From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ananova, 19/11/00
Palace says Queen was not cruel to bird
A Buckingham Palace spokesman has dismissed allegations that the Queen
committed an act of cruelty on a stricken pheasant by wringing its neck.
He says the Queen had simply put a bird "out of its pain" after being shot
by huntsmen.
The spokesman said: "The Royal Family's position on blood sports is very
well known. It was the least cruel way to put that particular pheasant out
of its pain."
The statement follows animal rights activists reacting with outrage to a
picture of the Queen killing the bird, which was used on the front page of
the Sunday Mirror.
A gun dog had picked up the stricken bird which had been peppered with shot
and brought it to the Queen during the shoot at the 20,000-acre Sandringham
estate.
The Queen, who does not herself shoot, had grabbed the bird from the jaws of
one of her hunting labradors after it had been shot, then killed it by
wringing its neck with both hands.
She handed the dead bird to a companion, who bagged it up with 200 other
birds shot that day, and drove away in a Range Rover.
Steve Rackett, spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "The
royal family are setting an appalling example by shooting birds for fun."
"You have to question the Queen's moral judgement when she is seen to be
enjoying killing innocent creatures."
--
What's that word for people who see human characteristics in animals?
Animals are not innocent or guilty of anything, I can't remember the
last time a pheasant was in the witness box.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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