14 DAY TRIAL // For a few days now, the British media is ablaze with an incident that was accidentally caught on tape while Prince Edward was out on a shoot at Sandringham. The 44-year-old Prince is pictured throwing “a royal tantrum” and lashing out at two black Labradors with a stick. While it has not yet been established whether the Prince actually struck either of the two animals, several spokespersons for animal rights groups have already voiced their disapproval at the “disgusting” example set by such a prominent public figure.
Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, admitted that there was a high chance probability that Andrew only wanted to scare the dogs away, which were apparently fighting over a dead pheasant. However, he stressed that hitting a defenseless animal is nothing short of “a pathetic, cowardly and vicious act.” His sentiments are echoed by Barry Hugill, spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports, who said that, “He has set a truly sickening example.”
An onlooker of the entire incident said that, from where he stood, it seemed pretty clear that the Prince “took it upon himself to impose some royal discipline.” Moreover, he could easily distinguish Andrew swinging the thick wooden stick above his head and lowering it several times on the two dogs. Again, whether the stick actually touched the animals could not be established, but the witness opined that, judging by the force with which the Prince swung the stick, if he did hit the dogs, it must have caused them a lot of pain.
So far, the RSPCA has been reserved in its comments on the situation, contrary to the public backlash. “We will be looking at it. If a formal complaint is made by anyone, we have to decide if there is enough evidence for an investigation. It is not illegal to hit a dog. What makes it an offence is if it can be proved that the dog suffered unnecessarily.” reads the official statement of the RSPCA.
Buckingham Palace is taking the same reserved stand, saying only that Prince Edward did what any other man in his place would have done, meaning, all that he could to separate two dogs from fighting over a dead bird. “He broke up the fight with the dogs and pictures show him waving his stick around. We cannot confirm, however, whether he struck the dog.” said a spokesperson for the Palace.
