British firm which operates 'exclusive' reindeer hunting trips over Christmas holidays blasted as 'evil' by Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Animal rights activists accused a British company of 'ruining the spirit of Christmas for children everywhere' after advertising trophy Reindeer hunting trips during the festive season.

Hendry, Ramsay & Waters - run by businessman Vernon Waters - offers 'exclusive' Reindeer hunting trips to the north eastern part of Norway during three weeks in late summer.

The Fife-based firm does not say how much a trip costs but it is understood to be thousands of pounds and even suggests to trophy hunters the best type of rifle with which to kill a reindeer. 

The company's website is advertising these trips to buy over the Christmas period, saying: 'Only a few licenses are available for big males, so this hunt is very exclusive and the season very short.'

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes called the firm of trophy hunters 'cowards' and 'evil', saying to the Mirror: 'This is probably the most un-British thing I have ever heard of. If we needed proof of just how evil trophy hunters really are, then this is surely it.

'These cowards are happy to ruin the spirit of Christmas for children everywhere. How dare they. For a British company to be profiting from this disgrace is beyond appalling. We need a complete ban on this sick industry.'

On their website, Hendry, Ramsay & Waters state it has full exclusivity in both the Breheimen and Jotunheimen national parks, which hold Europe's last surviving population of wild Reindeer. 

The Jotunheimen national park reopens this year after being closed to all hunting for the past 8 years, which the firm claim means the untouched territory 'will really be worth a visit'.

Animal welfare campaigner Peter Egan, who starred in Downton Abbey, said: 'Trophy hunters are the lowest of the low, but this really takes the biscuit. 

'British trophy hunters are killing defenceless reindeer for kicks. I feel utterly sick to my stomach at the mere thought of it. Whatever happened to Christmas cheer and the season of goodwill? 

'The best Christmas present the Government could give us is the ban on hunting trophies they've been promising for the last four years. Hopefully this scandal will prompt them to get on with it.' 

Hendry, Ramsay & Waters claims to be 'Scotland's premier sporting agency' and even offers to help British trophy hunters with permits so they can take their own rifles through Norway's airports. 

The company has been approached for a comment.