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

I couldn’t agree with Bluebell more . Taking any life for sport is callous and immoral , and involving a child in it as well is really not instilling an appreciation of the value of life !

Although plenty of rich people shoot the vast majority of people on shoots are just country people - of course there are some large commercial shoots which help the local economy but they are in the minority and on any shoot I have been involved with the birds are either taken by the guns, beaters and pickers up to eat or sold to a game dealer. Stalking deer is something else and is mostly done for the health of the herd. It is not just picking out a deer at random and shooting it - it will have been pre-selected. Other times it is to protect woodland - deer can do a tremendous amount of damage to young trees.

@BlueBelle

100% with you Bluebell!

Sadly I did not think the idea of "perfect parents" would hold on to their image for ever.
Only Diana was a real Mum. She followed her gut instincts and her heart and showed her love for her children spontaneously.

I hope eventually the way we maintain a Royal family will change. I am loyal to the Queen. However the family idea they are supposed to embody is egregious and has always been thus. Cold and cruel, teaching their young ones to shoot defenceless wild animals is only the tip of the ice-berg. It will be the deer on the royal parks next. And don't speak of culling because they breed the animals specifically to shoot them.

I rarely write posts but enjoy reading the many comments of others. However your post has made me feel heated with the need to add an opinion..... I must agree with you 100%. Any form of animal cruelty or abuse is To me unacceptable. Allowing a child to witness such acts is totally appalling. Royalty and there love of hunting is well documented. In my opinion they are wrong and should set the example for others to follow. Regarding trophy hunting it Beggars belief how any human with an ounce of compassion could find this appalling practice enjoyable and acceptable....We should respect all wildlife and stop culling and destroying it. Finally I can’t resist adding those who kill wildlife often have pets. How can you define having pets whilst killing other animals for pleasure. Also an animal lover at the same time eating them... That’s my opinion and I’m aware others will disagree and I respect that but so be it ..... I needed to get that off my chest ....

Totally agree BlueBelle. Killing for pleasure!

It will be the deer on the royal parks next. And don't speak of culling because they breed the animals specifically to shoot them.

What a load of ill informed tosh!

If it's ok to shoot for the table, what's wrong with actually enjoying it? If you can have fun and eat too, why is that so terrible?

I don't live in the UK, I'm in Africa. Here, it's the difference between hunting lion, say, (very bad), and shooting kudu on a game farms. I think kudu is delicious, and someone had to kill it for me to eat it. But that's what it was bred for.

If nobody ate meat, there would be a lot fewer animals. No farm animals, no game farms etc.

Personally, I'm a city girl and I would never shoot or fish. But if people eat what is shot or caught, and the numbers are managed sustainably, then I see no harm.

It's like the fuss people make about predators. They get upset when the fox, badger or owl kills. How about watching a lion bring down a kudu, or the cheetah take an impala.
And the same person probably doesn't care if their pet cat catches garden birds.
Humans are predators, same as animals. As long as we eat what we kill, we're no worse than they are.

Not all who take part in shoots are wealthy, royalty , land owners etc

What about chicken, cows, sheep and pigs? All bred to be eaten. If I had a choice I'd rather be a pheasant!

Definitely not biting your head off either, I totally agree with you about the killing of any living creature.
However Harry and Meghan are another story for another day. I’ve never been nasty about them but I just wish they’d disappear into the life they so desperately craved.

Anniebach

Not all who take part in shoots are wealthy, royalty , land owners etc

But many are. And I still don’t understand what keeping a House cat haS to do with grouse shooting

I agree with the OP. it is sufficent to put me off Kate and William. They have proved they are as much silly aristocrats as any other landowners, and the royal family thereby loses all its mystique.

I am personally disappointed, because I believed I was a royalist. Now I am not.

Anniebach, anyone who shoots animals for fun is no friend of mine and gets no support from me. I prefer intelligent moral people.

They have proved they are as much silly aristocrats as any other landowners
They are not aristrocrats.

Kate wan't there.

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.

Prince William is a lot better looking sporting a beard and wearing a flat cap.

Just saying.

As I said up thread, I don’t like blood sports at all. However, as far as I know, William and Kate, and indeed any others who engage in blood sports, are not doing anything illegal, and so it would appear that any disgust that any of us feel about it is completely irrelevant. Fox hunting however is illegal, thankfully. I particularly dislike the idea of killing magnificent stags, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. I eat very little meat, a bit of chicken or pork, beef occasionally, and lamb at Easter. I eat no other meat. But given that I do eat meat, although not much, I don’t think I’m in a position to complain.

Incidentally, I’ve had three cats during my married life, but all three have now died. I miss them sooo much and would love another cat. They all had access to the garden and the area we live in and all three were rescue cats. We go away a lot since retirement (pre Covid) and so after our last cat sadly died, we decided to leave cat ownership till when we are at home more.

"I know I am going to get my head bitten off, but here goes anyway" Your quote Bluebell...maybe it is because you are good at biting other peoples heads off on too many occasions! You know your own tricks best!!

That's very rude Donna1964
and not true.

Rural land should be used for sustainable agriculture leisure for the many not the few, and wild life conservation.

Game birds are not wild but are specially bred for this leisure activity for those who can afford to shoot. The grouse shooting industry use far too much land and excludes wild life, walkers, and riders from most of Britain, especially England.

Donna fo

I totally agree BlueBelle, I was horrified when I saw the photos and amazed that there has not been any media outcry

I hate hunting animals /birds. I see no reason to do it. Sorry all those country living members but I lived in the country for some years too & I still never saw why it had to be done. It sickened me that all those local farmers getting together for a mass 'cull'. Just an excuse for a day killing & drinking.

It isn't cruel to have house cats. We've had them for years when we started owing sphynx's. Being hairless they need extra care when it comes to being kept warm and protection from too much sun light.

They have always had access to the outside. Where we live now doesn't have a garden but a fabulous roof terrace which we added a glass balconette too at great expense so our last remaining cat can go out whenever he wants too, in complete safety.

The last 'outside' cat we had years ago went out one day and never came back. That afternoon we heard shooting in the fields behind where we used to live and are pretty certain that he was shot.