Prince William: Save Rhinos, Kill Others
Britain’s Prince William, an avid hunter, has sent a video message to the CITES conference (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), saying how upset he is over “the illegal killing of the African elephant and rhino, and the related illegal trade of ivory and horn, has reached shocking levels in the past few years.”
Will has even taken up protection of rhinos as one of his “causes”, while he, brother Harry and the rest of the Royals still include shooting smaller animals among their favorite recreational activities.
(Will and Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, objected strenuously to hunting, and tried to stop her boys from getting involved. But ‘tradition’ won out. And, of course, it’s ‘tradition’ and ‘culture’ that are used as the biggest excuse for killing exotic animals.)
According to The Spine, Harry, armed with an assault rifle, bagged more than 30 birds on one particular hunting expedition in Scotland:
Asked if he thought using an SA80 assault rifle, capable of firing 650 rounds per second, gave him much of an advantage, Harry replied: ‘My father told me that if I didn’t have an unfair advantage, there wouldn’t be much point my being royal would there?
Prince Charles’ more traditional double-barreled shotgun was carried by the traditional double-barreled aide, whilst Prince Philip’s gun remained unloaded for much of the shoot as he preferred to knock birds out of the air with the force of his scattergun opinion. ‘Bloody rotten peasants,’ he was heard to shout, though his words might have been misheard as they were drowned out by gunfire, as Harry turned his laser-guided sights on a final grouse of the day.
The British royals, just generally, support “conservation” organizations like World Wildlife Fund, which is funded by many of the world’s wealthiest hunters. “After all, we’re responsible killers, don’t you know. Jolly good show, and up and at ’em.”
Here’s Will’s message to the CITES conference: