Prince William draws animal rights activists’ ire after taking son George on grouse shoot

According to reports, Prince George watched as William and others shot grouse near Balmoral on Saturday.

The Duke of Cambridge has been criticised by animal rights activists after he reportedly took Prince George to a grouse shoot.

Prince William, 38, was joined by his seven-year-old son when a group went shooting in Corgarff, near the Queen’s Scottish home of Balmoral, during the bank holiday weekend.

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Chris Luffingham, campaigns director for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “Taking Prince George along to a grouse shoot isn’t a good look for a royal family that is trying to promote itself as progressive and compassionate.

Prince WilliamPrince William
Prince William

“Shooting hundreds of birds at a time just for fun doesn’t chime with Prince William’s commitment to protecting wildlife, especially as the negative impact on the environment and other wildlife from intensive grouse moor management is huge.

“The League campaigns to ban commercial shooting on this basis – shooting hundreds of thousands of birds a year just for fun has no place in a modern society.”

The Daily Mail reported William took George and the Duchess of Cambridge to watch him and others, including the Earl of Wessex, shoot grouse on Saturday.

William has been a long-term campaigner for the protection of endangered species like elephants and rhinos.

He has attempted to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in items like ivory through his umbrella body United for Wildlife.

For more than five years the organisation’s Transport Taskforce has been working to facilitate collaboration between the transport sector and law enforcement to prevent wildlife trafficking.

He is also patron of Tusk, a conservation organisation working in Africa which aims to secure a peaceful co-existence for the continent’s wildlife and its people.

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