Over the Killing of Rare Birds - Prince Harry - Essay Example

Over the Killing of Rare Birds Prince Harry Quizzed By Police: Name: Class: Subject: Roll No. Teacher: November 16, 2007 University Popular Media Story: Two rare and precious birds, ‘hen harriers’ were killed at Sandringham estate on October, 24, 2007. These belong to kind of birds that are protected and sheltered species. Witnesses observed two hen harriers short during flight. Some reports had confirmed that one of the staff members at Sandringham estate is acclaimed as witness along with two other citizens. A person representing Natural England expressed grief on the incident. On behalf of Natural England the spokesperson, expressed the views that they were in complete shock that two of the most precious and rare birds in England were shot. The eyewitness reported that they were looking at the flight of birds and heard shorts. One by one, both birds fell. The gamekeepers treated as enemy of hen harriers feed mostly on these birds. Their view is that the killing of hen harriers is a serious offence due to its rareness and only these two are kind of its own, found on ‘red list’. They also regarded maltreatment as a most important threat and declared it a serious matter if authenticity is established. The police are in search of culprit. The fine likely on culprit ranges up to GBP five thousand and possibility for imprisonment of six months. Police is in a process of investigation that also involves Prince Harry and his friend who belongs to the family of Van Cutsem (www.telegraph.co.uk, 2007) Van Cutsem family refused to comment on the incident. Sandringham estate is the ownership of Hugh van Cutsem, who is a friend of Prince Charles. The stance of Prince Charles on environment is too strong. Mr. Van Cutsem is an elder member in English Nature, the predecessor of Natural England. Prince Harry and Prince Williams are close friends of Mr. Van Cutsem’s sons. (www.bbc.co.uk, 2007) The reason for involvement of Prince Harry and his friend is that they happened to be close to the place of incident. Representative of Clarence told that Prince and his friends were present in the vicinity at the time of incident. The police have contacted them and sought help from both. However, Prince and his friend claim ignorance. (www.telegraph.co.uk, 2007) The representative further added that Prince Harry and his friend were engaged in shooting at the time of incident. Witness instantly identified Prince Harry and his friend. The Norfolk police confirmed their presence at the site of incidence and engaged in shooting. Police consulted both Prince and his friend in person. This story assesses the treatment given by British mass media and the impact of incident on the people, royal family and associates. Hen Harriers and their Rareness Hen Harriers are one of the most maltreated and victimized category in birds. Reason is their diet behaviour that comprises pheasants and partridge. They were in abundance until the end of 19th century. As there were not enough gamekeepers after Second World War the number of Hen Harriers recovered to some extent. The birds have a wing width of twenty-one inch and able to fly with wings held in the shape of ‘V’. The favourite food of hen harrier is grouse. They have declared as scarce birds for a period of about thirty years. A thought prevails about the birds that the motive to shot the birds was in fact the protection of grouse moors. In 2003, police arranged an operation named as ‘Operation Artemis’ in an effort to provide protection to valuable birds. (www.time.com, 2007) Hen Harriers are in fact one of the most stunning birds of prey in United Kingdom. At one time, they were commonly flying in the skies. Male hen harrier has white upper tail coverts and grey with black primaries. Colour of the female hen harrier is a mixture of darkish brown and light brown. The opening of mating season commences with an amazing dance in the sky. The male flies at much higher limits than females. They eat anything that is small. The law protects them but consistent shooting is decreasing their population significantly. (www.mirror.co.uk, 2007) In Scotland, there are about five hundred breeding pairs, only one out of two. It is included in the United Kingdom’s red list of most scarce and rare species. The death of hen harriers has created panic in conservationists who are alarmed and upset at the incident. There are about twenty breeding females left in the entire country. They also are in the spectrum of danger of being vanished. Hen Harriers pose serious threats to Grouse that are accessible for shooting. Attitude of Prince Harry Aged twenty-three, Prince Harry is positioned number three for the throne of England. Prince Harry is the grandson of Queen Elizabeth. He is often involved in controversies. He has gained a repute of ‘wild child’. Some of the incidences that involve Prince Harry include experimenting marijuana and drinking at the age of seventeen. Veteran photographer of royal family Arthur Edwards termed Prince Harry as an embarrassment to the nation. Edward had a liking for Prince Harry. However, he dislikes the attitude of Prince attacking a photographer. If the Prince would have been successful in hitting the photographer, he was due to face assault charges in the court of magistrate. Edward desires that the attitude of Prince Harry should be more sober and better. Edward admired royal family in his interview in April this year and remembered them as a family with dignity although there are dark times also. Action against Prince Harry stopped- Disliked by Media There was another report by Reuters on November 6, 2007 that there will be no charges on the grandson of Queen Elizabeth. A spokesperson of Prince Charles said that although Prince Harry and his friend were present at the time of incidence in that particular area but not found involved in the incident. The bodies of hen harriers are yet to found. Neither evidence nor is forensic and ballistic available. The authenticity of witnesses also challenged by the spokesperson that baffling shooting in the arena war heard. This concludes that there are other people, who also heard shooting. Suspects also denied of killing any bird. (www.mirror.co.uk) Unsympathetic Treatment by Media Most of the print media is not in the favour of Prince Harry. Guardian Unlimited was harsh on Prince Harry in their publication back in January 14, 2005. The report declared price as bad taste. The report expected a better attitude from Prince Harry. People are mostly worried about the behaviour of prince, a bad taste in real terms. Mockery by Prince Harry Displeased Media At a party, Prince Harry tried to upset people by wearing a Nazi uniform, as it was a fancy-dress party. Critics also targeted Prince that he was aware of being a public figure yet behaved in that insulting manner. Another report in that appeared in the media also criticized Prince Harry severely. They declared Prince the luck of devil. Is it necessary that protection of royal family provided to Prince Harry also? The killing of hen harriers is illegal according to Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The criticism intensified on reports that police will not be pursuing the matter. A mockery of dialogue reported that quoted as police saying ‘Your Highness did you and your friend involved in shooting of hen harriers?’ The reply from Prince in negative, police concluded ‘Thank you, Your Highness’. Repeated Instances of Attitude Detested by Media Reports in media reveal that it is not the first incident. In 2006, a gamekeeper penalized for GBP Five hundred for trapping a tawny owl in a village. Convictions are few as compared to the large illegal killing of hen harriers. The first incident reported in Scotland in the year 2002. A gamekeeper also fined for GBP two thousand after his admittance for killing a bird for the sake of protecting grouse. The gamekeeper in a subsequent interview disclosed that gamekeepers are under stress enforced by the rich employers to eliminate any wild life if that pose threat to grouse. ‘Independent’ also Inconsiderate The treatment of ‘Independent is also harsh. A report disclosed that Prince Harry and his friend denied such killing. There was no interrogation of Prince and his friend under vigilance. A strain in relationship reported by media found in Buckingham Palace and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The role of Queen Elizabeth also questioned lately though she is the standing patron of organization. Views of Professionals Quoted by Media Dr. Mark Avery who serves as Director at the RSPB persisted about the honour given by Queen. He though, revealed his concerns on charity. The RSPB has developed campaign against the maltreatment of birds of prey, especially hen harriers. He is of the view that there are now less than twenty pairs left in the entire U.K. Most of the population of hen harrier is present in Scotland. Ash Murray, site manager of Dersingham, the place where hen harriers were shot, disclosed that this killing is first of its kind in this particular area. He also disclosed that hen harriers do not breed in England and fly from Scotland or as far as Scandinavian countries. Their stay in England ranges from October to March. The reason of mistreatment of hen harrier is that they feed on grouse. Conservationists are of the view that had this maltreatment not practiced, there would be more than two hundred pairs of hen harriers through out Great Britain. The biggest enemies of birds are said to be the gamekeepers and owners of land. The reason for conflict is to protect grouse. The police had currently issued a statement that they are in the process of interviewing three suspects. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007 By ALEX ALTMAN/LONDON Prince Harry was questioned by police over the death of a rare bird. TIME Role and Intentions of Media For this breaking news international media behaved somehow differently BBC the leading TV and websites in UK projected this event in a real blunt and formally projected way. It had the headline; “Prince Harry has been questioned by police about the death of two protected birds of prey in the grounds of one of the royal family's homes.” BBC being the central focus of European and English audience, BBC has strong and long-term association to the Crown and Royal family as well. BBC projected this news in its routine bulletins and published more than two pages on its news websites. Outside Britain, people believe BBC is the representative media of UK government and Royal family. This projection was not perceived well when it came to the admirers of Royal family around the globe. Perception was developed that a little case based on weak evidence is overly projected and media should have waited, till the out come of this inquiry. Time and CNN: Whereas Time and CNN reported, the news in a careful manner might be due to some diplomatic constraints and refrained from projecting pure negativity about prince like BBC that also supported various interviews and news items against Prince Harry in recent past. Time Published a two column and help page story on its paper and online editions. It gives benefit of doubt to Prince Harry and does not project his image as a criminal. Time captioned as: “Did Prince Harry Hunt Rare Birds?” further reports in a cool and unbiased manner that seems quite surprising in contrast to the role American media played in the past to demote Royal family. "Because Prince Harry and a friend were both in the area at the time, the police have been in contact with them and asked them if they had any information that could help," the official told TIME. "Unfortunately, they had no knowledge of the alleged incident." Daily Telegraph of UK also tried to stir up controversial environment by hitting the Harry hard. “A file on the case is to be sent by police to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The killing of a hen harrier is a criminal offence and carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.” Further supplements the thrilling explanation by adding: Harry, 23, is one of three people who have been questioned by police about the death of the rare birds, which are the most, endangered birds of prey in England.” One sees no logic of explaining the penalty of office before it is proved or even before the establishment of a valid case. Telegraph seems to acquire more audience special who are already interested in the affairs of Royal family and try to find some pinching news about Royal family’s members. Doubts about Involvement of Prince Harry- No Evidence Found The witnesses were able to watch that birds were shot but no killer seen due to the presence of trees that blocked the vision. The most surprising element is the absence of bodies of hen harrier in order to corroborate the statement of birds being shot. Therefore, the absence of material evidence can result in avoidance of any conviction, which means to sustain that birds were erroneously involved in a legal quarry. Words: 2173 References http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/04 http://www.time.com/time/searchresults http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml Read More