The notoriously thin-skinned Stephen Hester remains annoyed whenever any
newspaper prints the much-published photograph of him astride a horse dressed in full hunting regalia
First his annual bonus is cut to just under £1million. Now it seems that Stephen Hester’s
still far from insignificant fortune has taken another hit.
The
beleaguered Royal Bank of Scotland boss separated from his Canadian-born wife Barbara in 2010.
Mr Hester’s name has now disappeared from Land Registry documents listing ownership of their
magnificent £8.6million marital home.
The couple, married
almost 20 years with two children, purchased the five-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion in one of the capital’s most exclusive
areas in 1995 for £1.78million.
Publicly available documents
last year listed the pair as joint owners of the mortgage-free West London home, with neighbours including Simon Cowell and
Sir Richard Branson.
But now the property is registered with Barbara
Abt, the maiden name of the banker’s estranged wife, as sole owner.
The RBS boss – linked to attractive divorcee Suzy Neubert four months after his marriage break-up – is
apparently renting a £3.8million apartment near his family.
But
while Mr Hester may have ‘lost’ the London home, he can fall back on his vast country pile in Oxfordshire, a 350-acre
estate complete with eight gardeners. And there is always the ski chalet in Verbier.
The Oxford-educated banker met his estranged wife Barbara when both were working at Credit Suisse.
They married in 1991. The couple divided their time between London and Oxfordshire and shared
a love of fox-hunting – she is a master of foxhounds for the Warwickshire Hunt.
Shortly after taking over the helm at state-owned RBS in 2008, Mr Hester faced immediate criticism
over his indulgent lifestyle after hosting a lavish hunt ball at his £7million country estate.
And the notoriously thin-skinned Mr Hester remains annoyed whenever any newspaper prints
the much-published photograph of him astride a horse dressed in full hunting regalia.
Despite their shared country interests, the Hesters parted in the summer of 2010.
One family source said at the time: ‘It’s terribly sad. They’re working on an amicable
separation for the sake of their children and Stephen is getting on with his job.’
Later that year, the RBS boss, 51, appeared arm-in-arm with mother-of-two Miss Neubert, like his
wife a former banker.
She works in the City, as head of sales
and marketing for private bank J O Hambro, which handles the funds of hugely wealthy individuals.
Stephen Hester separated from his Canadian-born wife Barbara (left) in 2010. His name has now
disappeared from Land Registry documents listing ownership of their £8.6m home. He was linked to attractive divorcee
Suzy Neubert (right) four months after his marriage break-up
She
was married to Jolyon Neubert, the barrister son of Tory MP Sir Michael Neubert, with whom she had two daughters.
Yorkshireman Mr Hester has had a glittering, and financially rewarding, career, starting
at Credit Suisse, then Abbey National and property company British Land.
According to one City insider: ‘He’s very proud
of his achievements but he doesn’t take kindly to criticism.’
In an interview in 2009, Mr Hester said his upbringing and work in a sweet factory had taught him the value of money.
‘My first job was packing Polos in a factory so I don’t need anyone to tell
me what it’s like being a normal person on normal amounts of money,’ he said.
Weeks after he
took over at RBS, recruited to end the culture of excess, details emerged of his magnificent country estate, which has one
of the most spectacular gardens in Britain.
The gardeners are paid
salaries of up to £20,000 to tend it throughout the year.
Part
of it was designed and created by celebrity landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, who has worked for Karl Lagerfeld and billionaire
philanthropist John Paul Getty.
The grounds include an 80-acre
arboretum, parterre, sunken garden and water meadow.
It emerged
last night that while Mr Hester may have agreed to limit his bonus to £963,000 this year, he could still earn more than
£7million for a year’s work.
In addition to a basic
salary worth £1.2million, he will be handed a pension contribution worth £420,000 and the bonus of 3.6million
shares in the bank now worth £998,000.
He could also be awarded
‘long-term incentive plan’ shares worth four times his basic salary, adding another £4.8million to his award
for 2011.
The multiple layers of executive reward mean Mr Hester
could end up earning just over £7.4million.
However, the
poor performance of RBS – which has lost 40 per cent of its value this year – means he is unlikely to scoop the
maximum available under the long-term incentive plan.
Hunt saboteurs Association Press Release January 4th 2012
Female Hunt Saboteur violently assaulted during illegal Foxhunt
On New Years Eve a female hunt saboteur was violently assaulted
by a supporter of the Cottesmore Foxhunt who were meeting at Gunby, Lincolnshire. The saboteur was on her own when she saw
the hunts hounds illegally chasing a fox. As she intervened she was thrown to the ground by a man who then smashed her over
the head with an aluminium bottle before pinning her down and pouring the bottle's contents over her face. As other saboteurs
came to her aid the cowardly attacker jumped in his vehicle and drove away. The attack was witnessed by a young girl who was
sitting in the attackers vehicle as well as other members of the hunt who stood and watched rather than intervene and stop
the attack. The police were called and are currently investigating the attack.
Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt saboteurs association, stated: “ Such a cowardly attack
is what we have come to expect from the hunting community. They are cowardly in their illegal murder of wildlife and they
are cowardly when they attack those who try and stop them. This man only had the courage to attack a lone female but fled
as soon as her friends arrived. We hope Lincolnshire police do everything in their power to catch him.”
A Disappointed Royal Cruelness, Kate, will just watch the
killing of birds on Boxing day. The Duchess of Cambridge lays down her gun for the sake
of a quiet Christmas
The Duchess of Cambridge will not use a gun during
the Royal family's Christmas shoot at Sandringham after complaints from animal rights campaigners in previous years.
Kate is likely to be disappointed not to be able to demonstrate her skills
with a gunPhoto: AP
ByRichard
Eden
7:30AM GMT 18 Dec 2011
SinceKate Middletonbegan her relationship withPrince William, she has devoted herself to learning to shoot with the same dedication that she has shown to all of his interests. When the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Sandringham for their first Christmas with theRoyal familyas a married couple, she will, however, lay down her gun.
“The Palace is very concerned to avoid any controversy,” says a courtier. “They
do not want pictures of Catherine shooting to cause the same sort of complaints that we have had in recent years.”
It is understood that the Duchess will accompany
her husband and the other members of his family on the traditional Boxing Day shoot and on later outings at the Norfolk estate,
but will remain in the background.
Previous
festive shoots at Sandringham have provoked complaints from campaigners against field sports. Two years ago, the Earl of Wessex
was cleared by the RSPCA of animal cruelty after photographs appeared to show him lashing out at two gun dogs with a stick
during a pheasant shoot.
In 2005,
the Countess of Wessex was criticised by animal rights campaigners for shooting pheasants. In 2004,the Queenwas subjected to similar complaints after she took a wounded bird from a
gun dog’s jaws and beat it with her walking stick until dead.
Kate is likely to be disappointed not to be able to demonstrate
her skills with a gun. Last month, she was spotted perfecting her shooting technique at Birkhall, the Prince of Wales’s
private residence on the Queen’s Balmoral estate.
It was
reported that her sister, Pippa, would join the Royal family for the Boxing Day shoot, but that is not the case. Their parents,
Michael and Carole Middleton, were given shooting lessons while they stayed at Birkhall last year.Carole was photographed
lying on grass holding a rifle with an instructor next to her while her husband watched.
One of the Duchess’s friends confirms that she is unlikely to shoot while at Sandringham, but
says this “has more to do with tradition than anything else”, as “ladies do not hold the gun during a shoot”.
St James’s Palace declines to comment.
Family cat savaged to death by 27 hunt hounds (then handed back in dog food bag) was killed because she 'panicked
and tried to run away' says huntsman
The 18-year-old
deaf pet 'did not stand a chance' when she was set upon
Two days later the cat was returned to owners in an empty bag of Pedigree dog food
Savaged: Moppet had been left out in the family's garden to stretch her legs when she was set
upon by the dogs
An elderly family cat was savaged by a pack of up to
27 hunting dogs because she 'panicked', a huntsman claimed yesterday.
Moppet, an 18-year-old deaf tabby, was set upon by the pack of hounds which was running through land belonging to her
owners.
The family pet's corpse was returned to its devastated owners
in an empty dog food bag two days after being chased and killed near Ravenscar in Scarborough.
Hunt chairman Bill Dobson yesterday said the beloved cat's death was 'regrettable'.
He said: 'The cat panicked and tried to run away, which set the dogs off.'
Moppet had been left out in the family's garden, in Stoupe Brow, near Ravenscar in Scarborough,
to stretch its legs when the attack happened.
Retired owners Les, 75,
and Margaret Atkinson, 59, heard a commotion near their house and noticed the huntsman off his horse.
They feared the worst when they later found blood on the ground and realised their elderly tabby
was missing.
They later spoke to two members of the hunt, who admitted
the dogs had killed the cat by ‘accident’ and the pet’s body was returned two days later in an empty dog
food sack.
The incident was reported to the police, but after an investigation
officers decided to take no further action.
Distraught: Les and Margaret Atkinson say they are devastated at the death of their family
pet
The couple live in countryside and the hunt can legally cross their
land as a public right of way runs through it.
Mrs Atkinson, a retired teacher, said: ‘It was horrific.
She didn’t stand a chance. She was an old lady and it was not the way for an innocent animal to meet her end.
‘I can’t bear the thought that in her last few
moments she was in terror. She didn’t deserve to die like that.’ The hunt said the dogs attacked when the cat
‘panicked’ and tried to run off.
Mrs Atkinson said they had
yet to receive an apology from an official from the Staintondale and Goathland hunts.
‘Moppet was a big part of the family. We bought her the year my daughter went to secondary school. She’s
a 30-year-old teacher now and is married. She was devastated when we told her.’
'Didn't stand a chance': Moppet, an 18-year-old tabby cat who was also deaf, was
returned to her owners two days after she was was savaged
Remains: The lifeless body of Moppet was returned to the Atkinsons in an empty bag of dog food
Mr Atkinson, a retired coach builder and grandfather, said: ‘We’ve spent a lot
of time crying. She would curl up on our knees every night and would wake us up in the morning. I’m retired, so I would
spend hours talking to her.’
The incident happened last week and
fortunately the couple’s other cat George managed to hide in a stable and escaped.
'The
cat panicked and tried to run away, which set the dogs off' HUNT CHAIRMAN BILL DOBSON
The couple said they were alerted by the sound of the hounds and a huntsman was later seen ‘riding off with something
bloodied in his hand.’
Several hours later when two of the huntsmen
passed their home again, the Atkinsons asked if they knew what had happened. They said they believed their cat had been killed
by the hounds.
Mrs Atkinson said: ‘They came back a bit later and
said that was true and told us Moppet had probably been taken because they didn’t want us to see her in that state.’
Jean Clemmit, Staintondale hunt master,
said she wasn’t present at the time of the incident.
She said:
‘It’s very regrettable and is upsetting for everybody but we can’t undo what has happened. I haven’t
been involved in anything like this before. We will take preventative measures.’
Riding party: The hunts (not pictured here) were on a 'legal trail hunt' in which
an animal-based scent is laid down for the pack of dogs to follow
Bill
Dobson, chairman of the Goathland hunt, added: ‘We always try to control the hounds and normally they are very well
behaved.
‘We aren’t barbaric, we don’t set out to cause
problems for people. This is a very unfortunate thing and it’s regrettable that the dogs set upon the cat.’
The hunts were on a ‘legal trail hunt’ in which an animal-based scent is laid
down for the pack of dogs to follow.
Mr Atkinson said: 'We just heard
a commotion outside and saw the hounds and a huntsman off his horse. He just kept saying ‘I’m sorry.’ Then
he got back on his horse and he rode off.'
A family has spoken of their horror and disgust
after they watched a huntsman club a fox to death on a garden patio.
Mick Heath standing on his patio where the fox was clubbed to deathPhoto: Eastnews
10:36AM GMT 12 Dec 2011
Mick Heath, 53, was at home with his wife Jane, 61, in Bradfield,
Essex when about 40 hunting hounds burst into his elderly neighbours' garden as they chased down a fox.
The graphic designer, along with a friend and
his teenager son, looked on in horror as a member of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt strolled across the patio before clubbing
the fox to death just feet from where they were stood watching.
