The British press worked overtime this weekend, reporting on images of Prince Edward supposedly beating his dogs with a stick during a pheasant shoot. There aren’t any pictures of the prince’s stick making contact with the dogs — it looks as if he’s trying to break up a fight — but animal rights groups think his menacing behavior with the raised stick is indicative of the cruelty behind country sports.
There’s a deep schism in British society about country sports, a favorite pastime of the aristocracy in Britain. Fox hunting, for example, was banned in England and Wales in 2004, thanks to public uproar and lobbying from animal rights groups. Now with fox hunting banned, what’s a royal to do but take aim at game birds on the estate?
The royals do love their weekend hunts. The late Princess Diana, not a hunter, was reportedly dismayed by her sons’ love of the hunt; Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was roundly criticized by the press and animal rights groups for shooting with Prince Charles last year. Also last year, scandal-magnet Prince Harry was accused of shooting two birds that were of a protected species.
I’m not anti-hunting. I grew up in rural northern New England, where hunting’s not a rich man’s sport. It wasn’t uncommon to go to a relative’s home and be served a steaming bowl of venison stew or braised rabbit, the meat courtesy of an uncle’s hunting expedition. Responsible hunting kept animal populations in check and filled our freezers with food. (I’ll admit though, I’m not a huge fan of venison.) I assume that the royal estates, too, are filled with deer that reproduce like, well, rabbits, and stalking keeps their populations controlled.
But the royal family doesn’t need to fill their freezers with protein for the winter, and given the strong anti-monarchist sentiment in Britain coupled with an economy in the shitter, is it the wisest move for these folks to engage in a weekend sport that pisses off the public who are supporting them? Is this their brilliant alternative to stumbling out of Whisky Mist at 2:00 a.m.? What do you think? Add your comments below.
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