Story highlights
- Prince William has been criticized for justifying big game hunting in certain circumstances
- He said hunting licenses could be sold for older, infertile animals if the funds went to conservation
- The prince is a prominent conservation supporter
(CNN)Prince William is facing criticism for comments justifying the selling of hunting licenses for big game animals that are past their reproductive lifespan.
The heir to the British throne told CNN affiliate ITV News that, while it was not "everyone's cup of tea," there was a place for regulated commercial hunting of "old, infirm animals" if the proceeds raised from licenses went back into protecting endangered species.
Britain's Prince William and his wife, Catherine, walk with their three children -- from left, George, Charlotte and Louis -- in Norfolk, England. The photo was featured on the family Christmas card in December 2022.
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Prince Louis is pushed in a wheelbarrow by his mother in Windsor, England, in April 2023. The photo was released by Kensington Palace to mark Louis' fifth birthday.
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William and Catherine meet a boy dressed as a royal guard while visiting Boston in December 2022. The royal couple was in Boston to attend the Earthshot Prize Awards that William founded two years prior.
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William and Catherine walk with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
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William and Catherine arrive with George, Louis and Charlotte at a school in Bracknell, England, in September 2022.
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Prince Louis holds his hands over his ears as jets roar over Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade in London in June 2022. From left are Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Queen Elizabeth II; Louis; Catherine; Charlotte; George; and William.
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This photo of Prince William and his children in Jordan was released by Kensington Palace to celebrate Father's Day in June 2022.
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William and Catherine play drums while visiting the Trench Town Culture Yard Museum in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 2022. They were on a royal tour of the Caribbean.
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This image provided by Kensington Palace made the family's Christmas card in 2020.
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William and Catherine visit an air squadron in London in April 2021. During the visit, the squadron paid tribute to William's late grandfather, Prince Philip, who served as Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps for 63 years.
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William and Catherine attend the funeral service of Prince Philip in April 2021.
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William and Catherine visit Westminster Abbey, where a Covid-19 vaccination center had been set up in London in March 2021.
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William, Catherine and their children arrive for a pantomime performance at the London Palladium Theatre in December 2020. They were there to thank key workers and their families for their efforts throughout the pandemic.
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William watches Catherine pour a tray of bagel dough into a container during a visit to a London bakery in September 2020.
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The royal family meets with naturalist David Attenborough at Kensington Palace in September 2020. This was after a private screening of Attenborough's latest environmental documentary, "A Life On Our Planet," which focuses on the harm that has been done to the natural world in recent decades.
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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, follow William and Catherine after attending the annual Commonwealth Service in London in March 2020.
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William and Catherine visit a settlement of the Kalash people in Chitral, Pakistan, in October 2019.
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William and Catherine escort Princess Charlotte -- accompanied by her brother, Prince George -- as Charlotte arrives for her first day of school in September 2019.
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The family is photographed during Trooping the Colour, the Queen's annual birthday parade, in June 2019.
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Catherine shows William and Queen Elizabeth II around the "Back to Nature Garden" that she helped designed as they visit the Chelsea Flower Show in London in May 2019.
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Prince William kisses his son Louis as they pose for a photo in Norfolk that was taken by Catherine in 2019.
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From left, William, Catherine, Meghan and Harry arrive for a Christmas Day church service in 2018.
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Catherine holds Prince Louis after arriving for his christening service in London in July 2018.
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Catherine holds their newborn baby son Louis outside a London hospital on April 23, 2018.
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Prince William holds the hands of George and Charlotte as they visit the hospital to meet their new brother.
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Harry, Meghan, Catherine and William attend the Royal Foundation Forum in London in February 2018.
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William and Catherine attend the BAFTA Awards in London in February 2018.
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Catherine is escorted to dinner by Norwegian King Harald V during a visit to Norway in February 2018. William is escorted by Norway's Queen Sonja.
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This image of William, Catherine, George and Charlotte was used for the family's 2017 Christmas card.
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Paddington Bear dances with Catherine during a charity event in London in October 2017.
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The royal family arrives at the airport in Berlin for a three-day visit in Germany in July 2017.
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This photo of Charlotte was taken in April 2017 by her mother.
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Charlotte is held by her mother as her family ends an eight-day tour of Canada in October 2016. At left is her brother George and her father.
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William and Catherine released new photos of Prince George to mark his third birthday in July 2016. Here he plays with the family's pet dog, Lupo.
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Members of the royal family gather on a balcony in June 2016 during celebrations marking the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Catherine is holding Charlotte.
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Kensington Palace released four photos of Princess Charlotte ahead of her first birthday in May 2016.
