to want to kick the bastard who shot this stag

[OnEdge]

Mindless cunt

I just cannot believe it wasnt used for food - in some form or another. No, the main aim of the kill was sport - but if the by-product was food, where is the harm. A cat often kills for sport and I get really upset when it then walks away from the kill. I would rather the bird/mouse then by eaten and I could accept that - that the cat had fun, but then at least profited from the thing it had killed by utilising it.

Many many people shoot for sport. A surprising number of women too.

It may not have been eaten frogety - if they were walking and didn't take a pony then they certainly wouldn't have carried more than they had to home. If it was left on the moor then it would have made a meal for something (better in an illogical way than making dinner for a merchant banker).

Sue - somebody said it was beside a track so i thought they may come back to get it in a vehicle.

But if not, then as you say it will be a feed for something else. But that doesnt sit as comfortably with me though - would rather they get it on pony or truck and get it back for either dog or human food.

Why would you rather it was dog food than a fox / birds ate it? I don't get that at all!

I suppose because there is plenty of food around for the fox, birds without this stag. If a human killed it, in my mind they need to use it. If it is used for dog food or for human consumption, then the kill is worth it, even if it was for sport. Without such a use it is pure sport without an end purpose, and that I am not 100% comfortable with.

There's plenty of food for humans and dogs too! I'd far rather a fox had a lucky day then it got pulped for dog food (and yes I do have dogs and they are not vegetarian)

I imagine food is getting scarcer after the recent frosts and lots of carrion eaters would be glad of it. I'd be the opposite and rather that it returned to the environment than made the specials board in the local pub. But then I'm veggie and have recently watched the Lion King with DD (have gone all circle of life-y)

I realise that the deer population needs to be kept under control and shooting is a practical and humane way of doing it.

But what I find particularly sad about this case is that the stag was almost certainly shot because he was such a big, fine creature and had the reputation of being the largest wild animal in the country. I guess the reasoning of the hunter goes "Oh that is the finest wild animal in the country so what a prize that will be if I can destroy it"

It's odd isn't it 5'5? When, if you think about it, there's much more skill involved in shooting a small animal. I imagine even I could hit a whale .
But then I cannot fathom the minds of people who kill for pleasure in any case. I'd defend the conservation angle but blood sports are shitty.

Ok, I will admit to double standards here.
I eat meat and although I am very aware of some poor standards in the meat/food industry I mostly dont consider that when buying meat.

I also understand the need for culling, that said how can anyone be so SICK as to get PLEASURE from KILLING.

In my youth I went on a few HuntSab invasions of Fox Hunt meets, the "hunters" were some of the most arrogant scumbags you could wish to encounter ruining their day brought me great pleasure, as did putting sugar in their petrol tanks and putting a stone through a windscreen with a catapult when one of the "hunt supporters" drove at us.

"the "hunters" were some of the most arrogant scumbags you could wish to encounter ruining their day brought me great pleasure, as did putting sugar in their petrol tanks and putting a stone through a windscreen with a catapult when one of the "hunt supporters" drove at us."

newwave I think I love you. :o

I doubt that this fucking idiot woke up that morning feeling concerned regarding the welfare of Red Deer, scratched his head and decided that unfortunately culling was only option to maintain their welfare.

Did he BOLLOCKS !!

Those who are saying that the outrage is only because he was beautiful are missing the point. We cull deer because their natural predator is missing due to our actions. So, to avoid starvation amongst the herd, and excessive damage to their habitat, we need to take the place of that predator. This stag would not have been susceptible to natural predation, he was too big and strong. Wolves go for the weakest in the herd, and culling should follow this pattern for the sake of the herd. Hunting deer by going for the strongest and most beautiful doesn't just destroy a beautiful animal, it damages the whole population of deer, who are deprived of the best genes they have managed to produce. It's an act of vandalism.

We have regulations which stop ecological vandalism - even trees can be protected by order, why should the same not apply to a stag in his prime?

