Grandson went on a Scout camp.

Wow, I'm sure my grandson would be quite upset - he's vegetarian for starters and a Scout. Better warn him as he's off for two weeks camping in summer

Oh dont jingle GS goes to Beaver camp next weekend for the first time and if DD gets wind of this its all she is waiting for to back out as she has very reluctantly let him go.

They wouldn't do it at a Beavers camp Glass. He'll love camp. And with Beavers they're back before you know it

Not many people know how to do that stuff so I shouldn't think it happens at every scout camp by a long shot. Well, I know it doesn't. It is, however, in the good tradition of surviving in the wild, which is partly what scouting is about. Someone was demonstrating skinning rabbits at a scout thing I went to recently and I thought it was a good idea.

Not so much Bear Grylls as Ray Mears, I'd say.

A stuffed toy is a long way from a rabbit in the field, just as grizzly bears are a long way from teddies.

When we were children we lived a pretty rural lifestyle. When my brother, aged about 14, shot his first rabbit, our mother insisted that he dealt with the skinning and gutting. Killing things wasn't for fun, it was to protect the crops and the rabbit got eaten, not wasted. My brother turned quite an interesting shade of green! But at least he isn't a wimp.

Ditto pigeons, jamjam. DS learned to shoot by spending most of the day in a pigeon hide with our faithful and patient golden retriever probably wishing he'd hurry up and get on with it!

Plucking and gutting pigeons never feels as bad as dealing with those dear little fluffy bunnies, does it? I remember living in Malta inthe 60s and the local shop sold rabbits for the pot - still alive and kicking! The local ladies all laughed at me for being too squeamish to buy one - I would have ended up with it in a cage in the garden, not in the pot!

I'm not a fluffy bunny fan, JamJam A few years ago we lost our wonderful rabbit killer cat and the bunnies moved in with a vengeance. They not only destroyed all my precious plants but our lawn looked like a battlefield. It's taken two Jack Russells, rabbit fencing and a new moggie to finally have the garden back where we want it.

Without coming down on one side or the other (brought up in the country, guess!) I'm very surprised that any scout leader would embark on this kind of activity without full consent from the parents and the Scout Association beforehand. Just think; weapons, vegetarians, blood sports.... There was a news item very recently about a school that had embarked on pig-keeping with the pigs destined to be school dinners and income-generators. And it was the parental outcry that formed the main story.

Interesting thread - I can see both sides of this although I would not be able to deal with the rabbit myself - even prefer my fish headless if possible - something to do with the eyes! However I do think children need to know where our food comes from and for some of them it is a complete revelation. I had a visiting child who laughed and laughed when I began peeling potatoes to make her the chips she requested. When I asked why the mirth she told me that chips did not come from potatoes but a bag from the freezer shop. What an eye opener that was for her when I produced some lovely thick cut chips with whatever else for her tea.
I do hope all these Beavers and Scouts you have will thoroughly enjoy their camping exploits - and their mothers survive the worry while they are away! My DGS in USA is off to a music camp of some sort this summer - a fortnight I think - he plays the trumpet rather well and won a bursary for some of the fees. I am sure he will survive and enjoy it.

lily, it does have the blessing of the scout assoc. As I said, it's a scouting activity. Camping isn't all mod cons and even vegetarians might be glad of a rabbit, or some other animal source of food if there was nothing else. It's about learning survival skills.

Air rifle shooting and archery (though you can't hunt in this country using a bow and arrow) are very popular with scouts. Naturally, safety comes first and the regulations about how and where the activities are carried out are very strict.

Funny how so many parents only "get involved" in scouting when they have something to complain about (or think they do). If they got more involved more often they would know a bit more about what to expect.

All that said, I think skinning rabbits and such is usually done with Explorer scouts who are aged fourteen and over. No reason why younger scouts shouldn't see it being done though.

I wonder how many gransnetters sent their kids to scouts or guides but never offered to help. Both scouting and guiding are popular with young people but need more adult leaders. If you want things to change, get in there and do it from the inside.

Well, my daughter and son in law were at the camp as sil is Arkaela (sp?) and daughter agreed to help.

It was a combined Scout and Cub camp. The Cubs didn't get anywhere near the preparations, just offered some of the cooked meal.

I'm pretty sure that Scouting and the responsible handling of knives have always gone hand-in-hand. I've still got my mother's Girl Guide knife actually! one along these lines

I must make it clear that anyone who shoots rabbits for the pot has to be fully qualified. Whether that's a Scouting rule or the law in the outside world, I don't know.

Neither of the boys were upset, I'm glad to say. It was me who was slightly horrified! (DGS2 loves his meat! Can imagine him tucking in with relish. Whereas the older one would not have touched it. (v picky eater!)

I think it's the scouting rule, jings. But I'm not really au fait with national shooting rules since I've never had a gun and probably never will.

Have shot an air rifle at a scouting event though, and it was having a go at archery at a scouting event that got me interested enough to become a 'proper' archer. My archery club now wants me to become what they call a level one coach because so many kids want to try and there aren't enough coaches to go round.

You could teach Scouts to shoot their rabbits with a bow and arrow. Probably a more useful weapon than a gun. Who would have a gun when suddenly stranded out in the wilds? Bows and arrows could perhaps be made. (Just thinking aloud)

I've got a scar on my hand from a cut with a knife as I was making a 'gadget' at Guide Camp to keep my shoes off the ground at night. It certainly taught me to treat knives with respect.

Eh -they did abseiling down a rocky sort of face too. Older GS really good at that sort of thing - comes easily to him. Little one, not so! Practically bumped his nose on the rock all the way down. But he loved it! "That was great!"

Scouting is great too!

My firefighter SiL was a keen scouter and went on to Explorer scouting..he loves all that survival stuff..so I am sticking close to him in any disaster!

I have kept pet rabbits but also enjoy eating rabbit though not keen on skinning one. A Sicillian acquaintance heard I liked rabbit and turned up with a couple he had shot..fur and all!

When DC were small they went on a farm activity holiday and learned to milk goats, make butter and gather eggs. As a child during the war we kept chickens and I can remember when I was 3 or 4 one of them being killed for Christmas. My mother tried to keep me out of the way fearing it would distress me but I found my way into the shed to at least see the plucking and cleaning, even if I missed the kill. I was unbothered by the experience . Many years later one of DH's aunts, a farmer's wife, brought round a rabbit her husband had shot and showed me how to skin and eviscerate it ready for cooking.

We always felt, as a family we had many of the skills we needed to live off the land should it ever been necessary. While I have every respect for vegetarians, they are in a minority it is just the noise they make is out of proportion to their numbers. Rabbit is delicious, I like it stewed and as pate.

When my daughters helped out at the Scouts, they went on a camping holiday and one mother had sent her son to camp with an electric blanket! The lad asked the scout leader where he could plug it in and, keeping a totally straight face, he told him he could plug it into the third tree on the left!