Kate Middleton under fire for going shooting with Royals

[Honey]

Kate Middleton takes aim as she goes deer shooting with the Royals for the first time yesterday – in a move that has infuriated animal-rights campaigners.



The girlfriend of Prince William was being expertly coached by two ghillies shortly before joining the main deerstalking party on the Queen's Balmoral estate.
Prince Charles looked on as Kate, clad in camouflage gear and aiming a fearsome hunting rifle in the prone position, fired at a practice target.
Pre-hunt: Kate with Charles before joining WIlliam's party



Her presence on the Highlands shoot is the clearest sign yet that the 25-year-old fashion buyer has been fully accepted into the Royal inner circle.
And Kate clearly passed muster with the bolt-action rifle, which was equipped with telescopic sights and a silencer to be able to kill at a mile.
As she lay prone in the heather in full view from a public road, the gamekeepers set up the weapon for firing. After settling into the correct position, she made sure of her target through the telescopic sight and fired, scattering frightened birds.



The sights on the rifle were then adjusted and she headed off to find William in the main party of stag hunters, leaving Charles to return to nearby Birkhall House, the home he shares with Camilla. It is not known if Kate managed to land her first 'kill' yesterday.
But last night her involvement with the shoot was condemned by the League Against Cruel Sports. A spokesman said: 'It beggars belief that the Royal Family believe it is fun to slaughter deer and I am very sad that Ms Middleton has been introduced to this cruel sport.
'Presumably it is all part of her induction into a family with an appalling track record on blood sports.' Patrick Murphy, of prestigious gunmakers Holland and Holland in London's Mayfair, said: 'It is quite normal now for women to go shooting.'
However he did have a mild dig at Kate wearing camouflage gear instead of tweeds, saying it used to mark someone out as a 'suburban novice' but was now gaining acceptance.
Huntswoman: Kate takes aim as she is tutored by ghillies



He added: 'Deer are colourblind and the camouflage is a disruptive pattern that allows the hunter to get close enough to them to make a clean, humane shot to the heart.'
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation says no one should consider stalking unless they can consistently hit a 10cm target with three shots from 100 metres.
Stalkers also must, for humanitarian reasons, use bullets that fragment when they hit the deer so they have a greater chance of killing and not merely wounding it.
The association additionally says shots should never be taken at moving or badly-positioned deer, in poor visibility or through cover.
It is only legal to shoot in the deer-stalking season, which has only a few days left to run.
Kate is spending a private weekend with William at his Balmoral cottage, just a few minutes away from Birkhall. It is part of an effort to pursue their revived romance away from public attention.
The 120-year-old former gamekeeper's cottage, which is equipped with a large round bath-for-two, is hidden away and boasts impressive views over the rugged Highland estate.
The pair have been in Scotland since Thursday.
A spokesman for Prince Charles said: 'We do not act for Ms Middleton and so we have no comment to make. 'What the Royals do on the Balmoral estate is a private matter.'

Deer hunter: Middleton under fire for going shooting with Royals | the Daily Mail

[pacific breeze]

Despicable. But that's what the royals like to do. At least fox hunting was finally banned. "The unspeakable in pursuit of the indedible" Oscar Wilde called it.

[Laurent]

I don't pretend to understand hunting, and I live in a region that seems obsessed with it for part of the year. I find it to be pointless and needlessly cruel, and very few of the people I'm aquainted with that hunt do so for food. It's mostly just some sort of stupid amusement, and then the animal is stuffed and mounted as a trophy.

Vile.

[Honey]

Stupid Royals

[DoveFeatheredRaven]

I don't understand why that person "had a dig at her" for wearing camo instead of tweeds when everyone she is pictured with has on camo. English snobbery at its finest, I guess. lol

Edit- just saw Chuck in a tie. lol

[aabbcc]

That break-up sure didn't last long.

[VenusInFauxFurs]

Inflicting pain and suffering to animals in the name of tradition and sport in a fucking abomination. It's despicable.

[o0Amber0o]

I also don't understand hunting but being from Upstate NY I know a lot of men AND women who are into it. I don't see what the big deal is and I don't understand why PETA has to fire off at every person in the public eye for something that thousands of people do everyday.

[VenusInFauxFurs]

Yet most hunters would have a complete fit if someone randomly walked up and kicked their dog up the backside. Apparently there are animals upon which it's alright to unleash senseless violence and cruelty upon.

[MrsDark]

I don't pretend to understand hunting, and I live in a region that seems obsessed with it for part of the year. I find it to be pointless and needlessly cruel, and very few of the people I'm aquainted with that hunt do so for food. It's mostly just some sort of stupid amusement, and then the animal is stuffed and mounted as a trophy.

Vile.

Not that I could do it, but I somewhat understand "deer season" where I live. I can tell you right now we'd be overun were it not for that. It's very dangerous when you're driving some of these roads and a deer jumps out. People have died. The deer usually get mangled and if they're lucky, die instantly but quite often die a slow and horrible death...unless the person in the vehicle has a gun to put the poor thing out of its misery.

But it is quite lovely to look out the kitchen window at the back of my mom's house (she lives on several acres which include woods in the back) and see a whole family of deer crossing one's backyard.

Oh, and deer meat doesn't taste too bad either. Still, I don't think I could shoot one myself unless I was starving.

[january]

I don't believe in hunting for sport, but if you use the meat for food, then I have no problem. Where I used to live, the overpopulation of deer was a major problem. Just a few months ago I heard of a kid who was only 18 and his three friends dying on a highway because they hit a deer at night. Its a huge problem and I, for one, am happy that they have people who hunt deer at certain times of the year or else there would be many more people dying. This was not an isolated incident where I came from. I have almost hit a deer about three times in my life, my dad clipped one on the highway and it totaled his car (thank God he was alright). In this case, I value human life much more. As long as the hunting is done humanely and the deer doesn't suffer, and the meat is used, I have no problem with it (which I realize is an awful opinion on this board).

[tkdgirl]

No idea what the deer population is like in England. But where I live, deer hunting is necessary to control population numbers. Too many deer here mean many will starve to death in winter. As a huge animal advocate, I used to be vehemently opposed to hunting. But, it was a conversation with (of all people) Ted Nugent, who changed my mind. True hunters hunt for the sole purpose of using every bit of the game they've hunted. Many of these 'true hunters' where I live donate any left over meat to homeless shelters.

But, I suspect the Royals hunt for sport, which in my mind is the equivalent to the gun toting bubbas who go out here and just hunt to kill stuff. There is no honor in shooting any animal for sport. Its those people I have a HUGE problem with.

[MrsDark]

But, I suspect the Royals hunt for sport, which in my mind is the equivalent to the gun toting bubbas who go out here and just hunt to kill stuff. There is no honor in shooting any animal for sport. Its those people I have a HUGE problem with.

That I'm with you on. I highly doubt if any of these royals eat their kill. And I doubt if they even think to donate the meat.

[VenusInFauxFurs]

The royals hunt purely for sport. Thank god fox hunting finally got banned.

[eva]

On a side note, I find it interesting that the Royals aren't even trying to maintain an image of Kate as a virgin. Wasn't that the whole point of Charles marrying Diana, because she was a virgin?