Susannah Constantine defends pictures of daughter smeared with blood after she killed duck on countryside hunting trip

 
Backlash: Cece Constantine posing with the dead duck and blood smeared on her face
Rachel Blundy16 November 2014

Television presenter Susannah Constantine has defended pictures of her daughter smeared with blood after a hunting trip, dismissing the media storm as "water off a duck’s back".

The former What Not to Wear star, one half of style duo Trinny and Susannah, said pictures of her 11-year-old daughter Cece holding a dead duck represented "a natural part of rural life".

She said her only regret following the public outcry was over her decision to post the photographs on Instagram, which also showed her daughter holding a gun.

Writing for The Mail on Sunday, she said: "To [Cece], a country girl, shooting food for the table is a natural part of rural life.

"My only regret is that the fuss brought about something I’ve always tried to avoid. I’ve never wanted to include my family in my professional life – and never have done – but sadly [Cece's] picture was only deemed to be newsworthy because I’ve been on TV."

She continued: "The one thing I’d do differently is not post the photo on Instagram.

"It was naive of me to think it would stop there, and naive of readers to believe a picture speaks a thousand words when it camouflages the sportsmanship, conservation, habitat management and regulation that lies behind all country sports."

Ms Constantine, 52, who lives with her family in Sussex, went on to say that animal rights campaigners had misunderstood the necessity for hunting in the countryside.

She said there was "nothing gratuitous" about smearing her daughter's face with the duck's blood because it symbolised an important farming practice.

She said: "I also feel angry about the lack of understanding of the historical foundations of ‘blooding’ and the place it has in a self-sustaining country community.

"There is always a purpose to countryside practice and nothing gratuitous about it."

Campaigners suggested Ms Constantine's "mothering skills had to be called into question" after the photos emerged last week.

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