The RSPCA have been informed of the attack and are now understood to investigating whether an offence
took place.
Mr Heath - who is
not opposed to hunting - said "It was totally and utterly barbaric and shocking.
"We were at home having a nice, normal weekend when we heard the commotion - voices,
horns and the noise of the hounds and they were so close that I threw my three cocker spaniels indoors.
"The fox had gone to ground at the end of our neighbours'
garden. The hounds piled in and suddenly the whipmaster of the hunt walked across the patio and clubbed the fox to death in
front of us.
"My friend Joe, who is an outdoorsy chap
who knows the ways of the countryside, turned to him and said 'you ba**ard".
"The whipmaster just walked away with the fox leaving a large pile of blood on the patio and
four adults and a teenage boy in absolute amazement."
It
is thought that the hunt was using the hounds to try to flush out smaller animals and then use the hawk to make a kill - which
is legal under the terms of the Hunting Act.
The blood from the
kill remained on the shared patio area despite heavy rainfall during the weekend.
Mr Heath has accused the hunt of not being in control of the pack of hounds.
He said: "All 40 hounds were in the back garden in a tiny area - it was a disgrace and it was so inhumane.
"I am certainly not anti-hunt, I have taken my grandchildren
to the farm to watch as it is a wonderful spectacle and I have nothing against what they do.
"It is the fact that they did this in front of four adults and an impressionable
teenage boy in a private garden in Essex.
"They could have
taken that fox away from our view and shot it - no one should have to witness those events on a Saturday afternoon.
"The fox was still alive so for the hunt to claim the hounds
had killed it is simply not true - there are some mistruths being told."
Mrs Heath, a business administrator, added: "It was horrific and it was absolutely ghastly."
The Essex and Suffolk Hunt has denied that the fox was clubbed to death.
James Buckle, a senior huntsman, said: "It was a horrible situation where we virtually
had to watch and could not intervene.
"The fox was
killed by the dogs - there is no way that the hounds would do half a job.
"I can see how it would have looked like that to a bystander and the would have been horrendous.
"The huntmaster was whipping the pack to get the dead fox from them.
"We have apologised to the owner of the garden and they have accepted the apology."
An Essex Police spokesman said: "They were hunting with a
bird of prey and the pack accidentally picked up on the scent of a fox which attracted the hounds.
"The hunt mistress was spoken to by police.
"Officers have also spoken to to the owners who are satisfied with police action - there was no offence committed
on the hunt, which was legal."
YET MORE PSYCHOTIC THUGS WHO SHOULD BE PUT DOWN.
This evil creep should have been put down at birth.....
EVIL, STINKING, FILTHY, LOATHSOME SCUM OF THE
EARTH. THESE SUB-HUMANS SHOULD BE LOCKED UP FOR THE REST OF THEIR MISERABLE LIVES.
Policeman’s badger horror
9:30am Thursday 8th December
2011
By Kate Liptrot
A POLICE officer
has described the disturbing scene he discovered when investigating reports of badger baiting on remote farmland near York.
Sgt Paul Stephenson found the body of a dead badger and badger foetuses after police were informed that a gang of
men had watched badgers being ripped apart by dogs on the land between Scrayingham and Howsham Bridge, he told Scarborough
Magistrates’ Court.
After digging into a patch of land that he noticed had been
disturbed but apparently recovered with sods of grass, Sgt Stephenson said he found the body of a pregnant female badger four
feet under the ground.
Post-mortem examinations of the two badgers have found that one had died from gunshot
wounds after a sustained attack by dogs, and the other had been “torn to pieces and bled to death”.
Eight men have been accused of wilfully killing a badger, digging out and interfering with a sett, hunting a wild
animal with dogs, and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
When first arriving at the scene Sgt Stephenson said some of
the men had told him they had permission to be on the land. He said: “They were cocky, they were flippant. They would
not tell me what had gone on. They said they had not killed a badger but would not say more than that.”
Sgt Stephenson said that as he had found a badger tail, he suspected there was a possibility a third badger had been
killed but he was unable to find a body.
Cross examining Sgt Stephenson, Clive Rees suggested there
were other people at the scene who were not apprehended. He also suggested that injuries found on the dogs owned by some of
the men may have been caused by the animals fighting one another.
Six of the men have pleaded not guilty to the charges: Alan
Alexander, 32, of Bramham Close, York; William Edward Anderson, 26 of Hillside, Cropton Lane, Pickering;
James Henry Doyle, 34 of Westfield Avenue, Knottingley; Richard Simpson, 37, of Wains Road,
York; Paul Ian Tindall, 33 of Bramham Grove, York; and a 17-year-old York youth who cannot be named for legal
reasons.
Two other men, Christopher Martin Holmes, 28, of Bell Farm Avenue,
York, and Malcolm David Warner, 28, of Princess Drive, York, pleaded guilty to jointly wilfully killing a
badger, digging for badgers, and interfering with a sett, and had their cases adjourned until January 10. Both were granted
unconditional bail.
Police were alerted to reports of badger baiting following a 999 call from wildlife
artist Robert Fuller.
YET MORE PROOF THAT HUNTERS ARE SADISTS - WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE TO GET THESE
EVIL BASTARDS IN A ROOM FOR TEN MINUTES AND USE A CLUB ON THEM. I really do despair! Why are these beautiful HARMLESS foxes still
being tortured to death for fun? When are we going to get justice for animals killed for so called sadistic entertainment?
The murder of animals should be looked on the same as the murder of humans. Until we weed out the evil scum in our society,
then this evil scum will continue to breed and make the lives of defenceless animals hell!!
Subject: (Italy) Shocking video shows massacre of migrating birds in Italy
Thousands of song birds killed within only a few hours by hunters
Bonn/Milano. Bird
lovers throughout Europe are still in a state of shock after watching a video of Italian hunters shooting down several
thousand song birds in front of protesting bird conservationists. The hunters were completely undisturbed by the
filming of this almost unbelievable massacre of migrating song birds. The ugly spectacle took place some 1,400 m above
sea level on the San Zeno alpine pass - one of the most important migration corridors in the Southern Alps.
On a number of days in October, members of the Bonn-based Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and the League
for the Abolition of Hunting (LAC) from Milan, literally risked life and limb by placing themselves between the hunters and the huge flocks of birds migrating through the pass. The hunters spared no thought for the safety of the
conservationists but continued to blast away at the birds without restraint. CABS member Andrea Rutigliano vividly
describes the situation: "It was a completely surrealistic situation. More than 1500 shots were fired hourly. Dead
or badly injured birds littered the ground. Some of the birds hit fell directly into our group of observers and
shotgun pellets rained down on us continually".
The shooting orgy, in which some 100 hunters took part, was
filmed by the conservationists on video. The game rangers present estimated that at least 10,000 Meadow Pipits,
Chaffinches, Bramblings and Hawfinches were killed. CABS today published sequences from the original film, several hours
in length, on its Youtube channel. The film can be viewed at "Youtube: Zugvogelmassaker am Colle San Zeno"
and shows in great detail the brutal killing of thousands of birds on passage through a single alpine pass in the course of only a few hours. "One's head spins when one thinks that in Lombardy alone there are hundreds such
passes, more than 86,000 hunters, and that the season lasts for several months" Rutigliano comments resignedly.
Graziella Zavalloni, LAC president, goes further: "The real scandal is that no one can be called to account
for this disgraceful abuse of nature". Although the hunting of these four species is forbidden by EU legislation,
the regional government in Milan has again this year added a special clause to the hunting law permitting the
shooting of pipits and the three finch species. "This is a blatant contravention of the bird protection guidelines"
Zavalloni states.
This view is shared by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which in July
2010 condemned Italy for lifting the hunting ban on these species. CABS today announced that it will present a further
environmental complaint to the European Commission based on the evidence filmed at the San Zeno Pass which will
be forwarded to the Environment Directorate. In parallel CABS calls upon all bird and nature lovers to protest to the
new Italian government in Rome against this annual massacre in the Southern Alps. The contact details for the
Minister for the Environment Corrado Clini, together with a prepared protest email, will be published soon on the CABS
homepage.
Contact: for further information and video material Komitee gegen den Vogelmord, Axel Hirschfeld
(Press Officer), An der Ziegelei 8, 53127 Bonn, Tel. +49 179 480 3805 oder +49 228 665521
Hunters ‘feeding foxes up to kill’,
claim anti-hunt campaigners
Hunts across the
West are engaged in a ‘nationwide criminal conspiracy to encourage and sustain fox populations in order that they can
be hunted’.
That was the claim by anti-hunt campaigners after a undercover
operation found that artificial earths in hunting areas are still being maintained to make sure there are foxes to hunt.
Anti-hunt
protesters
The covert surveillance operation was undertaken
from July to October this year by teams of monitors from the League Against Cruel Sports, and targeted hunts the length and
breadth of England.
Hunts have denied that the artificial fox earths, the
maintenance of them and video footage of people bringing food for the foxes are anything to do with them, and said the claimed
evidence “proves nothing”.
The revelation that artificial earths,
to encourage foxes to breed, are maintained to keep fox numbers up dealt a major blow to the hunting lobby’s argument
before the 2005 ban that foxhunting was necessary as a form of pest control. That they are still being maintained six years
after the ban, claims the League Against Cruel Sports, shows that hunts are still routinely breaking the ban and intentionally
hunting foxes. Monitors discovered three artificial earths in woodland around Stow-on-the-Wold and Cold Ashton in Gloucestershire,
on land regularly hunted by the Heythrop Hunt. In Wiltshire, close to the Badminton Estate, the monitors discovered three
more artificial earths were still being maintained.
In other locations in
the country, artificial earths were discovered with metal grilles hanging near them, which the league said was to make it
easy to quickly block them up on hunt days.
But the league claimed the most
damning evidence came in Dorset, where hidden cameras filmed an unknown man dragging a barrel full of offal and dumping it
close to a newly maintained artificial earth, inhabited by foxes.
The spot
between the villages of Cattistock and Evershot in Dorset, is owned by the Hon. Charlotte Townsend, the master of the Cattistock
Hunt. Hidden cameras filmed a man dumping a barrel of animal by-products in the wood and filmed the foxes taking the food
away.
The league’s chief executive Joe Duckworth said the findings
were the “tip of the iceberg”, given that 87 per cent of the hunts they chose to look at had artificial earths
in their regularly hunted woodland. “In just a short space of time our investigators have shown without a shadow of
a doubt that there is a determined effort among the hunting community to keep fox numbers artificially high.
“The evidence points at a pattern of extreme behaviour which I am convinced goes far and
beyond the evidence obtained by the league in this investigation and may be connected with other wildlife crimes such as hunting
with dogs,” he added.
League chairman John Cooper said: “This
evidence points to a nationwide criminal conspiracy by foxhunts to encourage and sustain fox populations in order that they
can be hunted.”
The league admitted it cannot definitively prove that
the people who maintain the earths or feed the foxes are connected to local hunts.
The joint master of the Cattistock, Will Bryer, said the Cattistock was the victim of a ‘smear campaign’.
“We refute these allegations, they’re ridiculous,” he said. “Artificial earths have been around since
the beginning of time but we have no use for them now. If someone is putting food out for foxes, it’s not us.”
And Tim Bonner, from the Masters of Foxhounds Association, said the hunts had nothing
to do with artificial earths. “The earths are not only used by hunts. They are also used by gamekeepers to locate foxes
so they can find them and kill them,” he said.
Kate gets in some target practice in preparation for Sandringham Boxing Day pheasant shoot
The Duchess of Cambridge has been perfecting her shooting
skills in preparation for the traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot at Sandringham.
The 29-year-old was given private lessons by Prince Charles’s ghillie, or hunt attendant, at Birkhall on the
Balmoral Estate last weekend.
Kate will spend her first Christmas Day
with the Royal Family this year, and a source said: ‘She wants to make the best impression and is taking the Boxing
Day shoot very seriously.
Aiming high: Kate is determined to improve her skills with a shotgun
‘She has joined the shoot in previous years, but she is not the best shot and she’s determined
to get better. She spent the weekend having lessons and she has become a lot more confident with a shotgun.’
Another source said: ‘William is an excellent shot.
It is a passion of his and Kate knows that to fit in, not just with William, but with the rest of the Royal Family, she too
must embrace the sport.
