Madonna has been criticised for importing baby pheasants to her country estate in advance of the start of the pheasant hunting season next month.

Customers will be charged up to £10,000 a day to shoot the birds on Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s estate in Wiltshire.

The director of animal rights group Animal Aid, Andrew Tyler, said: “Shame on Madonna. This is not in harmony with nature. It is the production of factory birds to provide a live shooting gallery.”

A spokesperson for Madonna and Guy confirmed “the estate got 1,000 birds form France but we won’t be doing it again.”