken on your plate.
4
So true!
by David (TEFL Smiler) @ 11/09/2003 4:09 pm • Permalink •
5
I’ve met some of the morons round here (Somerset) that go shooting and I’m not at all surprised that have to breed really stupid creatures to give themselves any chance of hitting them.
by fish @ 13/09/2003 10:09 am • Permalink •
1
Welcome back!
I once hit a flock of sheep in the dark, on a main road in Yorkshire. 2 pegged it, the others legged it, but they caused a huge amount of damage to my car. My staff never let me forget it and I received sheep postcards, toys etc for years afterwards..----- Eeek! This wouldn't have helped if you couldn't see them, but I learned a fail-safe method for getting sheep off the road while I was working on the Isle of Mull. You wind the window down, lean out and bark loudly like a dog. Yes, you get funny looks, but it clears them much more effectively than tooting your horn.
by bsag @ 09/09/2003 6:09 pm • Permalink •