Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A family day out ...bear hunting
Kids as young as 10 revel in sick trophy hunts on Meghan island
Grinning into the camera, a mum, dad and three kids look delighted with their family day out enjoying what nature has to offer – and then shooting it dead.
Gathering around the pitiful corpse of the magnificent black bear they have just slaughtered, the bloodthirsty group smile triumphantly as if proud of their pointless kill.
However, such sickening scenes are not unusual on Vancouver Island in Canada – where Prince Harry is to join wife Meghan and son Archie to start their new life outside the royal fold.
Hunting operators encourage youngsters to take up the vile hobby. One of many firms on the island even touts hunting trips for 10 to 18-year-olds to encourage “a future generation of hunters”.
The company, Canadian Guide Outfitters, displays disturbing images on its website of a number of youngsters posing with the bodies of the huge bears they have killed. One even shows a boy who looks no older than 10 holding up a dead bear’s paw in triumph.
It will horrify animal-lover Meghan, 38, who has made no secret of her distaste for hunting.
On her first Christmas with the royals in 2017, Prince Harry missed the family’s annual Boxing Day hunt at Balmoral, with a royal source saying: “Meghan is a keen animal rights campaigner and doesn’t like hunting in any form.”
But sadly it is a fact of life on the beautiful island that she has adopted as her temporary new home. Hunters from all over the world travel to Vancouver Island to shoot its fearsome black bears, making Canada the “global capital” of the trophyhunting industry. One company, Diana Hunting tours, offers a five-day trip for £7,700 and boasts on its website: “In this hunting district you will have a great chance to shoot the bear of your dreams. “It is not unusual to shoot a black bear of over seven feet in height and weighing over 200kg [31st 7lb]. On springtime