Sporting: Prince William at a shoot in 2008, Kate is determined to be the best shot this year
‘She was at Balmoral with William and her family at the weekend and they had plenty
of time for shooting. It is still the hind season and William managed to do some deer stalking. It’s much harder, though,
and Kate stuck to shooting pheasants.’
Kate’s parents Carole
and Michael and her sister Pippa were also part of the shooting party.
Prince
Charles and Camilla were in Africa, but gave the run of their Scottish home to William – who killed his first stag when
he was 14.
‘William wants to make taking his in-laws to Birkhall
a tradition,’ adds a friend.
A week after falsely blaming hunt saboteurs for the death of one of their hounds, the attached video
shows the Cotswold Vale Farmers Hunt casually risking the lives of their hounds. They were filmed throughout the day
hunting on main roads, causing traffic chaos and at least two cars were forced to make emergency stops to avoid killing hounds.
When the saboteurs voiced their concerns about how dangerous it was they were met with physical and verbal abuse.
Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt saboteurs
Association, stated:
"It was very convenient for the hunt that saboteurs were
present last week as it gave them an easy scapegoat for the death of their hound. This video shows conclusively that the hunts
don't care for any animal, even their hounds, and are happy to put their lives at risk, and cause chaos, in the name of
sport." Click here for video
New Hunt season. More violence against hunt saboteurs.
Members of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, from different groups in the South
East, visited the meet of the Old Surrey, Burstow & West Kent Fox Hunt, taking place just outside Lingfield in East Sussex.
Due to previous violence from this hunts Staff and supporters (who’s Huntsman has a conviction for assaulting a Hunt
Saboteur in 1991) the police had been informed of the Hunt Saboteurs intentions, and were in attendance.
At around 3pm saboteurs were attempting to cross a narrow metal bridge on Environment Agency
land when a supporter of the hunt took it on himself to block their passage. Other hunt supporters on foot were behind the
group, and pushing forward against their backs. In the struggle the supporter pulled a female hunt saboteur over, knocking
her head onto the concrete base, causing a deep bloody wound to the crown of her head.
Riders of the hunt, supported by the foot followers, proceeded to barge into the other hunt saboteurs in what
seemed to be an attempt to cover up the actions of their supporter. Some saboteurs were then asked to ‘arraign it’
so that the incident was not reported to the police. It is suspected that the perpetrator has a gun licence he would be in
danger of losing if convicted of violence. The incident was reported to the Police and the man was questioned. Formal statements
and video evidence will be submitted to ensure a conviction.
Lee
Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: “This is just one more violent incident in the history of
the Old Surrey, Burstow & West Kent Fox Hunt, an organisation whose reason for existence is the infliction of violence.
It seems that if they cannot persecute foxes then hunt saboteurs will do as second choice.”
Photographs are available on request.
Further information on Old Surrey, Burstow & West Kent Fox Hunt
can be found at:
Animal rights campaigners have accused a hunt supported by David Cameron of being part
of a "nationwide criminal conspiracy" to sustain fox populations for hunting.
An investigation by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) found that artificial earths
– structures built to provide breeding places and homes for foxes – are being maintained in areas used by all
but three of the 24 hunts that it monitored around the country.
Campaigners argue that a ban on the hunting of foxes
with dogs introduced in 2004 made artificial earths "pointless", and that their upkeep "points to a nationwide
criminal conspiracy by fox hunts to encourage and sustain fox populations in order that they can be hunted".
"From
building extensive earths, to providing food, water and bedding, the very notion of hunts following artificial trails becomes
ever more laughable," said Professor John Cooper QC, chairman of the LACS.
"Whilst most of us suspected the
hunts would carry on their nefarious activity, I for one never quite imagined they would be as blatant and, frankly as stupid,
as to continue their use of artificial fox earths." Between June and October this year, investigators from the LACS visited
16 counties in England to inspect land used by 24 hunts. Artificial earths with signs of recent renovation or food supply
were found at 21 of them, according to the report.
The LACS claimed to have found six artificial earths on land regularly
hunted by the Heythrop Hunt in Gloucestershire, the local hunt in David Cameron's Witney constituency and one that he
has ridden with on at least six occasions. Video footage obtained from hidden cameras also showed a man dumping offal near
an artificial earth in Dorset and remains of broiler chickens were found near one of the structures on land regularly hunted
by the Heythrop Hunt.
While the LACS acknowledged that it could provide no direct evidence that the named hunts were
complicit with the building and maintenance of the artificial earths, it said: "It is clear that someone has been maintaining
the earths on the country of these 21 hunts, and one must question whether or not this can be pure coincidence."
Tim
Bonner, a spokesman for the Masters of Foxhounds Association, denied that the artificial earths had anything to do with the
hunts named in the report.
"The earths are not only used by hunts. They are also used by gamekeepers to locate
foxes so they can find them and kill them," he said. "Most of the hunts I called didn't know the earths were
there," he said.
Mr Bonner said that most hunts still killed foxes as part of a "service" to landowners,
but shot them "legally". "I think there is a dispute over what the law means. The League Against Cruel Sports
has attempted to suggest that the legislation means that hunts can't use any form of hunting as a fox control method.
That is clearly wrong. The legislation has a series of exemptions."
But Professor Cooper said: "We have never
heard of gamekeepers using artificial earths to decrease numbers. Our research shows that they are only ever used to increase
numbers. That begs the question: why should numbers be increased? We answer: to be hunted."
Daily Mail 28-10-11
Garden centre worker's
five-figure pay-out after he was sacked for anti-fox hunting beliefs
Animal rights activist sacked after secret filming helped convict Clarissa Dickson Wright of hare coursing
43-year-old argued
that views on fox hunting should be placed on the same legal footing as religious beliefs
Southampton Employment Tribunal ruled in
his favour
Professional gardener Joe Hashman (pictured outside
the tribunal in Southampton) claims he was sacked from a Dorset garden centre because of his anti-fox hunting beliefs
A garden centre worker who was sacked for
his anti-fox hunting belief has won a five-figure pay-out.
Joe Hashman, who has been an active animal rights campaigner for 30 years, was handed his P45 at
Orchard Park Farm nearGillingham, Dorset,in September 2009, and he has been seeking justice
ever since.
Over two years
later the 43-year-old has now succeeded in the landmark discrimination case which could pave the way for others to sue their
former employers, if they have suffered in the work place because of their personal views.
Mr Hashman had been looking
for £50,000 for loss of earnings and injury to feelings from Orchard Park Farm garden centre.
The managers sacked him two days after his covert filming
had helped to convict the celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright of illegal hare coursing.
He agreed an undisclosed
settlement, believed to include a five figure payout, after a panel at Southampton Employment Tribunal ruled in his favour.
As part of it, Orchard Park's directors
issued a public apology to Mr Hashman, accepting that he had never sought to mislead them about his animal welfare activism.
Married
father-of-two Mr Hashman, of Shaftesbury, Dorset, successfully argued that his views on fox hunting should be placed on the
same legal footing as religious beliefs.
It was accepted that his concern about the environment, animal rights, veganism and, in
particular, his opposition to fox hunting, amount to a philosophical belief under the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief)
Regulations 2003.
Mr Hashman's
solicitor Shah Qureshi, of law firm Bindmans, said: 'This is clearly a very positive tribunal decision for those who believe
in animal rights.
D.Telegraph 24-10-11
Animals rights activist 'sacked over fox hunting beliefs'
An animals rights campaigner claims he was sacked from a garden centre after his pro-hunting employers
discovered he had helped convict celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright of hare coursing charges.
Image 1 of 2
Sheila Clarke, right, did not realise when Joe Hashman,
left, was offered the post that he had been an influential hunt saboteur since the age of 14Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER
Joe Hashman, a professional gardener, alleges that he was discriminated against over his anti-fox
hunting beliefs after bosses found out he was a leading saboteur and animal welfare activist.
The 43-year-old has been permitted to take his claim to an employment
tribunal after a judge’s landmark ruling said his views on fox hunting should be placed on the same legal footing as
religious beliefs.
If successful, the
case could pave the way for a flood of similar claims from employees who believe they have suffered in the workplace due to
their personal views.
Giving evidence, Mr
Hashman said his dismissal in September 2009 came two days after covert video footage he had filmed helped convict Dickson
Wright of attending an illegal hare coursing event.
He explained that when he took the job of creating a demonstration garden for Orchard Park Farm, near Gillingham, Dorset,
he had been “blissfully unaware” that its owners were keen supporters of the South and West Wiltshire Hunt.
Likewise, owners Sheila and Ron Clarke did not realise when
he was offered the post that he had been an influential hunt saboteur since the age of 14, the tribunal heard.
However, Mr Hashman said he was “picked on” and abruptly sacked after he appeared
on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show, explaining his part in Dickson’s Wright’s court case.
“I believe now that my involvement in relation to hunting issues and ultimately
my philosophical belief was the reason for my dismissal,” Mr Hashman said.
“On September 1, 2009 there were two convictions at Scarborough Magistrates’ Court under the Hunting Act,
which I was directly responsible for.
“One of those
convicted was celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright. I wrote a personal blog about this and also on that day appeared on
the Jeremy Vine Show, which was discussing the convictions.
“I
believe that those connected with Orchard Park knew, or came to know, of some or all of these matters at some point leading
up to my dismissal.”
Mr Hashman also claimed his departure
was hastened by the sudden death of the hunt’s terrier man Andrew Prater – a close friend and employee of the
Clarkes – with whom he had clashed previously at hunting protests.
Mr Hashman claims he was sacked on the same day his employers attended Mr Prater’s funeral.
The former professional tennis coach alleged that he telephoned Richard Cumming, Orchard
Park’s managing director, following his dismissal and asked if Mr Prater’s death and the Dickson Wright case had
provoked his bosses’ “firm action”.
“Mr
Cumming confirmed this was the case,” Mr Hashman said.
“I
was told the board of directors were not prepared to sanction any more payments to me. I thought that was hardly surprising,
given where we were all coming from.
“He said that emotions
in the local hunting community were running high.”
Orchard
Park Farm claims it dismissed Mr Hashman because his vegetable patch at the garden centre, encouraging customers to grow more
produce, was not making them enough money. They insist that his views on hunting played not part in their decision,
Mr Cumming claims he was unaware of Mr Hashman’s involvement
in Dickson Wright’s case and that the centre continued stocking Mr Hashman’s gardening books, indicating that
they did not “have it in” for him.
He told Mr Hashman
that the board of directors “felt that the expense of taking the [vegetable plot] project further was not justified”.
Mr Hashman, of Shaftesbury, Dorset, added: “I believe this
was a justification that was thought up after the event and was not the real reason my contract was terminated.”
The hearing at Southampton Employment Tribunal centre continues.
Hunting: who let the dogs out?
Six years after foxhunting was banned, the bugle still
sounds across the shires. Robert McCrum goes in pursuit of the hunters, and finds a world lustily disdainful of urban opinion
Tally ho!: out with the Tedworth Hunt, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. Photograph: Karen Robinson
On 17 February 2005, the Tedworth Hunt, which for generations has pursued its quarry across
the hillsides of ancient Wessex and often far on to Salisbury Plain, chased foxes for the last time. Louise Guinness, who
has ridden with the Tedworth for 28 years, remembers the day so well. She has a photograph of the milestone moment: grooms,
puppy walkers, whippers-in, young masters, veterans of the field, terrier men and stablegirls – a tweedy cross-section
of an English rural community dotted withhuntingpink.
"We met here at Fosbury [her family home, near Marlborough]," says Guinness of
the last day that it was legal to hunt foxes in Britain. "All the hunt supporters came to the meet, maybe three or four
hundred of them. Our huntsman at the time was Rodney. He was, man and boy, a wonderful, old-fashioned huntsman: hard drinking,
womanising, all that classic stuff.
"Anyway, there were lots of foxes that last day, and, at the end, Rodney 'blew for home'. It's
quite a mournful sound even on a normal day, but on that day it sounded really melancholy and, as he blew for home, we were
all crying. Even Rodney was crying. His heart was breaking. He just packed up his hounds and went back to the kennels. It
felt so sad and we all thought, 'That's it.'" Guinness allows herself a sly smile. "But then, strangely,
it wasn't it."
