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QUEEN WRINGS BIRD'S NECK
Outrage as she strangles pheasant
THIS is the moment that will shock every animal-lover in Britain.
The Queen bends over a pheasant that had been shot and injured on her
20,000-acre Sandringham Estate in the name of sport - and wrings its neck.
Last night her actions sparked outrage among animal rights campaigners. One
said: "It's absolutely disgusting that the Queen should involve herself in
something like this."
The Queen - who does not shoot - had grabbed the bird from the jaws of one of
her hunting labradors after it had been shot.
The gundog had picked up the bird which had been peppered with shot and
brought it to the Queen who was carrying a shepherd's crook and wearing a wax
jacket and headscarf.
Realising the bird was still alive, she tucked her stick under arm and bent
down to take it from the dog's mouth.
As she stood upright she swiftly put it out of its misery by wringing its
neck with both hands.
She then handed the body to an aide who tied it up with other dead pheasants
before he and the Queen drove off in a Range Rover for lunch elsewhere on the
huge estate.
The onlooker said: "It was obviously not the first time she had wrung the
neck of a pheasant. The bird had been shot and wounded and the dog had
brought it to her."
The Queen is staying at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk and
yesterday was the first Royal shooting party of the winter.
Thousands of pheasants are shot each year at the royal estate and many are
killed by Prince Philip, who is a keen shooter.
Around 200 hundred pheasant - bred especially to be shot - are bagged on a
normal day out on the estate.
A shooting expert said: "It might look cruel to kill a bird the way she did
with her bare hands - but it was the kindest thing to do in the
circumstances. The Queen put it out of its agony very quickly and with a
minimum of fuss. She has always been a countrywoman at heart and she is not
squeamish about these things.
"It was obviously a job that needed to be done and she did not hesitate. I am
sure she did not even think twice about it."
But last night the League Against Cruel Sports accused the Queen of promoting
"cruelty" by taking part in pheasant shoots.
Spokesman Steve Rackett said: "The Royal family are setting an appalling
example by shooting birds for fun.
"When you have shooting parties like this there is always the risk that birds
will not be killed cleanly - and this incident proves it.
"You have to question the Queen's moral judgement when she is seen to be
enjoying killing innocent creatures. It seems to send out the message that
the lives of birds and animals can be used simply as people see fit."
Penny Little, spokeswoman for Protect Our Wild Animals, said: "The Royal
Family are in a position of unbelievable privilege and I think it is tragic
that they have nothing better to do with their time than kill pheasants.
"It's dreadful that the Queen is involved in this kind of so-called sport.
"Some people will say that she put the bird out of its misery - but who put
the bird in misery in the first place?
"What a lot of people don't realise is many other animals are killed on
shooting estates - predatory animals like stoats - so that the pheasant
population is kept artificially high.
"Pheasants are deliberately saved for the guns which is a particularly nasty
aspect of pheasant shooting. I don't think the Queen should be a part of
something which most people find absolutely disgusting.
"I and a great many people, in this country have difficulty in respecting the
Queen and her family because of their involvement in blood sports."
Last night Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and editor of Majesty magazine,
defended the Queen's action.
"What she did is only what any farmer would do and the kindest thing possible
in the circumstances.," she said. "Sometimes on a shoot, if someone isn't
such a good shot the bird isn't killed outright.
"When the whistle blows and the shooting stops the gundogs go and collect up
all the birds and return them to their masters.
"This dog, which must have been the Queen's, brought the bird to her and she
did the only possible humane thing - and wrung its neck.
"Sometimes the keepers will kill it with a stone, but wringing its neck is
the most effective method.
"If she hadn't the bird would have gone on fluttering and suffering so she
really had no choice."
The Queen employs several gamekeepers and breeds thousands of pheasants every
year at Sandringham so they can be shot as sport.
Many of the dead birds end up in local butchers' shops and only a handful get
eaten by the Royal family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sacrifices I make for Cybershooters - I had to go to the Sunday Mirror's
web site to get this - Ugh! Nasty!
Kenneth Pantling
--
This reminds me of the article about the squirrels not long ago. What
does LACS suggest? Calling 999?
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
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