Who shot the Emperor?
Nature lovers are mourning the death of a red stag dubbed the Emperor of Exmoor — a 9-foot giant reported to be the biggest wild animal in the British Isles. He was found dead soon after his picture appeared in the national press.
His size set him apart from the herd, but also made him prize prey for hunters willing to pay handsomely for such a majestic trophy.
"With a set of antlers such as this deer had, it was basically going to kill him in the end," said Richard Austin, the photographer whose images of the stag appeared in newspapers earlier this month — inevitably accompanied by the word "majestic."
Experts believe the stag's head and antlers could be worth as much as £2,000 if properly stuffed and mounted, Britain's Daily News reported.
"He was his own worst enemy, I suppose, Austin told the BBC Tuesday. "Growing that big and that huge and that magnificent, he was a definite target."
Death still a mystery
For the 12 years of his life, the Emperor roamed Exmoor in southwest England, a wild swathe of heath and woodland that has drawn hunters for 1,000 years.Mystery surrounds his demise, reported by the local press and national media including the BBC. He is reported to have been shot two weeks ago near a main road linking the towns of Barnstaple and Tiverton.
Local people were speculating furiously Tuesday about the identity and nationality of the hunter: Was it an American, a European, or a wealthy Briton who saw the picture and decided he wanted those magnificent antlers on his wall?"Whoever has got the trophy is going to keep pretty quiet about it, because it has stirred the most awful furor," said Peter Donnelly, a deer management expert in the Exmoor area.
A former royal hunting ground, Exmoor is popular with local hunters and with wealthy outsiders, who jet in to stalk red deer — Britain's biggest wild animal.
They pay landowners for the right to hunt on their land and take away sets of antlers as trophies — or, for a higher fee, the whole head. If done during the hunting season, which runs from August through April, it is perfectly legal. The landowner keeps the carcass, which often ends up being sold for meat.
A sporting issue?
Hunting is a divisive issue in Britain, where the traditional practice of chasing down animals with packs of hounds was outlawed in 2004 — though with enough loopholes that hunting carries on pretty much unimpeded across the country.
Supporters say it is a vital part of the rural economy, but hunting is bitterly opposed by some animal lovers.
Douglas Batchelor of the League Against Cruel Sports said it was "morally repugnant" to shoot animals for sport.But animal conservationists say hunting helps maintain the health of the deer herd. The animals have no natural predators, so hundreds are legally hunted every year to keep numbers in check.
Michael Yardley of the Shooting Sports Trust said killing older deer like the 12-year-old Emperor made sense.
"A deer past this age may properly be shot, and, indeed, should be shot, to allow younger, fitter beasts into the harem, and also because it may well die of starvation as its incisors deteriorate," he said.
Donnelly, no opponent of hunting, said it was wrong to shoot the Emperor during the rutting season, when the strongest stags compete to mate with the choicest female deer.
"He was still in his prime. He did not need to be culled," Donnelly said. "There's plenty of rubbish stags out there that could be shot and would do nothing but improve the quality of the herd."
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