Six years on, with the ban still firmly on the statute book, hunting in England and Wales is flourishing against the
odds. In an unintended consequence, New Labour has galvanised rural Britain. In 2011, middle-class men, and especially women,
are hunting from November to April, apparently at the dangerous edge of legality, four days a week. And no one –
not the police, not the courts, not the saboteurs – is able to do a thing about it. The hunt remains what it always
was: the epitome of English independence.
The scarlet coats might be more discreet, and the sound of the horn more muted than in the past,
but the nation's hunts are still in full cry and so are its opponents – the "antis" such as the Hunt Saboteurs
and the League Against Cruel Sports. Neither side is giving ground, especially here in horse racing-country around Lambourne.
I've joined Guinness
to watch a session of "autumn hunting" with the Tedworth, a hard core of dedicated riders and their hounds crisscrossing
Salisbury plain in the first light of autumn. Before the ban this was known as "cub hunting", the elimination of
the next fox generation after the long summer armistice, and before the hunt season proper gets under way. More rollicking
members of the field still refer to it in such terms, and disdain the euphemism of "autumn hunting". After several
weeks of getting to know the Tedworth's inner circle, I've come along as a neutral witness to an ancient and notoriously
contentious country pursuit reviled by many for its cruelty.
As the hunt slowly crosses the plain towards us, at about 9am, some 40 hounds,
in couples, are fossicking through the long grass, while the following "field" moves at an easy trot behind. Any
scene less controversial, or barbarous, would be hard to imagine.
It's not difficult to glimpse the allure of a rural tradition that
goes back to Merrie England and the greenwood tree. Salisbury Plain offers its own special magic: a pastoral theatre in which
to experience a lovely dawn; the flight of rare birds; filigree spiders' webs laced into the hedgerows; immemorial tranquillity,
and a lonely blue sky scored with vapour trails, almost the sole reminder of modernity. "When I'm out in the field,"
says Guinness, "I always get a great sense of privilege at the beauty, and the access to some lovely parts of England.
The early mornings can be breathtaking."
The actors on this stage will celebrate this with predictable gusto, but they become vague and evasive
when pressed about what, exactly, they've been up to since six o'clock that morning. One says, "It's mainly
just about training the young hounds to learn restraint in the field." When you join a hunt like the Tedworth, you cross
into anAlice
in Wonderlandworld. In our conversations, no one mentions the fox because, in law, the fox is no longer part of the equation.
Theoretically, at least, hunts now follow a trail laid by dragging a scent in advance of the field. It doesn't always
turn out like that, though few will speak candidly about what actually happens in the field. "Let's just say,"
says one, speaking carefully, "that it can be a bit like 40 in a 30 zone".
In hunt society everyone talks about respect for the law and upholding
community traditions, while carrying on like red-blooded Englishmen and women hellbent on having the time of their lives.
Part of this is natural exuberance; part of it an instinctive defiance towards inexorable change, the defence of a way of
life and a bloody-minded refusal to yield any advantage to the League Against Cruel Sports and the Hunt Saboteurs.
Country pursuits are in fashion.Tatler, the
house journal of the shire-ocracy, has recently published a hunting, shooting and fishing supplement.
Kate Reardon, the new editor, a keen
horsewoman, describes herself as "an enthusiastic amateur", though she's reluctant to be seen as a poster-child
for foxhunting. "What I love about the rural community," she tells me, "is that it's a well-glued society
of mutually supportive people. But it's a completely different value system from the world of the cities: the media, which
is based in urban centres like London and Manchester, simply doesn't get it. In the countryside there's another way
of life."
Sometimes
it's not obvious where the fun lies. Sarah Crean, one of four "joint masters" of the Tedworth, says that, on
a cold, hard December day, "hunting can be a test of endurance". Louise Guinness, who promotes the Tedworth as a
model of responsible hunting, refuses to glamorise her pastime, stressing the dedication of all concerned, huntspersons and
foot followers alike. She describes a mixture of being "very bored, very cold and very, very terrified".
"Much of what we do is very hardcore.
At the beginning of the season we are usually getting up in the dark to go hunting. Once the winter proper comes you can be
out in the field, freezing cold, utterly exhausted and wondering, 'Why am I doing this?' I suppose there's a certain
pride in staying the course." But she admits that some aspects of countryside culture are not to her taste. "The
Hunt Ball, for instance, is unbelievably awful. People behave so incredibly badly. They fight. They get drunk. They chase
women. It can get quite rough."
Is it like a Jilly Cooper novel ? "No, it's much, much worse than Jilly Cooper."
This element of the hunt has its own
followers. Lizzie Squires, a frisky account executive with a Soho advertising agency, who prefers to speak under an assumed
name, says that she started hunting after the ban, which was part of the motivation. "I love the frisson of living on
the edge," says Squires. "The physical fear is fascinating. Let's face it, in everyday life you're never
frightened. Yet, when I drive down the M3 on Friday evening (Squires hunts on Saturdays with the Portman) I have to face the
possibility that by the end of the weekend I might be dead or in a coma."
It is a commonplace of rural A&E departments that the bravest,
toughest casualties wheeled through their doors are hunting women. Fearless female equestrians make up the majority of the
field. Squires, who tries to analyse this, says, "Women have this weird thing about horses. I can't explain it, but
it's incredibly powerful. My horse is strong, silent and dependable. We understand each other, and we take risks together.
I'd put my horse above any man."
Rural or metropolitan, take your pick: hunting defies all attempts to crush it. The act that enforced
the hunting ban ate up hundreds of hours of parliamentary time. In its day, this was supposed to be a piece of landmark legislation
in the modernising of Britain. No more unspeakables in pursuit of the uneatable. An end to the mindless, cruel slaughter of
the fox. A wake-up call to the countryside. The death knell for the John Peel of ancient ballad, hurtling over hedges and
ditches "in his coat so gay".
And yet, England's nearly 200 hunts, from the incredibly posh Beaufort to the rough-and-ready
Llangeinor, where Ford factory workers will choose the night shift so they can hunt in the daytime, survive as the lynchpin
of a country way of life. In Wiltshire alone, the Tedworth competes with no fewer than 10 other hunts from the nearby Vine
and Craven to the RA (Royal Artillery), improbably enough, a hunt maintained by the army, riding out dressed in forest green.
The Tedworth's huntsman, Oliver
Harding, lives next to his hounds in a tied cottage with his girlfriend Rachael. He's in his 20s, a serious-minded countryman
from agriculture college. To listen to him is to begin to understand why the Countryside Alliance persists and why this community
has proved so hard to change. Harding describes something that is more a way of life than a job. "On a hunting day
[the Tedworth hunts on Tuesdays and Saturdays] I'll be out in the field from eight to eight. The day before I'll walk
the country, to talk to all the farmers and their gamekeepers. And then the day after I'll be looking after the hounds."
As master of ceremonies it's Harding's job to provide a good day out. "The field (the riders) is there for the
entertainment," he says. "What happens on the day itself is an accident. Once the hounds have picked up a scent
it's not easy to stop them. It's up to me to make sure they pick up a good scent. I'm the one the field will follow."
The biggest threat to the Tedworth
is not from the antis, who dog the steps of the each hunt with video cameras and obstructive diversions. The real challenge
to the contemporary hunt is – once again – the government, and the declining rural economy. The recession bites
as hard as the ban. The Tedworth is a middle-range hunt, but it's hard up and it costs between £65,000 and £80,000
to maintain per annum. Privately, its masters admit this is a struggle and agree that occasionally they discuss the possibility
of mergers with neighbouring hunts.
On 18 June this year, as part of a long process of familiarisation, theObserverwent to the Tedworth Hunt's Puppy
Show at its kennels near Hungerford. Apart from the newly mown field with Chelsea tractors parked in shiny rows it is a scene
that could have been enacted in 1911, indeed in almost any year before the end of the Great War. The puppy show is an essential
part of a matrix of fundraising activities including quiz nights, charity auctions, balls, whist drives, garden fetes and
raffles.
Here,
the battered bowler hat, the long cream riding coat and the highly polished boot mingle on equal terms with the regimental
tie, the checked shirt and the cavalry twill. Some of the men wear Panama hats and carry gaudy golf umbrellas. Their women
scurry about in shapeless floral dresses or – for younger models – achingly tight jeans and tiny little court
shoes with gold buckles. You see sun-scorched faces the colour of ripe corn and the kind of eyebrows that went out with the
Charge of the Light Brigade. Whatever they privately think or feel, everyone – man, woman and child – is unfailingly
polite and friendly, eager to please, anxious to present the face of normality.
The kennels have been scrubbed and watered down to the last brick.
The atmosphere is heavy with the smell of carbolic, paint and disinfectant. The conversation skitters over horses, dogs, schools,
kids, holidays and, inevitably, the delightful gossip of who's sleeping with whom. There's a scattering of nobs, and
somewhere among the dog-lovers we spot Elinor Goodman, former political editor of Channel 4. Despite the money on display
here, there's not much to spare. The rural working class has grown accustomed to living on a shoestring.
Ted Burton, Harding's predecessor
as huntsman, lives in retirement with his wife Dot, a few miles down the road outside Pewsey. Burton has the majesty of a
retired general and the serenity of a man at peace with his environment, shaped by foxhunting. He recalls his huntsman career
as "a wonderful life, and a wonderful experience". His wife interjects to complain that, "It's probably
not as good now as it used to be. There's much more regulation, and health and safety has made some of the old ways too
expensive."
To
one side, in a huddle, there's a knot of weather-worn men with gnarled walking sticks, crammed into tweed suits and shiny
boots. These are the terrier men – not the apex of the hunting society, but part of its complex pyramid.
Lizzie Squires observes that "the
ban has had the paradoxical effect of making the huntsmen and their followers into rural freedom fighters. Country teens who
used to express their disaffection by being anti have swung round behind the hunt precisely because they see it as a way
to flout the law."
Foxhunting attracts thrill seekers and risk junkies. Squires, who can't resist the adrenalin rush, says, "Sometimes
you'll go out and you can't pass a trailer for people fucking. Sex is so easy on the hunt. It's easy to get lost.
I've been set up on dates while I was actually out in the field. You're close to death and perhaps a little bit drunk
– I neck half a bottle of sloe gin every time I go out – so sex comes easily. Plus, it's incredibly
glamorous. Almost any man, in hunting clothes, looks good on a horse."
Another rider, from a different hunt, goes further: "When you're
out in the field the blood is up. On one occasion I challenged this rider, 'I'll fuck you if you jump that hedge.'
Needless to say, he fell off and got covered in mud, but I fucked him anyway.'"
Here, at the puppy show, any undercurrent of eroticism is not obvious,
nor does anyone seem terribly exercised by the legality of their pursuit. The mantra of any hunter's conversation is always
that "it is our intention to hunt within the law…"
Country people, who still hope for the repeal of the ban, will say that New
Labour never understood them. Sarah Crean remembers the Countryside Alliance rallies as a turning point in her coming of age
as a rural freedom fighter. "I think I went to every march, and I took my children, too." Crean is an interesting
example of a contemporary huntswoman. She grew up in Southsea, far from the fields of Wessex. Hunting is a late passion and
she admits it costs her several thousand pounds a year. "Yes," she concedes, "it can become quite obsessive."
For the antis, also
known to the hunt as "the sabs" or "the stupids", it's also an obsession: a lifelong battle against
cruelty to animals – especially the fox. The Tedworth's chief anti is a veteran hunt saboteur named Aubrey
Burge. He's unwilling to discuss his position, but the League Against Cruel Sports, which fears a repeal of the law, says
it is working "tirelessly" to keep up the pressure on MPs. One frustration is the indifference of the police. An
ex-chief constable in Yorkshire said, publicly, that he considered infringements of the hunting ban as less deserving of police
notice than letting off fireworks in a built-up area.
Rita McVittie, a former special constable, now a semi-retired book keeper, has an unusual
angle on the law. Like several police personnel across the country, she was for more than 30 years an enthusiastic huntswoman,
and still rides with the Tedworth. For her "the thrill of hunting is being out in the open air, on a horse, and being
allowed to ride in country I wouldn't normally be allowed to ride in".