Exactly highBOO. It is also the timing of the kill - rutting season - when the stag would be mating. Killing him at this time means his genes may not get passed down to the next generation. He was killed purely for greed. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with humane culling.

Was very shocked when I saw this on the news the other day. I'm against hunting- I agree certain wild animals need to be culled, for their own safety as well as for other reasons, but just for sport is something I would never agree with.

Having saids that have you seen the latest news about it this morning , admittingly it is the Daily Mail but it seems he may not be dead after all.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324297/Exmoor-Emperor-stag-mystery-deepens-locals-claim-sighting-beast-village.html

Mindless C**t?

Mindless is not knowing why this stag was shot.

12 years and being the dominant stag means he was only ever shagging his daughters and granddaughters.

He may well have great genes but unfortunately inbreeding doesn't work well for deer either.

Wild animals not in wild conditions need management as do woodland, rivers,ponds etc.

There is no hunting for sport unless it's managed anyway which is done by people that love the countryside including the animals in it. Don't have a go at country sports unless you do something for the (wild)countryside. They are the people keeping it together whilst everyone else forgets about it most of the time.

YANBU at all!!!

The killing of this stag was for PLEASURE. Not, herd-control, environmental protection, blah, blah, blah - it was because some weirdo enjoys killing beautiful animals.

As Douglas Batchelor, Chief Exec of the League Against Cruel Sports said: "The Emperor had clearly become a trophy for bloodsports fanatics, and the inevitable price on his head was too great. His felling, especially during the rutting season, shows a shocking disregard for the vast majority of the British public who enjoy seeing these beautiful, majestic creatures in their natural habitat without pointing a gun at them."

No, it was shot legally, as the population needs thinning out. They do a fair amount of damage, after all.

Could the shooting be controlled better? Probably, but that's the current rules in place, so this kind of thing happens fairly regalarly.

howling - I also saw it reported elsewhere that he might not be dead after all. Can't remember where now but the article suggested that there were bogus claims that he had been shot to stop the trophy hunters going after him. It seems nobody bothered to tell the locals or they would not be reporting sightings of him.

Not that it affects the debate in this thread - the principles remains the same regardless of whether the shotting is actual or fictious.

I can't claim to understand countryside management so don't know if there is any justification for killing this stag or not but I am sure that killing him as a trophy is not in the interests of anyone or anything but the people who make the money from it and that leaves a nasty taste.

Why are you so sure that it was trophy before culling and not the other way round?

Because you know nothing about it and it sounds like something you should get angry about.

Seriously he had 12 years and was now only shagging daughters and granddaughters. He would have been shot antlers or no antlers.

No, you clearly know nothing about it justonemore. This stag wasn't at the right age to be 'culled'. He was twelve. Red deer live to fifteen to twenty years.

Amazing, just days after Richard Austin's photos of the magnificent stag appear in the press, he's killed as part of a cull.

AFAIK in managed herds, stags are culled before their natural life span, as leaving them longer will result in fertility problems and problems related to inbreeding.

In the wild, the deer move around more and herds have more chance of meeting another herd and mixing the genepool more.

'Peter Donnelly, a Dulverton based deer management expert with a lifetime?s experience, says: 'I am very concerned that people are stalking and shooting deer in the rut. It?s a disgrace that this magnificent animal has been shot at this time because it could be that he didn?t get a chance to rut properly this time around'

I am assuming that a deer management expert knows a leetle more about these things than Mnetters.

There seems to be a lot of and displayed ignorance since I last looked - which is no surprise.

Culling takes place for the benefit of the herd. An older male mating with his own offspring is not for the benefit of the herd - and culling by definition ends a stag's life before 15-20 years, Pastaplease

Whether this stag was culled now or after the rutting season does not affect how he was killed. Good shots pride themselves on their ability to kill cleanly and quickly. A shot who allowed an animal to suffer by his (or her) poor aim would find themselves without a gun at future hunts.

As often happens, those who know least are happy to display their ignorance. And this can apply to many many emotive arguments.

Are you a deer management expert button moon?