No conflict with shooting and conservation for the Duke

THE country sports set has been commemorating the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, with particular attention to his interest in and support for shooting.

Although obituaries in the mainstream press and broadcast media mentioned Prince Philip’s involvement with field sports, some promoters of rural life felt there was a reticence in explaining in detail how he devoted much of his life to both shooting and conservation – and saw no difficulty in reconciling those two aspects of country life.

The central point made by the Prince in speeches and essays that have been broadcast and published about his work on the environment since his death is that it is the conservation of species and their habitat that matters most.

While much popular environmental broadcasting and writing tells stories about individual animals – often turning them into “characters” in the process – Prince Philip took a rather different view. “There’s a big difference between the conservation of species and the survival of the individual member of a species,” he told one gathering. “We’re concerned with the practical problems of the survival of species as a whole.”

The Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where Prince Philip created and oversaw the running of a successful game shoot, is now recognised across Britain as a stronghold of the grey partridge – a red-listed species of game bird – as well as home to many other creatures that benefit from the work of the Sandringham game keepers, acting on policies set down by the Duke. And one aspect of his funeral has also been remarked upon by the country sporting press. The Duke was carried to his funeral in a converted gun-bus, originally made to carry shooting guests around Sandringham shoot.