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A group of chavs picking off crows with air rifles for fun is little conceptually different to fox hunting (again, ignoring that population control is effectively irrelevant here - more of a convenient cover for fox hunting than a reason. If May wants to do her bit for the country there are several better ways she could go about it than killing wildlife).Does it matter that some people make (or rather made) a sport out of it?
Sure, it's a bit of a grisly way to get your kicks, but I'm not sure that it matters what the process is so long as it's not any worse than other common processes and gets the same end result. Snares are awful (and kill the wrong creature a lot), shooting is hit and miss (in approximately that ratio) and also the worst thing in the history of ever because GUNS ARE EVIL (etc.). Hunting with hounds is no worse, as far as I can tell, and if someone wants to enjoy it I can't say I'm bothered.
The main difference I can see is that fox-hunters do it in fancy dress (though you might also consider Adidas tracksuits "fancy dress") and have powerful political allies, while the other group would simply be considered yobs. So one would get punished for being bloodthirsty lunatics, while the other is encouraged and supported by some of the most powerful people in the country.