Prince William goes 'deer culling' in Balmoral

[vera99]

What's wrong with these people? I can maybe understand the need for occasional culling (though it is most often for the human agency not a concern for the animal) but to go out and enjoy stalking these magnificent creatures get them in the sights of your guns and kill them - that's just sick.

PS. King Charles was a big fan of fox hunting

AIBU? - Yes this is actual nature conservation activity and William is showing concern and leadership in participating in the shooting.

YANBU? - No this is a sick perverted hobby of the super-rich who glory in the pleasure killing of defenceless animals.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11300807/Prince-Wales-visits-Balmoral-goes-deer-stalking-Scotland-trip-Queens-funeral.html

"Deer stalking is the act of culling ageing stags that would otherwise die in the winter, with William shooting his first when he was 14 years old, something that is said to have left him delighted at the time.
The activity, which has been a shared passion among generations of the Royal Family, was encouraged by William's father King Charles III, while Princess Diana used to jokingly call him 'my killer Wales'.
William is not thought to have been joined in Scotland by his wife Catherine, who is herself a keen markswoman, and their children. A spokesman for Kensington Palace declined to comment."

An ethical viewpoint

But @vera99 the deer which are culled are the sick and elderly. What would you prefer, that they are allowed to linger on through another Scottish winter, slowly dying of starvation or the cold? Sometimes a swift death is very much caring about the welfare of the animals.

This is NOT THE SAME as hunting for fun.

There are quite a few people for that as well...

This.

But I hope it's a one shot and done and no putting of heads on walls for display.

@OrlandointheWilderness my grandad was a gamekeeper/stalker and his father before him, and so on and so on for generations. We are very much not toffs.

@SallyWD . I really don't think your suggestion would be popular with all the families, children, dog walkers etc who use the park.
Suggesting someone go into the park with a rifle to cull/ kill people is pretty extreme and a horrible suggestion

You have no idea of how estate land management works. The cull happens every year and would be going ahead regardless.
Uncontrolled deer populations can devastate the growth of young trees.

There are over million hunters in uk afaik.

King Charles took pleasure in hunting and ripping apart foxes with dogs he has passed this bloodlust onto his sons - well William at least. They enjoy it - it gives them kicks - psycho territory. I wouldn't have the same feelings for someone who had to do it for living. It's his choice then live with the reputational damage.

Fox hunting is not the same as deer culling. You’re diffusing your point a bit OP.

Fox hunting isn't the same though op.

I live in the city so apologise if this is an ill informed opinion on rural affairs, but I get the feel that fox hunting and the annual deer cull are quite different things in terms of necessity, cruelty etc

OP you seem to lack the ability to actually be willing to educate yourself and consider another viewpoint when faced with many people (who know what they are talking about) telling you otherwise.

Yeah you've lost any credibility you had @vera99 banging on about fox hunting with dogs (illegal), bloodlust and psycho territory.

Why not do some reading? Even the British Deer Society advocates managed culling, as does the Wildlife Trust.

@vera99 I live near Richmond Park where the deer herd is managed to avoid the greater suffering of the animals if the herd wasn't controlled. What's your view on that? Would you prefer for deer to suffer a significantly more painful death?

(I'm no fan of the royals btw for many other reasons, and a deer cull should never be a glorified 'performance but it really sounds like you have no clue about this)

You are right.

And urban and semi-urban deer are becoming a real issue in some areas. We have lots where I live and they are regularly getting hit by vehicles or causing huge damage to property and crops.

There are too many deer in Scotland. But there are also plenty of estates that deliberately try to keep deer numbers fairly high specifically so that they can charge people lots of money to come and kill a few deer.

Oh the Toffs wouldn't silently crawl about the highlands for hours in the pissing rain attempting to get close enough to a deer 😂! Obviously there are those that do, but it does tend to sort those who just want an easy driven day with a nice lunch out from those who really understand what they are doing.

how the fuck would anyone know the age of an animal in a shoot?! What a ridiculous pitiful excuse to make!
The deer should age naturally and die naturally not being chased and terrified before being shot and a potentially slow and terrifying death.

IF deer need to be culled and I don’t agree that they do, then a gentle and humane option is possible. Deer culling is a despicable blood sport.

I could easily become a republican when I think of the awful hunting and culling that happens in the royal family.

Deer are prey animals. Their natural predators are gone. In a completely natural environment they would be chased for miles by wolves (for example) and die slowly, being partially eaten while still alive. Like in the wildlife programmes where hyenas get wildebeest and zebras.

Deer are programmed for fear and flight as a way of life.

Foxes are predators. Wild baby ducks, rabbits, chickens, they will tear apart. Consider that when feeding fluffy wuffy fox cubs.

Personally I wouldn’t want to shoot any deer as part of a sport for my pleasure but plenty of rural societies are built around a form of hunting as part of the culture. I haven’t grown up around it. The Royals, and also the local un-wealthy, have.

I live in ne Scotland and deer need to be culled and I say that as a life long vegetarian

I do hope though everyone who is critical of it is a vegetarian also because the way deer are culled in Scotland is a million miles away from the cruelty in the meat industry

If you eat meat and bleat on about this you are a hypocrite.

They heards are controlled properly with old deer being shot before they starve to death.

Deer are massively overpopulated and do need to be culled to prevent severe habitat damage, but the sport of deer stalking is a large part of the problem, not the solution.

Main issue is that the estates maintain numbers greatly in excess of where they should be and provide extra food in winter to keep the numbers up. Genuine culling should focus on the females, not the males, but sport shooters obviously want to shoot stags with impressive antlers.

Problem with high deer numbers is tree regeneration is prevented since the deer eat all the seedlings and saplings. Most of the estates are very resistant to a genuine conservation programme which would see deer numbers reduced to a more sustainable level with forest regrowth.

Well obviously it wasn't a serious suggestion!! I'm just pointing out that the solution to the minor and localised environmental damage caused by animals always seems to be to kill them. Yet human being have completely devastated the planet and many ecosystems and continue to do so.

I have reported the extreme posts that suggest turning guns on people to cull them. There are lots of National Trust properties with deer herds that regularly cull elderly male stags. Near me there are three parks with deer herds that organise annual culls to manage the herd and prevent deer starvation.
Some of the posts on here are genuinely scary.

Why was it only Charles who passed this to his sons? Diana went shooting too.

Yeah I absolutely hate this. This is what the royal family needs to change.