McVittie believes the Tedworth avoided the worst of the controversy
around the ban by keeping a low profile. "We were never targeted in a big way. There is one thing to be said for Aubrey
Burge: you know where you are with him. It was all a bit of a game on both sides. The police recognise that. No one ever said
to me, 'The sabs are here, what are you going to do about it ?'"
Like First World War battalions, both sides have become acclimatised
to the stalemate of entrenched positions.
"After the ban, we soon realised," says McVittie, "that we could produce something
that was totally legal, and had much more resemblance to what we'd had before than we ever expected." She, like all
hunting people, hopes the law will be repealed, but recognises that there are probably not the votes. Besides, next to bigger
threats such as recession and national planning, riding to hounds is no longer quite the issue it was under New Labour.
The rural community
has had to come to terms with a Tory-led coalition that's not, after all, the countryside's friend. Despite a 2010
election manifesto that boasted plans "to promote green spaces and wildlife corridors", the traditional champions
of the countryside have drafted a national planning policy which has begun to mobilise much of the anti-government hostility
of 1999. Today, lessons learned by the Countryside Alliance are being used against Tory MPs in rural seats.
Governments come and go. Here, deep
in Wessex, the ways of the land seem immutable. For Louise Guinness and her fellow Tedworth hunters, something that was threatened
has survived to be cherished, like family. When she describes her hunter, Basil, it's as if she's talking about a
blood relative. "He's already 16," she says, "and he was 11 when I bought him [for £5,000 from a
dealer in Connemara]. I'm already worrying about him ageing."
It's probably hard for the town- and city- dwelling civilian (about
80% of the UK) to grasp such emotions. And foxhunting remains an issue that defeats everyone: neither side of the debate can
find common ground, let alone move towards any hint of a rapprochement.
The steady erosion of the English countryside does not, apparently,
accelerate the decline of the hunt but instead makes it, symbolically, more vivid than ever. Looking into the future, it's
not hard to imagine the sound of horses' hooves echoing across concrete fields and the horn echoing between canyons of
suburban sprawl. Meanwhile, the fox itself dodges through the metropolis, rioting in the hencoop, as apt a symbol of Old England
– wily, feral and indestructible – as the men and women who still chase after him.
LACS website 15-10-11 Hunt were hunting foxes intentionally
in an act of subterfuge, says judge
Two hunt employees convicted of breaking the
Hunting Act and the Protection of Badgers Act have had their appeal thrown out following a five day hearing at Leicester Crown
Court. Covert investigators from the League Against Cruel Sports filmed huntsman Derek Hopkins and terrierman Kevin Allen
of the Fernie Hunt pursuing a fox near Market Harborough in January 2010. When the fox escaped into a badger sett, Allen dug
the fox out, an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act. The League has placed the film evidence on YouTube.
In a scathing attack on the tactics of the Fernie Hunt, the judge said that whatever the hunt thought of
the law, it was there to be obeyed. "Organised subterfuge is unacceptable", he told the court, also saying that
he found the evidence of Hopkins as ‘unconvincing’ and describing Allen as ‘shady’.
Joe Duckworth,
chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, described the appeal as ‘ridiculous’. "Anyone who sees
this film will see the clear actions of a hunt intent on pursuing a fox. In two court cases, five magistrates and a crown
court judge have been clear in what they have seen and have convicted these wildlife criminals."
The hunting community
had been asked to contribute to defence costs, thought to exceed £100,000. Hopkins and Allen were represented in court
by Phillip Mott QC. The pair’s original sentences were confirmed by the court. Hopkins was fined a total of £850
with a £15 victim surcharge and £1,250 costs. Allen was fined a total of £650 with a £15 victim surcharge
and £900 costs. An additional £6,000 costs were added today.
FOX HUNTED BY S DURHAM HUNT October 2011 Just also picked this up from LACS website, 2 days old.
What is obviously cub-hunting, but none of the participants are identifiable. The commentary as good as tells us it was the
S.Durham hunt, but why they are not fully explicit in naming them I don't know. Presumably the 'observers' knew
who it was they were monitoring. I can only imagine they didn't move in to get identification because they didn't
want to get beaten up/lose the film.
A Fringe Event at the Conservative Party Conference was disrupted by two hunt saboteurs.
The Reception
was held by the National Farmers Union and held at the Palace Hotel In Manchester. Peter Kendall (director of the NFU)
was on the panel as well as James Paice MP, Lord Taylor, Richard Benyon, and Mark Spencer.
Ten minutes into the
speeches Peter Kendall started to praise DEFRA on helping them in achieving a badger cull stating how 'necessary and scientifically
based the cull was'
It was at this point a suited hunt saboteur ran up and took centre stage, with a poster
saying “STOP THE BADGER CULL, www.huntsabs.org.uk” and recited “shame on you Peter Kendall, the Badger cull is not based on science, its just another cruel bloodsport
that does not help farmers”
At this Point the Protester was being dragged away whilst chanting “no
more torture no more pain, Peter Kendall your to Blame!!” whilst being booed by the conference room full
of Tory's and farmers, some of which shouted for the activist to be shot and shouts of “off with
his head”
A HUNTSMAN with the Tiverton Staghounds has been charged with raping a woman.
John Norrish, 67, from Mouseberry Farm, East Worlington, is due to appear in front of magistrates in Exeter today.
The offence is alleged to have happened on Saturday, July 2, at a property in the Crediton area.
The
arrest and investigation, which followed a complaint made to Devon & Cornwall Police, has sent shockwaves through the
hunting community.
Mr Norrish is well known in equestrian circles, and has acted in various capacities
for several hunts in the Westcountry for nearly 40 years.
Sources told the Gazette that another
man had been recruited to undertake some of his duties while an investigation was being carried out.
However,
one member of the hunt disputed this and said he was still very much involved in the staghounds.
Another
hunt member, who did not want to be named, said the matter was being treated as a private issue and that Mr Norrish still
had the support of other Tiverton Staghounds members.
Colin Burnell, the chairman of the hunt,
declined to comment.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "I can confirm that
a man in his sixties is due to appear at Central Devon Magistrates Court on Tuesday, September 27.
"He
has been charged with raping an adult female at an address in Devon on July 2 of this year."
The
force declined to give the age of the alleged victim or the address at which the alleged offence was said to have taken place.
The Tiverton Staghounds have a loyal following in Tiverton and the surrounding countryside, and regularly feature
in the main ring at the Mid Devon Show.
Since the hunting ban the hunt has organised drag and
trail hunts.
The staghounds also organises a number of social events throughout the year, runs
a pony club for junior members and is involved in point to point.
Waac says - Why should
we be surprised at this allegation, when people like the creature pictured above treat animals with such cold
and callousness indifference?
Julia Jacobe - her post in Cornish Hunt Saboteurs:
Whenever anyone
in the media tries to expose the brutal realities of the 'hunt', the hunting fraternity are down on them like a ton
of bricks. The Western Daily Press is a fine example of this; not so long ago, the CA 'media department' in the
form of Tim Bonner and Simon Hart, were DEMANDING that they withheld 'highly offensive and inaccurate letters' about
the harsh realities of 'hunting' - in fact, they threatened sanctions against the paper; 'hunters' have also
threatened to withdraw advertising from newspapers if they also go into detail about the 'hunt' and it's brutality.
One company even threatened a paper with legal action if they connected them in an article with 'hunting'; the story
was then dropped, although the paper had planned to use it on their front page. Heaven knows how many other quarters of the
media have had the same threats made to them and then gave into their demands. So you see, they REALLY ARE AN EVIL BUNCH,
and they know what they do will be met with revulsion by the moral majority.
Thanks for the
info Wende - we all have a duty to remind the public that newspapers attempting to expose the hideous cruelty of hunting with
dogs are being threatened with sanctions and legal action by those connected to hunting. Newspapers caving in are
basically giving in to blackmail and this too should be exposed for what it is - a blatant attempt to silence the
truth! The media are supposed to be for the truth - so what happened to gutsy reporting? Judi
Horse & Hound are
surely admitting here that hunts are still killing foxes. MP's need to be shown this article if
only to prove that hunts have become so brazen that they will even admit in a magazine that they
are still hunting animals, though you will need to read between the lines. But whatever, it's not hard
to see that they are still fox hunting. After all, the picture used with the article tells a thousand words. Their arrogance is astounding! Plus the paragraph about
the Whippers In getting their reward in heaven was really bizarre given that they will almost certainly
end up in hell. Judi
Police
are investigating after a video emerged of a Westcountry fox hunt spilling onto a busy railway line.
Footage of up to a dozen hounds running along the track in apparent pursuit of a fox was
filmed by anti-hunt protesters.
Police
launched an investigation after a video emerged showing a hunt spilling onto the busy railway line
•
•
The dogs are called back by huntsmen just before a train - packed with passengers – speeds down
the line.
Police launched a probe into the actions of the Seavington Hunt
after claims of illegal hunting and rail chiefs warned the hounds could have created carnage.
The train drivers’ union Aslef described footage of the incident – filmed next to the busy
Exeter to Waterloo railway line through Clapton, Somerset – as “shocking”.
A spokesman for the union said: “I estimate around a dozen dogs were on the line at one point, which
is a considerable threat to a train.
“Anything that affects the safety
of the railway line is serious.
“To us it does not matter if it is
an individual or a hunt, both are equally serious and we would hope both the hunt and the British Transport Police would take
the same view.”
Witnesses to the incident, at about 7.20am, September
3, described seeing up to 20 hounds spilling onto the tracks in Clapton, near Crewkerne, in Somerset.
Footage of the incident was captured by anti-hunt protesters, who later handed it to the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
The incident has been described as “incompetent,
hopeless and careless” by the League Against Cruel Sports.
Jeremy Darke,
senior master of the Seavington Hunt said: “We were hunting within the law that morning and, like other hunts, act in
a responsible and legal way. No hounds were injured and as far as I am aware there was no incident with a train.”
If anyone beileves this hunt was not deliberately hunting a fox to rip its belly out then
I'll eat my hat!. When, oh when, are we going to see this grotesque barbarity by hunt thugs towards our beautiful
foxes stopped? These hunting fiends should be prosecuted, convicted, thrown into prison and the
keys thrown away. Judi
06 September 2011 Hunt thug convicted of assault
‘Hunter
should have been charged with robbery’, says charity boss
An employee of the West Somerset Vale Fox
Hounds has today been convicted of assault by beating, after he attacked Paul Tillsley, an investigations officer
for the League Against Cruel Sports.
Mr Tillsley was monitoring the activity of the West Somerset Vale Fox Hounds
on 29th March, when David Bevan, attached, the hunt’s whipper-in, attacked him and took his video camera.
Mr Bevan was given a conditional discharge for twelve months, and ordered to pay £150 compensation and £85 costs
at Taunton Magistrates Court earlier today.
“Mr Bevan used his horse to push me along while he struck me
a number of times with the handle of his whip,” said Mr Tillsley. “He then knocked me down and pinned me to the
ground while he forcibly took my camcorder from me and gave it to another man. As a result of the assault I sustained cuts
and bruises to my head, arms and ribs and I had to attend hospital on two occasions.”
The League’s
chief executive, Joe Duckworth, said that he was surprised and disappointed that Bevan had only been charged with assault.
“It strikes me that if a man had pinned someone down and stolen his camera on the streets of London, he’d be in
jail now,” said Mr Duckworth. “We think it was a very poor decision on the part of the Crown Prosecution Service
that Mr Bevan wasn’t charged with robbery.”
Mr Duckworth said that this case demonstrated the arrogance
of members of the hunting community. “Hunters maraud around the countryside with little or no regard for other people.
We’re gearing up for the start of the hunting season and we know that our Hunt Crimewatch service will be inundated
with calls from people experiencing hunts’ anti-social behaviour,” he said. “You have to be brave to stand
up to these rural bullies but today’s conviction shows that they can be held to account.
Once again the courts have proved that there is one law for the cruel hunters
and another for the poor man in the street. In other words there is no justice for the decent folk of Britain and even less
for good law abiding anti-hunt monitors as the nasty hunt scum continue to ride roughshod over the
law and walk away free from court. When are we going to have a fair and just judicial system?
Cameron's favourite huntsman and good friend Barnsfield in court over illegal hunting.
