I know I m going to get my head bitten off but here goes anyway

trisher, My experience of shooting parties is that they are strictly protected from inexperienced townees who can't just turn up because they have shedloads of cash. They have to have a gun licence for a start and be approved by the owner of the shoot.

Any dog killing a bird would never be allowed on a shoot again. Retrievers are soft mouthed and are trained to take injured birds back to their owners or dog handler. They are instructed in the direction to take when they retrieve. They are not allowed to just 'run in.'

Beaters are not allowed to break the line. Their own safety depends on them obeying the rules.

Injured birds are swiftly dispatched.

The royal family don't exactly have to go out and get their own food. I doubt that William goes down to Tesco for a box of fish fingers, so why does he need to go out on the Moor for a bird?

He isn't the food provider for his family. He is there for fun. Evidently the next generation of royalty is being introduced to this strange idea of entertainment.

My opinion only, if you eat what you kill then there is nothing horrible or disgusting about it. My son loved fishing And crabbing from a young age (10) but he was taught to only catch what he could eat and was told if he was willing to catch fish he must be willing to clean and fillet them. This does not make him callous or bloodthirsty. We raised chickens and had a day where we killed them for the freezer, all three of my children participated and they were not traumatised nor did they become callous animal killing adults. We killed our own cows and the whole family helped with the chopping up of the meat.
Now before the “ meat for the table is different “ argument comes in to play, we did not have to do any of this, we could have bought all our meat from a butcher. It was our choice to kill our own and our choice to teach our children that doing so came with responsibilities.
Having said that, we also shot hares which we did not eat, why? Because they devastated our crops and you couldnt eat them because they are tough as boot leather. Sometimes friends would come to help.
None of these things makes us terrible people just as taking your son on a bird shoot does not make you a terrible person either.

It`s barbaric, just as fox hunting is.
So you are spot on Bluebelle.

I'm not having a go but at least a wild bird gets to have a life. All the chickens people eat get about six to eight weeks of, usually, 'life' - an existence packed together in a shed.

Therefore, if you eat them, to claim cruelty in hunting wild birds is hypocrisy. Don't children deserve to know where their food comes from?

www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/chickens/meat-chickens/

Can I ask how those who think that these shooting parties are OK can be absolutely certain thatthe bird is cleanly killed every time? Some of those taking part are inexperienced townies who just have the cash to do it. Isn't there a distinct possibility that some of the birds are just winged then killed off by a beater or the dog that finds them?

It is perfectly understandable that people do not want to see animals being killed, or to want someone else to do the killing for them. What I personally can't understand is why anyone enjoys killing.
Necessary yes, jolly good fun, no.

I would not be put out if Prince George had been at ONE shoot. He is at the age of enquiring about absolutely everything. I don't think his parents would embellish the truth and then things would start to evolve in how own mind regarding this practice. I recently had a commercial meal with my two GC. The elder (7) kept eyeing my meal in what I regarded as a curious way. 'Want to try some?' 'Didn't a chicken have to be killed for you to have that?' Yoiks! I was thoroughly enjoying it before that. I fumbled my way out of that conversation. Didn't do heavy because I assumed this teaching had perhaps come from vegetarian parents. Respectfully disagree. Another memorable occasion from my distant past. In the sixth year, we eighteen years olds were introduced to various parts of the big wide world. One was a trip to an abattoir. We were allowed to choose to wait outside once we arrived. Myself, one other girl and a lad did so. On exit, I never saw such a shocked, grey and sickly looking bunch of classmates. One macho rugby type was actually in tears. However, not one of them regretted having done it. I admired that. The ensuing debate/conversation was emotional but informed. Recently, I find myself gravitating to more meat free meals. That is not a reasoned choice. Just fits in better with my current lifestyle and laziness over cooking.

Children living on farms see far more than shooting grouse

I do hope you're all going to eat ethically sourced vegan food tonight. Otherwise perhaps you should examine your consciences.

Totally 100% agree with you Bluebelle.

Badgers & foxes need culling as they are vermin. Have you seen a chicken house raided???

Sorry, spelt that wrong, 'Mee.....'ghan'

The same people who shoot are often the same people who illegally hunt foxes. Again, the people who shoot grouse and pheasant are often the people who are actively shooting badgers right now for the sport of it.

More incorrect and ill informed nonsense.

Harry has enjoyed shooting and hunting from a child, he gave up when he married

Well, I’m another one who agrees with you Bluebelle. The point is that if shooting and hunting is ‘normalized’ when you are very young, it becomes normal behaviour for that young child. They will want to participate in the same ‘sport’ as soon as they are able to. The same people who shoot are often the same people who illegally hunt foxes. Again, the people who shoot grouse and pheasant are often the people who are actively shooting badgers right now for the sport of it. Yes, the badger Cull is back with us RIGHT NOW and badgers are probably being shot in the field near to where you live. Supposedly it’s to stop the spread of bovine TB but don’t tell me that a lot of the shooters don’t enjoy the sport of the kill. Bovine TB is a disease of cattle and, a bit like Covid 19, some cows just don’t show any signs of having the disease at all, but continue to spread it among the herd. Some unfortunate badgers get the disease from cattle and then are blamed for the spread of the disease. Unbelievable.
Yes, I loathe all hunting and shooting.

I like William and Catherine (as far as any of us can say that without really knowing them) but if I disapproved of what they are doing I would say so.

It’s perfectly possible to like someone yet disapprove of their actions from time to time.

Our grown up children anyone?!

All I can say is - can you imagine what the backlash would have been if it would have been Megan and Harry? No doubt all over the front pages and lots of criticism. Hunting animals, shooting birds - terrible. But then it is William and Kate and they don't seem to be able to do anything wrong.

Hunting as a hobby is disgusting. Respect all living creatures, as they are not put on this earth for entertainment, and to show this barbaric practise to George is beyond the pale.

Agree but I didn’t realise “a house cat” meant it is kept indoors all the time

I thought that's what it meant. Someone I worked with had a house cat plus two others - the 'others' were allowed out but the house cat was never let out of the house because it was too precious, a pedigree. It escaped eventually and got knocked down on the road, poor thing.

Smileless2012

As I've posted Lucca a house cat doesn't necessarily mean it's kept indoors all the time. It means that they have restricted out door space to enjoy.

I was referring to Annibach saying “ Keeping budgies in cages is cruel, same with rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats , rabbits etc, as is keeping house cats,”

But it’s not just the grouse that are killed it’s so much wildlife that’s killed with no repercussion to protect the grouse - so people can enjoy shooting them.

As I've posted Lucca a house cat doesn't necessarily mean it's kept indoors all the time. It means that they have restricted out door space to enjoy.

Callistemon

^And I still don’t understand what keeping a House cat haS to do with grouse shooting^
It's cruel to keep a cat indoors for all its life.

In fact, I was chatting to someone the other week who believed that no animal should be domesticated purely for our selfish pleasure.

Agree but I didn’t realise “a house cat” meant it is kept indoors all the time.

But it’s not animal cruelty is it Mimigirl ?

Every decent person abhors cruelty to animals but we are talking here about a grouse shoot where the birds are killed instantly.

As others have said that is much preferable to dubious practices in abattoirs.