R.I.P. - The Emperor

So what about the shooting of this stag - supposedly the largest wild animal in the country.  Are we right to feel uneasy about this?  Or is it just another example of what I have referred to in the past as Disneyfication - the idea that animals think and feel as we do, and therefore should be treated as we would wish to be treated?  No, I think we are right to feel uneasy - not simply because an animal has been shot, not even because a magnificent example of his kind has been shot.  After all, the culling of deer is something that goes on all the time - with no natural predators their numbers have to be controlled by selective killing.  But this is killing from necessity - no-one takes any pleasure from it  Whereas, if the reports are correct, some "sportsman" has chosen to shoot this stag - and even perhaps paid good money to do so - simply because he could, and in order to have him as a trophy, and I think many people would find that extremely distasteful.  I certainly do.