I am in the process of updating the website with the Crawley & Horsham story. Researching their infamous
history, I came across this LACS Undercover Report from 2007 on the Hunt, which I have never seen before. I can't understand
why not. It is devastating and, if the film evidence of illegal hunting was as they say it's just appalling that the Hunt
have not faced HA charges till now.
WELSH Conservative Assembly leader Andrew RT Davies
has called on the UK Government to deliver its promise to hold a free vote on scrapping the hunting ban.
His demand
for Westminster colleagues to fulfil the Conservative manifesto and coalition agreement pledge follows reports that anti-hunting
Tories are confident the prospect of a vote in this Parliament is now “dead and buried”.
Many of the so-called
“blue foxes” are first-term Conservative MPs who do not believe hunting with dogs has a place in modern Britain.
The
group has received the backing of Queen guitarist and animal rights campaigner Brian May, but has been dismissed by the Countryside
Alliance as “a tiny group within the Conservative Party”.
Yesterday, farmer and South Wales Central AM Mr
Davies said voters would expect the party to keep its promise to stage a free vote on repealing the 2004 ban.
He said:
“I do believe that if politicians make a commitment they should do all in their power to see the commitment through...
“If
politicians say something and put it in writing they should endeavour to deliver on that.”
Mr Davies said local
hunts provided a valuable service in rural Wales by removing the carcasses of lambs and calves and any further reduction in
hunting would hurt businesses in remote areas.
Former Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart, Conservative
MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, said the UK Government had signalled it was still committed to holding a free
vote. However, he acknowledged that the timing for such a vote was difficult and MPs did not want the issue to “reopen
old wounds”.
Mr Hart said there was “nothing new” about Conservative MPs being opposed to hunting
and said a vote was likely to be “reasonably tight”.
He said: “If the Conservatives won an overall
majority at the election it would be fine. They didn’t, therefore it [would be] close.”
The RSPCA warned
that a repeal of the ban would be “barbaric and a backward step for a civilised society”.
The group insists
that the law is “workable,” stating that between 2004 and 2009 more than 100 people were found guilty of offences
under the Hunting Act.
John Rolls, RSPCA director of policy, said: “Our message has never changed and it never
will – hunting is cruel.
“The setting of one animal against another with one of them being chased for miles
and then torn to shreds is cruel.
“It disturbs me that this could ever have been seen as a sport.”
The
group Conservatives Against Fox Hunting, whose most prominent member is leading “blue fox” and Gosport MP Caroline
Dineage, claims to represent the views of two-thirds of Conservative supporters and the 75% of the general population.
Montgomeryshire
farmer and Conservative MP Glyn Davies wants to see the repeal of the anti-hunting legislation.
He said: “I think
it is a very poor ban and it makes a mockery of the legal system...
“I think there is a case for repealing the
ban and I support that.”
But he added: “There is also a case for not repealing…
“There’s
a danger if it was repealed all the activists would be back out and it would become a contentious issue in society again.”
However,
he wants the Conservative Liberal Democrat Government to honour its pledge to give MPs a free vote.
The two parties’
programme for government states: “We will bring forward a motion on a free vote enabling the House of Commons to express
its view on the repeal of the Hunting Act.”
He said: “I think a Government, wherever possible, should deliver
on its promises.”
Mr Davies, who does not hunt, had not allowed hunts to use his land before the passing of the
legislation, but granted permission in protest at the ban.
WAAC says - What kind
of mindset does FARMER AND TORY ASSEMBLY MEMBER Davies have, to see animals bitten to death by dogs? And what
the hell are we doing having farmers as AM's here in Wales? Surely farmers are busy working the land - or so they
tell us? How come he has time to get a nice fat pay cheque from us tax payers while spouting off rubbish about
bringing fox hunting back? Talk about corruption!! And why is he ignoring the truth about foxes - that foxes do
NOT need to be controlled. And further more, why is this awful man and his ilk still
ignoring the fact that the majority of decent minded folk do not want this disgusting spectacle back!!. Judi
The Badger Trust is demanding a criminal investigation of a farmer
who stood by while others gassed badgers with the exhaust of an “old petrol engine”.
The
Report (BBC Radio 4, 8 pm, August 4) said the BBC had evidence that some were
willing to take the law into their own hands and were gassing badgers, a protected species. The programme interviewed a farmer
who showed the presenter one of the “dozens of setts” where he said badgers had been killed, but the BBC agreed
not to name him. He said: “Just before Christmas every farm in this area had gone down with bovine TB, most of us had
lost a lot of money, lost a lot of cattle, and we were fed up with the Government not doing anything, and we’re also
fed up of seeing sick badgers struggling to live”.
The presenter, Nick Ravenscroft, then said: “The farmer
claimed this sett was infected with TB”, and the farmer continued: “You have an old petrol engine, you put a pipe
down the hole here, you have the engine running, and once the holes are completely blocked up you run the engine and that
puts the badger to sleep underground. But it’s a sick sett. The whole family group is put to sleep humanely”.
Mr
Ravenscroft asked: “Were you taking part in this?”
“I was present when
it was done; I actually didn’t take part in it”, the farmer admitted.
Mr Ravenscroft: “There
are plenty of people who would say that what was happening that night - which you were watching and friends of yours were
doing - is not only illegal but it’s wrong and inhumane”.
The farmer replied: “I
don’t think it’s inhumane at all. Is it actually inhumane to actually sit and watch an animal suffer? Answer that
question for me. We don’t let livestock on our farms suffer a slow death. Why should that badger suffer a slow death
over three or four years? Farmers are law-abiding citizens, but at this point in time through lack of action and lack of help
from governments they are being driven to take this action. We don’t want to do it but it’s survival; survival
of business and we want wildlife and our herds to survive. Why can’t that be allowed to be done without breaking the
law?”
David Williams, chairman of the Badger Trust, said: “This interview showed the depth of ignorance
among this farmer and his friends about the basic facts in respect of badgers and their setts and revealed the brutality
behind the demands of the livestock industry.
What makes them think that this is humane? scientific research
shows that all forms of gassing are ineffective at reaching all parts of a sett and are considered as inhumane.
Small localized killing of badgers, can spread rather than contain the disease: amateurish and sporadic brutality like
this is the worst possible action to take
It is extremely difficult to prove whether badgers are infected.
The average incidence of disease
among badgers is known to be as low as one in eight, even in ‘bTB hotspots’. There is no such thing as a
sick sett, badgers living in the same sett do not all have tb. Researchers with 30 years of experience rarely see any badger
showing signs of suffering with tb.
Badgers are very tough and do not die easily; they would make every effort to dig
their way out to escape choking fumes;
The farmers mentioned on the programme are anything but ‘law
abiding citizens’ and must be prosecuted”.
The Trust is also challenging the BBC over an unattributed assertion in the programme that “since badgers
became protected in the ‘70s the population has surged to an estimated 300,000”. Mr Williams said: “The
BBC must give the references for this figure. There has been no quantified estimate of population for 14 years. It must also
quote any scientific basis for the clear implication that legal protection had caused a ‘surge’ ”.
Badger
Trust is the only charity dedicated to the conservation of badgers throughout England, Wales and all Ireland.
waac says - Farmers really are an ignorant cruel bunch of b*****ds. It's time the public did the
right thing and stopped buying produce from these creatures - maybe then they might start to develop a conscience, but I wouldn't
bet on it!.
WAAC says - Not nice people these infamous Brookes (of the hacking scandal fame). Charlie
the husband of that disgraced editor of the News of the World Rebecca Brookes is said to have behaved in an
aggressive and repugnant manner towards anti-hunt people while he was attending a Heythrope hunt meet
Mind you, if you can stay married to a woman who seemingly allowed or urged her staff reporters to tap
into a murdered childs mobile phone - then the simple matter of supporting the Heythrope hunt who like to
set a pack of hounds upon a defenceless animal for the sheer fun of it, would be as nothing to him and
his unfeeling wife. Rebecca Brookes has shown that she has no morals whatsoever - and her husband Charlie appears
not to have any either, but the fact that their good friend David Cameron (another supporter of the Heythrope hunt)
is in co-hoots with these unscrupulous and vile people shows us what a real vipers nest it all is. Cruel
and indifferent - what a combination!.
Sunday Express 21-7-11
BADGERS IN TB GUN CULL ‘FACE
DYING IN AGONY’
Shooting badgers is believed to have become the preferred way of halting the disease
BADGERS will suffer agonising
deaths if the Government orders them to be shot on sight, animal welfare campaigners are warning.
The much-loved
nocturnal creature is expected to be the target of a large-scale cull in an attempt to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis
among cattle.
Shooting badgers is
believed to have become the preferred way of halting the disease which led to 32,000 cows being slaughtered last year. An
announcement on the controversial measure is likely to be made before Parliament goes into summer recess on Tuesday.
Tackling bovine TB has become one of the
most contentious countryside issues since fox hunting, with farmers warning a vaccine will not be available for years. New
cases have risen by 30 per cent in some areas.
However,
putting Brock in the crosshairs of professional marksmen will lead to animals suffering horrific wounds, according to the
RSPCA.
The badger’s anatomy
makes getting a humane kill very difficult. They only have two “lethal points” for an instant kill – the
heart and brain. Their thick skulls offer small margin for error with a direct head shot, while trying to hit the heart is
awkward. Ground-hugging badgers make getting a clean shot extremely difficult, particularly as they are only above ground
at night. A spokesman said: “The RSPCA is firmly opposed to all plans for a widespread cull. We are very concerned about
the many risks involved. It is more difficult to shoot a badger in a quick, humane way than a fox or a deer. There is a high
risk of wounding them and causing a slow, painful death.”
Authorising a cull will be one of Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman’s toughest decisions and
officials in her Defra ministry say no date has yet been fixed for any announcement.
A key Government adviser on badgers and TB in cattle has said a cull would be
a mistake. Lord Krebs, who conducted a major review into the issue in the Nineties and recommended a trial cull that took
place over the following 10 years, said culling was not an effective policy.
Farmers’ leaders say they want the Government to allow trained professionals to be given licences
to carry out badger control in areas where the disease is persistent and high.
The National Farmers Union said they wanted a “science-led policy to reach
what must be the end goal for everyone – a healthy countryside for both badgers and cattle”.
Prince William and Kate Middleton urged to avoid 'cruel' rodeo on ...BUT THEY GO ANYWAY! PROVING THAT THE ROYALS ARE AS DISTANT AS EVER FROM THE VIEWS
OF THE PUBLIC. AND PROOF THAT KATE IS JUST A BIMBO WITH AN EMPTY HEAD WHO IS JUST OUT TO PLEASE THE ROYALS, LIKE THE
DUTIFUL DAUGHTER SHE IS, OF HER SOCIAL CLIMBING PARENTS, THE MIDDLETON'S.
8 Jul 2011 – William and Kate are expected
to attend the event, ... Prince William and Kate Middleton urged to avoid
'cruel' rodeo on Canada visit by animal rights group ...Critics
pointed out that many British journalists doubted ...
Animal rights activists have called on the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge to shun the Calgary Stampede rodeo when they visit Canada next month.
William and Kate are expected to attend
the event, known as the "richest and roughest ride" on the rodeo circuit, during their visit to the city.
Fight
Against Animal Cruelty in Europe (FAACE) labelled the rodeo "callous and cruel".
The group has written to the couple asking them not to
attend the spectacle.
FAACE has also sent them a DVD which appears to show mistreatment of rodeo animals.
The
letter, written by FAACE chairman Tony Moore, tells the couple: "Be assured that rodeo does not work without animal cruelty.
"The
animals in rodeo are domesticated, tame animals forced to behave in a wild manner by various devices (electro shocker, flank
strap, spurs and beating to name just a few).
"They are terrified and not wild. They fear for their lives and often
come to grief.
"The rodeo industry will use your presence not only as a free advertisement, but as a statement
that rodeo is okay.
"For the sake of the animals and yourselves please don't attend the Calgary rodeo."
The
11-minute DVD sent to the couple shows moving and still images of horses being injured and collapsing during rodeo competitions.
The
footage, obtained by US-based campaign group Shark (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), also shows calves being pulled
and strangled by ropes.
It is not clear if any of the images were obtained at the Calgary Stampede.
