Britain's Largest Wild Animal Slaughtered for "Sport"

The Exmoor Emperor, a giant red stag which is thought to have been the biggest animal in Britain, has been found shot dead, with its antlers severed, in the West Country.

It is believed that a licensed hunter is responsible for killing the stag, which stood nine feet (2.75 metres) to the tips of its antlers.

The Emperor was shot on Little Rackenford farm owned by Norma and Richard Frankpitt, but the two farmers have insisted that it was not killed by any of the people who have permission to shoot there.

Mrs Frankpitt said: “We have a number of people who shoot on our land and we’ve spoken to all of them and they have nothing to do with it."

An industry source claimed hunters would have paid up to £10,000 to the landowner for the opportunity to shoot the creature. The identity of the marksman remains a mystery, but it is believed to be one of the increasing number of wealthy sportsmen who are flooding to the area in search of a trophy.

"There are people who are prepared to spend quite ridiculous sums of money to have a trophy on their wall," Peter Donnelly, an Exmoor-based deer management expert, said.

The creature, which weighed more than 135kg (300lb) , was killed close to the busy Tiverton to Barnstaple road in the middle of the annual rut.

Red deer stags are the biggest indigenous land animal left in Britain and Emperor was the largest living example.

The Buddhist perspective on animals is very simple. The Buddhist position is that animals are sentient beings and should be treated with care and respect. This means that they should not be killed. They should not be eaten, experimented on, hunted, used to make fur coats or leather goods, or tortured for sport or any other reason.