Arsenal owner axes big game hunting from TV
Arsenal’s majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has ordered all big game hunting content be removed from a new online TV service run by one of his companies after a wave of criticism.
Labour Party leader and Arsenal fan Jeremy Corbyn, who called the idea “disgusting”, had joined animal welfare groups in attacking the Myoutdoortv app after it was launched in the UK.
The streaming service is run by Outdoor Sportsman Group, part of the American businessman’s company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, and provides shows about hunting, shooting and fishing for a subscription fee of £7.50 a month.
Yesterday Jim Liberatore, OSG’S president and chief executive, said it was removing content that included big game hunting, at Mr Kroenke’s behest.
He said: “In the past few days, there has been significant public attention to a small portion of programming on our Myoutdoortv app that contains content associated with hunting certain big game animals.
“While many on both sides of this issue have made their voices heard, Stan Kroenke has directed us to remove all content related to those animals in light of the public interest.”
The League Against Cruel Sports welcomed the U-turn and said the proposal “was never going to be a good idea in a nation of animal lovers”.