Speaking today,
Mr Moore, from Southport, Merseyside, said: "Rodeo is North America's bullfighting.
"The callous treatment
and extreme cruelty that is involved is unbelievable.
"I'm worried that Kate will break down in public when
she sees a calf being strangled when jerked to a halt at breakneck speed.
"I'm also concerned that the reputation
of the royal couple could so easily suffer by showing their support to this event."
A spokesman for Clarence House
said: "Although we have announced which cities the couple will be visiting, we haven't yet released their full itinerary."
The
Duke and Duchess's summer tour of Canada, their first official overseas trip as a married couple, will take them to eight
cities from June 30 to July 8.
A highlight will be their appearance at Canada Day celebrations in the capital Ottawa
on July 1.
Other cities include Gatineau, Quebec City, Montreal and Summerside on Prince Edward Island.
America is the last stop for the royal couple and they will spend their time in Los Angeles and the surrounding
area on a three-day official visit supporting Britain's interests in the US.
WAAC
says - Sure they are! It is just one big holiday for the work shy duchess Kate.
Top farmers and vets stand down over badger policy in Wales
by Andrew Forgrave, DPW West
Jun
30 2011
NINE prominent farmers and vets have delivered a damning rebuff to the Welsh Government by standing back
from regional boards set up to help beat bovine TB in Wales.
In a joint statement, the group said they felt “badly misled”
and “bitterly disappointed” by the administration’s U-turn on badger culling.
They acted on the eve
of a speech in Cardiff this week by Harvey Locke, president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), who criticised the
new Welsh Government’s handling of TB.
Chairmen of the three TB eradication boards in Wales say they were not
consulted despite playing a crucial role in the fight against the deadly cattle disease.
In
a letter to environment minister John Griffiths, the group said: “We all feel deeply despondent at this decision having
given freely of our time to work in partnership with the Welsh Government to help formulate what we thought was an agreed
way forward.
“To have taken this decision without even having the courtesy of listening to our opinion suggests
a total disregard for our views,” they added.
The letter is signed by Carmarthen board chair John Owen, farm manager
at Gelli Aur College, and North Wales board chair Peredur Hughes, former NFU Cymru president.
The third signatory is
retired South Wales vet Bob Stevenson, the BVA Wales president who chairs the Cardiff board.
Sic other farmer members
on the three TB boards are supporting their chairmen’s stance.
Remaining members include state and private veterinary
surgeons, auctioneers and trading standards officers.
In North Wales, the TB Board oversaw a huge backlog testing programme
and set up a special biosecurity project in Wrexham.
The dissident TB Board members say they have not resigned but are
withdrawing their support until the Welsh Government completes its scientific review of badger culling.
They are anxious
to keep a foot in the door to ensure farmer representation on the TB boards in case badger culling gets back on track.
But
they felt they had to make a stand on principle – and because they have been getting “flak” from other farmers.
Feelings
are running high in rural communities amid a sense of betrayal by the Labour-led Welsh Government.
In their letter to
John Griffiths, the board chairmen said: “We have taken flak from farmers frustrated by the persistent tightening of
cattle control measures.
“But we have persuaded them to accept (the situation).
“We all feel we have
been entirely by-passed and badly misled and in so being have been misguiding those who have sought and heeded our advice.
“In
these circumstances we feel we have no alternative but to withdraw our support as chairs of your respective boards until you
have completed the review or are prepared to meet us.”
Their action is the first sign of a backlash against Cardiff
in the wake of Mr Griffiths’ decision to set up an independent panel, chaired by chief scientific adviser Prof John
Harries, to re-assess the case for culling.
Due to report back in the autumn, the National Beef Association said it
was essential the panel was “open-minded and objective”.
Even if the badger programme resumes, some farmers
fear it will now be delayed until 2013.
Wales YFC called it “frustrating” while BVA president Harvey Locke
said it was “extremely disappointing”.
In a speech delivered to the BVA’s annual Welsh dinner in Cardiff
on Tuesday night, he said further delays to badger culling will further devastate Welsh herds.
He said: “As veterinary
scientists we are fully committed to science-based policy, but we believe that that work has already been done.”
Calling
on farmers to stick with biosecurity arrangements, he added: “Success in the battle with bTB will only be achieved if
the government, industry and vets work together.”
A
RECORD gun dog entry and a new pigeon plucking competition were highlights of this year’s two-day BASC Wales Game and
Country Fair at Bodelwyddan Castle.
Attendances were up on 2010, said Glynn Cook, who is due to step down as BASC Wales
director later this year.
“I’ve been involved since the start,” said Glynn. “I’ve had
12 enjoyable years and I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from the castle staff.”
BASC’s
Airgun Safe Shot Award was launched at the fair, which attracted 370 gun dogs in three scurries.
One
innovation was a gun-to-plate demonstration in which shot wood pigeon were plucked by show visitors before being cooked by
S4C chef Anthony Evans.
Glynn added: “On the Sunday most of the competitors were aged under 14, with some as young
as seven, and they made a damn fine job of it.”
WAAC says - Having cared for injured woodpigeons, all of whom had their own distinct charcteristics, it
is heartbreaking to see them treated as mere objects by people whose love pf guns and killing far outweighs any morals they
possess. All animals deserve our respect but while selfish people continue to covet their vile love of shooting,
then these and other birds/animals will continue to be fodder for an outdated blood-sport. Judi
Could foxes and badgers be next to feel MPs' love?
Activists hope circus vote sees
rise in animal welfare support
By Nigel Morris, Deputy Political Editor
Saturday, 25 June 2011
GETTY IMAGES
Animal rights protesters think that any attempt to
repeal the ban on hunting foxes with dogs will be scuppered
The dramatic vote to outlaw the use of wild creatures in circuses will prove a turning-point in the drive to combat animal
cruelty, campaigners predicted last night.
They think
the changing attitude of young politicians towards the treatment of animals could scupper moves to repeal the ban on fox-hunting
and to press ahead with a widespread badger cull.
It had been widely assumed that the influx of large
numbers of Conservative MPs at the last election would tip the balance against animal welfare issues. But a succession of
recently elected Tories intervened during Thursday's impassioned debate to support an outright ban and to condemn the
conditions endured by circus animals.
The main backbencher to speak out against the move,
the Tory Andrew Rosindell, was jeered by MPs of all parties, including his own, as he declared animals in circuses suffered
"almost no cruelty" and urged ministers against "pandering to the emotions of animal rights activists".
So overwhelming was the mood in the Commons that the Government was forced to abandon efforts to force MPs
to support its alternative proposal to license circuses. Backbenchers are also determined to return to the subject if ministers
prevaricate on implementing a ban.
The attitude of the Commons on circus animals has implications
for the Government which must soon decide whether to implement plans to combat rising levels of TB in cattle by culling badgers.
Ministers have been agonising since September over whether to authorise a cull, and admit there is a "question-mark"
over whether it will happen.
Part of the reason for the dithering by the Government appears to be
the risk of widespread protests – backed by MPs – over the mass slaughter of animals. Polls suggest that only
one in six of the public supports a cull. The Labour MP Paul Flynn, a long-term supporter of animal rights, said the circus
vote was a "deeply significant" moment despite being a relatively narrow issue.
"The
Tory MPs reflected the mood of the country and gave greater priority to animal welfare. Compassion towards animals is increasing
and indifference is disappearing," he said.
Claire Robinson, a spokeswoman for the RSPCA, said:
"There has been a dramatic change of MPs across the board. There is a whole new intake with whole new attitudes."
She said the vote demonstrated that MPs were becoming more alert to constituents' views and felt compelled to act on them.
"The vote gave backbench MPs the confidence to speak up and to ask the government to think again on
animal welfare. It's not safe to assume that MPs will willingly agree with the Government on such issues."
The changing complexion of the Commons has major implications for the chances of repealing the Act that
banned hunting with dogs. Before the election just three or four Tory MPs opposed fox-hunting, but the number has now jumped
to more than 20.
Tracey Crouch, the Tory MP for Chatham, who was elected last year, said the increase
in Conservatives opposed to fox-hunting reflected the rising numbers representing urban areas. She added: "Animal welfare
is incredibly important to the general public. More people give money to animal welfare organisations or join them than join
political parties or even vote. Clearly we are a nation of animal lovers and I think politicians are reflecting that."
With Liberal Democrat MPs divided on hunting, mostof the Commons still appears to oppose repealing the Act.
The coalition agreement promises to give MPs a free vote on whether to scrap the Act during the course of the Parliament.
Although the Conservative manifesto denounced the hunting ban as "unworkable", there are no signs of moves to arrange
the vote and speculation is growing that it could be cancelled altogether.
Independent Comment 24-6-11
Oliver Wright: Attempts to muzzle debate showed No 10 at its most beastly.
From the outset, Downing Street's response to attempts by independent- minded MPs to ban the use of wild animals
in circuses was misleading and bullying. Thankfully, yesterday it also proved to be futile.
Last month the Government tried to claim such a ban would breach circus owners' human rights. Then it emerged Whitehall
officials had ruled out any human rights implications.
At
the same time they tried to blame the EU by stating that "cross-border selling regulations" would be breached by
any new British legislation.
Then the commission pointed
out this wasn't true and member states could make exemptions on animal welfare grounds.
So having lost the argument, Downing Street (and David Cameron personally) resorted to baser tactics:
bullying and bribery. On Monday Tory whips told Mark Pritchard, the MP behind the Bill, that if he dropped it quietly they
would give him a job for his troubles. He refused.
On Wednesday
night, on the eve of the debate, they threatened him: unless he withdrew the motion the Prime Minister would look upon it
"very dimly indeed".
He refused again and even
worse for Mr Cameron revealed all the dirty tactics on the floor of the Commons.
The result: Downing Street carried out the Coalition's 18th U-turn and gave MPs a free vote of
the Wild Animal Bill, despite an earlier decision to issue a three-line whip. Predictably and rightly they lost without even
having to go through the division lobbies.
The consequences
of this debacle are significant. For Mr Pritchard – an honourable man brought up on a council estate and now a leading
member of the Tories' 1922 Committee – his political career is all but over. Forget ministerial office or ennoblement;
he will languish on the back benches for as long as Mr Cameron is in Downing Street.
His legacy will be an effective ban after the Government said it would respect the wishes of the
House. And, given how much he cares about the subject, he will certainly prefer this to being under-secretary-of-state for
paperclips.
For Mr Cameron, it has brought into
the public spotlight bullying tendencies that, until now, have been kept behind close doors. [What
was that I said earlier?! AK]
It also raises questions
about why (David Cameron) he took such a close interest in the subject. He over-ruled his own Environment Secretary,
Caroline Spelman, to oppose the ban. Unsubstantiated rumours have circulated all week in Westminster that he had personal
reasons for doing so. (Obviously, because if he allows this particular act to go through-
then he will struggle to appease his hunter wife and their wealthy hunting friends when he decides it's
time to repeal the hunting act. If he had managed to get his own way on the use of wild animals
in circuses and gone down the route of self regulation, which is what he was after, then it would
have paved the way for him to use the same ridiculous excuse with regard to fox hunting) Those
issues are unlikely to go away soon.
But amid the political
shenanigans, the substance should not be forgotten.
MPs
stood up to the Government and voted in favour of banning the use of wild animals in
SEE TORY MP, MR PRITCHARDS OWN WORDS.
"Then it was ratcheted up to last night and I was
threatened. I had a call from the Prime Minister's Office directly and I was told unless I withdrew this motion
that the Prime Minister himself would look upon it 'very dimly indeed'." He told MPs: "It remains
a mystery why the Government has mounted such a concerted operation to stop there being a vote on this motion."
