From food to sport

Hunting was originall a means of providing food , but it has now become a sport , though in some parts of the world there are still people who hunt wild animals to provide themselves with food in england , hunting is as much a social activity as anything else.
A great many years ago , fishermen in japan used birds to catch fish . this art of fishing is said to be at least a thousand years old and is mentioned in japanese noh plays today , however , fishing in this way has simply become a sport. for the fishermen are not seriously interested in catching fish.
On summer nights the fishing boats set out on rivers in various parts of the country . the front of each boat there is an iron basket in which a wood fire is kept burning . as the grace ful curved boats float past carried along by the current . these fires , dotted here an here , make bright patterns on the water , steering down the river , the fishermen beat the sides of the boat to encourage the birds and people out for an evening entertainment either sit or lie on the floor of the boats cooking a meal for themselves over the flames of the fire . this method of fishing demands great skill , for the fisherman has to handle three or four birds in one hand . a long picece of string tied round the neck of each bird and the fishermen must take care to keep the birds separate from each other . every so often , the birds are set free and they fly close to the water in search of fish . the moment a bird catches afish in its beak , it is pulled back on to the boat , the string is held tightly round the birds throat to prevent it from swallowing the fish it has caught .  when many fish in the river do not appear , the fishermen can sometimes be seen secretly throwing dead fish into the water for the birds to catch , no one  really objects to this practice . as it is all part of this unusual sport