Prince George is reportedly being kept away from a royal tradition which dates back centuries but that has drawn criticism from animal rights campaigners. Shooting is a ritual the Windsors enjoy at about this time each year, with a Boxing Day shoot featuring as part of the Christmas calendar at King Charles‘s 20,000 acre Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
When George was five, his attendance at a hunt sparked a backlash and prompted criticism with campaigners saying such experiences can desensitise children to the suffering of animals.
The Windsors have long taken part in hunting, with grouse, pheasant and stags coming within range of the royals’ guns.
Besides the Boxing Day shoot at Sandringham, the so-called “Glorious Twelfth” is also a feature of the Windsor’s Balmoral estate in Scotland.
A key date in the rural calendar, the “Glorious Twelfth” marks the start of the shooting season for red grouse on August 12.
Balmoral has also been the site of royal deer-stalking expeditions, with Prince William having shot his first deer at the age of 14.
Animal welfare groups were up in arms when it emerged the first in line to the throne’s son had attended a hunt.
Mimi Bekhechi, Vice President at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said at the time that few people view shooting as “anything other than a violent perversion”.
She explained: “For a child to be compelled to witness such casual killing – and by a parent he looks up to, no less – is potentially as harmful to his or her psyche as it is to the bird’s very life.
“It can desensitise children to the suffering of animals – which is cause for concern, given the well-established link between cruelty to animals in childhood and antisocial behaviour in adulthood – and could give George nightmares.
“To help him grow into a responsible, compassionate leader, his parents must teach him respect for all living beings.”
Before George attended the hunt in 2020, Prince William and Prince Harry sparked criticism when they went on a boar hunting trip days before they joined a campaign against the illegal wildlife trade.
William renewed the call during the Covid pandemic in 2020 and in November this year called for no let up in efforts to end the loss of wildlife in Africa.
He issued the rallying cry at an awards ceremony organised by the Tusk Trust, of which he is patron. The non-profit campaigns to help conserve threatened species, such as the African elephant, across the continent.
Like his father, King Charles, William supports eco projects and campaigns, including by spearheading the Earth Shot Prize.
Royal expert Duncan Larcombe has suggested the royals’ support for hunting may not last much longer given the head of the Windsor family’s much publicised concern for the environment.
