The pro shooting lobby sell their blood sport as organic and free range.

But the League claims that what many don't know is that many of these birds begin their lives in worse conditions than battery hens.

Pheasants are intensively reared in their thousands then released into the wild to be shot by paying guns often enjoying a corporate jolly.

Not only are these birds reared in horrendous conditions which fail to meet any welfare standards, sporting estates will also employ rigorous predator control methods to protect these birds to maintain stocks.

League Chief Executive Douglas Batchelor said: Commercial shooting is nothing short of mass slaughter on an industrial scale.

"It is an industry which thrives on taking pleasure from animal suffering to line the pockets of the rich.

"It is appalling that in this day and age anyone can take a gun into the countryside and take pot shots at our wildlife."