That is not an option over here of course, unless you are out stalking, in which case I expect the shot would just be confused with any other shot, whereas a whistle is a signal. You asked how many people had been saved by whistles, which seems to be a question that cannot be answered. I wonder how many people are lost each year in your Northern wilderness and pay with there lives. I would guess that there are a lot fewer people out there than go onto the English, Welsh and Scottish hills each year, which is why what would seem to have little point to you, in your situation, is an entirely different matter here.
There were pheasants on my allotment today, but the rules specifically forbid shooting with good reason, too small an area, too great a risk. The only thing that get's trapped here are the rats. We live in a densely populated land, and whilst a couple of hundred miles might not be much to you, it is a long way on busy roads, to get out to what areas of wild still exist, and those we share with hundreds of others doing the same. Mind you if I want to go out all day and not see anybody I still can, in some of the local woods where the dog walkers don't go.