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US President Barack Obama talks with Prince William as Catherine plays with Prince George in April 2016. The President and first lady Michelle Obama were visiting Kensington Palace.
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Prince George gets a boost from some foam blocks for a special family photo in April 2016. The portrait, featuring the four generations of the House of Windsor, was commissioned by the Royal Mail and would be featured on a series of stamps to commemorate the Queen's 90th birthday.
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William and Catherine pose with their children during a trip to the French Alps in March 2016.
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The family poses for a Christmas photo in December 2015.
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Princess Charlotte plays with a stuffed dog in this photo taken by her mother in November 2015.
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William and Catherine pose with their children at Charlotte's christening in July 2015.
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Princess Charlotte is seen with her big brother for the first time in this photo released by Kensington Palace in June 2015.
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William and Catherine present their newborn daughter as they leave a London hospital in May 2015.
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The royal family celebrates Prince George's first birthday with a trip to the Natural History Museum in July 2014.
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The royal family waves to a crowd before boarding a plane in Wellington, New Zealand, in April 2014. They went on a three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand.
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The royal couple attends the Tusk Conservation Awards at the Royal Society in London in September 2013.
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William and Catherine start an ultra-marathon in Holyhead, Wales, in August 2013. It was Catherine's first public appearance since the birth of Prince George.
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The couple are pictured with their newborn boy, Prince George, in 2013. The new parents released two family photographs taken by Michael Middleton, Catherine's father.
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William, Catherine and their newborn son depart St. Mary's Hospital in London in July 2013.
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In April 2013, Harry, Catherine and William visit the set used to depict Diagon Alley in the "Harry Potter" films.
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William and Catherine attend a St. Patrick's Day parade as they visit Aldershot, England, in March 2013.
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In September 2012, the couple drank coconut milk from a tree that Queen Elizabeth II planted decades ago in the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu.
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Catherine and William celebrate during cycling events at the Olympic Games in London in August 2012.
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Queen Elizabeth II, William and Catherine stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 2012.
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As part of their charity work, the couple attended a "healthy living cookery session" in London in December 2011.
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The newly married royal couple watches a rodeo demonstration at a government reception in Calgary, Alberta, in July 2011.
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Catherine shovels soil during a tree-planting ceremony in Ottawa in July 2011.
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William and Catherine attend a Snowbirds air show during Canada Day celebrations in July 2011.
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The Obamas meet with the royal couple at Buckingham Palace in May 2011.
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The newlyweds walk hand in hand from Buckingham Palace the day after their wedding in April 2011.
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After their wedding on April 29, 2011, the couple drove from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in a vintage Aston Martin.
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William and Catherine kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony in London.
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The pair returned to their alma mater in St. Andrews, Scotland, in February 2011. They launched a fundraising campaign for a new scholarship.
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The couple poses for photographers to mark their engagement in November 2010. Catherine received the engagement ring that belonged to William's late mother, Diana.
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The couple cheers on the English rugby team during the Six Nations Championship match in London in February 2007.
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The couple takes a photo after graduating from the University of St. Andrews in June 2005. They met at school and even shared a house with others while students.
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"So when (an animal) is infertile, he's at the end of his life, if somebody out there wants to pay that money -- and it wouldn't be me -- but if somebody did, then as long as that money goes back into protection of the species then it is a justifiable means of conserving species that are under serious threat," he said.
The remarks from the Duke of Cambridge, a prominent conservation supporter, were condemned by UK-based conservation group Lion Aid.
The group said it was "very sad" to hear the 33-year-old royal's stance.
"With likely (fewer) than 15,000 wild lions left in Africa, there is no place for commercial hunting of lions. With an estimated 1,500 wild male lions in existence and with current 'offtake' for trophy hunting of 300 per annum, continued trophy hunting cannot be deemed as sustainable," Pieter Kat, the group's director, said in a statement.
2014: Prince William, Beckham join forces 02:20
"A lion of six years of age is not 'post-reproduction,' in fact it is just coming into his maturity, yet it is at this age most African countries offer these prime males as trophy."
The remarks came shortly after William unveiled plans to tackle wildlife trafficking. The plan tasks transportation leaders with cracking down on trafficking routes.
2014: Royal joins the fight to save wildlife 01:26
"If current trends continue, the last wild African elephants and rhinos will be killed before my daughter Charlotte reaches her 25th birthday," he said in a speech to mark the initiative.
"The question is: can we be bothered to do our bit? By signing this declaration, you, the leaders of some of the most important transportation companies and agencies on earth are answering with an emphatic, 'yes'."
In 2014 the prince was criticized for participating in a deer and wild boar hunt in Spain, shortly before speaking out about the evils of illegal hunting.
Kensington Palace had no comment to make on the criticism Wednesday.
