Britain: after a campaign by animal rights activists, no hunting magazines for sale to under-14 yr olds

Why does one get the feeling that animal rights groups don't feel that they can win this debate simply by argument?  They appear to hope that they can wean Brits off of interest in hunting by making it harder for young people to get interested in hunting.  It provides some insight into gun control groups working to pass hunting bans in the US.

Country sports enthusiasts are furious at a decision by Britain's biggest newsagent to ban children from buying shooting magazines after a campaign by animal rights activists. 

WH Smith says youngsters under 14 will not be sold shooting titles, even though it is legal to hold a shotgun licence below that age. 

And even adult customers attempting to buy a magazine featuring shooting now face a humiliating alert as staff receive a "till prompt" to check the buyer's age. The high street retailer based the policy on the qualifying age for a firearms certificate and says checks are already in place for a range of products, including scissors and adhesives "where an element of common sense" is required. 

However, sports groups point out that there is no minimum age for holding a shotgun licence in Britain, although children below 18 cannot buy or own a gun themselves and under-14s must be supervised by an adult. . . . 

"They are now going to face the backlash of the countryside rather than a handful of animal rights activists." 

Earlier this year, Animal Aid, Britain's largest animal rights organisation, published a report which claimed that the "lurid, pro-violence content" of country sports magazines could have a "corrosive, long-lasting effect on impressionable young minds". . . .