Mr Pritchard
You deserve respect Mr Pritchard, for placing truth
and democracy ahead of ambition and an obviously corrupt cabinet. Judi
ANN WIDDECOMBE WAS LEFT OUT OF QUEENS BIRTHDAY HONOURS
LIST BECAUSE ''SHE LIKES FOXES'' WHILE TALENTLESS, GREASY PRO FOX HUNT SUPPORTER BRIAN FERRY,
GETS A CBE. NOW IF THAT DOESN'T STINK, I DON'T KNOW WHAT DOES!!!! WANT A CBE, THEN SUPPORT YOUR KIDS WHEN
THEY STORM PARLIAMENT, BUT ONLY WHEN LABOUR ARE IN POWER (they'll throw away the key if you do it while the
Tories govern), AND THEN STICK UP FOR YOUR KIDS WHEN THEY ASSAULT AN ELDERLY ANTI-HUNT MONITOR AND STEAL HER
CAMERA. YES, COME TO ''DEMOCRATIC BRITAIN'' WHERE CHEAP GOVERNMENT BULLIES AND CORRUPTION
RULES THE DAY - WITH THE AID OF THE MEDIA OF COURSE!! Judi
AM demands inquiry into farm prosecutions in Conwy
by Andrew
Forgrave, DPW West Jun 9 2011
A NORTH Wales AM is calling for an inquiry at a county council which launched a series of animal welfare
prosecutions against farmers.
Barrister and farmer Antoinette Sandbach said a no-blame investigation would help repair
relations between Conwy Council and local farmers.
She spoke out in a week when another Conwy Council case, involving
a respected landowner, was dropped at Llandudno Magistrates.
Major Tom Smith, 78, a deputy-Lieutenant of Gwynedd, his
wife Janie Wynne Smith, 81, and son Mark, 47, of Gwaenynog Hall, Denbigh, had all denied alleged animal welfare offences.
Their
case, estimated to have cost the taxpayer £75,000, is the latest in a series of cases dropped by the council.
Farm
unions have expressed concerns over the apparent eagerness of the council to target animal keepers.
Mrs Sandbach will
make a formal request for an inquiry this week.
She said: “I’ll be requesting a review of the council’s
animal welfare cases – not just those involving not guilty verdicts but also those where contemporaneous complaints
where made to independent third parties such as farm unions.
“Far more animal welfare prosecutions were brought
in Conwy than in any other region of North Wales.
“We need to see if farmers were being targeted, and to understand
why cases were taken to court rather treated as compliance issues under the Single Farm Payment.”
On Tuesday a
six-month ordeal for the Smith family came to an end when Conwy Council dropped its case against them.
Phil Rafferty,
head of regulatory services, said the case had been brought in good faith but it was not pursued “for a number of reasons”.
As a result costs were not awarded against the authority.
Llandudno magistrates heard that 160 Welsh Mountain sheep
had been found dead at Hafod Elwy, on the Denbigh moors, in April last year.
The defence, led by Wirral-based farming
specialist David Kirwan, argued the Smiths had left an experienced shepherd in charge but the sheep had perished in arctic-type
weather.
The family disputed the number of deaths and claimed the prosecution was based on ignorance of practical farming,
especially in the hills where conditions can be severe.
Maj Smith, 40 years a farmer, said: “It’s been a
great worry. The authorities don’t understand fully the stresses of farming at 1,200ft through difficult weather.
“There
was a lot of snow and ice but the animals were never without fodder.”
Mr Kirwan said many other animals had perished
all over the UK in last year’s cold snap – but nowhere else were similar prosecutions brought.
He added:
“Farmers lead a very difficult life. It’s 24-7, they fight the elements, rules and regulations of the EU, recession
and bureaucracy. They are assailed from all sides.
“The council needs to re-examine its policy towards farmers.
If there are issues, it should discuss them amicably.
“I estimate the cost to the taxpayer has exceeded £250,000
– and that’s just for my cases: there have been others.”
Although the council won’t comment,
some observers suspect Conwy is clearing the decks of outstanding cases and is hoping to start afresh.
Mrs Sandbach
believes an inquiry would be part of the healing process.
She said: “I’m not interested in finding where
the blame lies. I’m more interested in a change of approach – one that’s more consistent between different
councils.
“Conwy County Council needs to rebuild relationships with local farmers in the area.”
Mr
Rafferty said the council would continue to investigate animal welfare complaints in a way that was “fair, proportionate
and appropriate in the circumstances”.
But he added: “It is our intention to work closely with the farming
community in order to further improve the high standards already in place.”
Waac
says - So it's okay to be cruel to animals then? While the Smith family slept in the warmth and comfort of their
cosy home, their poor sheep were dying of the cold high on the moors. Well okay then, bring them down from the hills or
put up shelters. As for the owners of Gwaeynog Hall, well they have played host to the Flint
& Denbigh Hunt which holds various events at Gwaenynog Hall so what does it matter when the Halls owners
are accused of animal welfare offences? The Flint & Denbigh Hunt were committing acts of cruelty towards animals
for many decades and from my anti-hunt monitoring observations, they probably still are! To my mind there
is no smoke without fire and I'm wondering why all these North Wales farmers are suddenly above the law? Farm animals suffer enough abuse without any help from those that stood accused until they were conveniently let
off by the courts. These farmers are all guilty to me, and hopefully will one day have to explain all to their
maker!. Judi
E.coli superbug outbreak
in Germany due to abuse of antibiotics in meat production
Thursday, June
02, 2011 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
NaturalNews) The
e.coli outbreak in Germany is raising alarm worldwide as scientists are now describing this particular strain of e.coli as
"extremely aggressive and toxic." Even worse, the strain is resistant to
antibiotics, making it one of the world's first widespread superbug
food infections that's racking up a noticeable body count while sickening thousands.
Of course,
virtually every report you'll read on this in the mainstream media has the facts wrong. This isn't about cucumbers
being dangerous, because e.coli does not grow on cucumbers. E.coli
is an intestinal strain of bacteria that only grows inside the guts of animals
(and people). Thus, the source of all this e.coli is ANIMAL, not vegetable.
But the media won't admit that. Because the whole agenda here is to kill your vegetables but protect the atrocious
practices of the factory animal meat industries. The FDA, in particular, loves all these outbreaks because it gives them more
moral authority to clamp down on gardens and farms. They've been trying to irradiate and fumigate fresh veggies in the
USA for years. (http://www.naturalnews.com/023015_f...)
Meanwhile, scientists have been cracking the code of this particular lethal strain of e.coli.
Microbiologists from the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf now say "A preliminary analysis pointed to possible reasons
for this strain of E. coli's extreme aggressiveness and resistance to antibiotics. In addition, it can now be researched
how this new type of E. coli strain developed, why the strain can spread at great
speed and why the illness it unleashes is so serious." (http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/Ki...)
Complete blackout of the obvious source of this new strain
The
mainstream media is predictably pretending it has no idea where this new strain came from. They're all scratching their
heads and just focusing on the "killer cucumbers" which is of course a particularly lame bit of disinfo.
Want to know where this e.coli really came from? The abuse of antibiotics in factory
animal farms.
Factory animal farm operations, you see, raise cattle, pigs and chickens in such
atrociously bad and dirty conditions that they have to pump them full of antibiotics
just to avoid the rapid spread of infection. This constant dosing with antibiotics creates the perfect breeding ground for
superbugs in the guts of these animals.
Then, these animals
defecate and drop billions of e.coli bacteria with their stools which are then collected and used as crop fertilizers. So the crops are actually grown in this stuff that's contaminated with animal
fecal matter containing antibiotics-induced superbugs.
The veggies grown in the e.coli fertilizer then get shipped
to supermarkets, where people buy the produce and fail to wash it properly. Once they consume it, the e.coli goes to work
in their own guts which are largely devoid of friendly flora because many people
are also on antibiotics which wipe out their own intestinal flora, creating a perfect environment for food borne infection.
That's when people start dying, you see. It's all basic cause and effect.
So, you see, antibiotics
play a double role in this tragedy: They're widely abused throughout the animal ranching industry, and they're also
widely abused by doctors treating human patients. And yet the media is just strangely reluctant to print this obvious fact.
They almost outright refuse to tell readers the truth: E.coli superbugs are an antibiotics
problem, not a vegetable problem!
What the press says about this outbreak - wow!
Some astonishing quotes from the press:
Chinese and German scientists
analyzed the DNA of the E. coli bacteria and determined that the outbreak was caused by "an entirely new, super-toxic"
strain that contains several antibiotic-resistant genes, according to a statement from the Shenzhen, China-based laboratory
BGI. It said the strain appeared to be a combination of two types of E. coli. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4324754...
"This is a unique strain that has never been isolated
from patients before," Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press.
The new strain has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing" than the many E. coli
strains people naturally carry in their intestines. Preliminary genetic sequencing suggests the strain is a never before seen
combination of two different E. coli bacteria, with aggressive genes that could explain why the outbreak appears to be so
massive and dangerous, the agency said. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110602...
victim of evil hunt thugs - the kind the CA support.
Countryside Alliance appoints new media chief as countryside ‘fights
back'
The Countryside Alliance has recruited Dylan Sharpe (Voldermorts new
death eater) as its new head of media relations.
Sharpe’s most recent role was
ten months as head of press for the ‘No to AV’ campaign, the victorious cross-party campaign against the Alternative
Vote at the referendum on 5 May. He said: “After several years of ignorance and neglect in Westminster, the British
countryside is now fighting back and I am glad to be part of the new momentum. With more than 100,000 members, an enviable
number of celebrity endorsers and a superb group of people, I believe the Alliance is Westminster’s sleeping giant of
campaign groups. “I look forward to working with the team here to generate media coverage and helping to make
sure that the Coalition government puts the countryside at the forefront of its policy agenda.” Sharpe has previously
worked for civil-liberties pressure-group Big Brother Watch, centre-right think-tank Policy Exchange and - while working for
PR firm In-House PR - as a press officer for Boris Johnson on his 2008 London mayoral campaign. The Countryside Alliance’s
chief executive is Alice Barnard, who took up the role last year (PAN, Nov 10). She said: “We are delighted
to announce Dylan as our new head of media relations. His appointment is a visible sign that the Alliance is putting a renewed
effort into maximising our forthcoming campaigns, which range from rural broadband and the closure of rural post offices,
to food labelling and the importance of buying British produce. Dylan is a seasoned campaigner who brings a wealth of political
and media experience to the Alliance and we look forward to seeing what he can do.” In his new role Sharpe replaces
Tim Bonner, who is now public affairs officer at the Hunting Office.
Jun 02 2011
BBC TV’s Countryfile presenter Adam
Hensonhas finally received his FUW Bob Davies Memorial Award in recognition of his major contribution towards raising
the profile of Welsh farming.Read
WAAC says - It seems those who cause harm to animals and tell lies about
animal rights get rewarded in this life. Henson claimed that animal rights threatened to burn his children, yet he never
bothered to inform the police about it, strange that! But would you want an award for making animals suffer? Just because
a farmer is organic does not mean his animals are going to suffer any less - ewe's still have to part with their
young, they are still rounded up and terror stricken, their young and those no longer deemed fit to produce lambs are taken
off to markets and then off the slaughter-house where around seven out of eight of these hell holes inflicts the most
obscene cruelty imaginable. Sheep farming whether it's organic or not, is basically the same. I believe the
future - if the human race has a future, will see these people as ignorant amd greedy. After all, breeding and killing animals
for their flesh is no longer necessary in 2011. Plus the world has never seen so much violence towards animals as
there has been during the last 60yrs. My belief is that animal farmers are taking the human race towards extinction,
and Henson and his greedy sort should realise that our planet cannot take much more and will eventually retaliate, causing
mass destruction. Judi
I say, don't animal farmers get enough subsidies already?
Infact the question should be, "Should 'animal' farmers be getting any subsidies at all? Subsidies began
after the 2nd world war because of food shortages - but that has all changed now and so why do we still have to pay these
animal abusers for a commodity we no longer need? I resent paying tax for meat and dairy
when I don't even eat the filthy stuff! Infact, farmers have destroyed much of our wildlife. Judi
Golfer who battered tame fox to death for stealing a chocolate biscuit
is fined
17 May 2011 By Charlotte Thomson
A GOLFER has been fined £750 for
battering a tame fox with a golf club after it stole his chocolate biscuit.
Donald Forbes, 55, of Riverdale,
Burnside Road, Peterculter lashed out at the
animal, striking it on the head, after he spotted it rummaging through his golf bag.
It was so badly injured it had to be killed by another golfer.
Forbes went on trial accused of striking the fox with the "intent to inflict unnecessary
suffering" at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
He
told how the creature managed to sink its teeth into his Tunnocks Caramel Wafer by chewing through his bag as he played at
Peterculter Golf Club.
He claimed he felt so threatened
that he tried to scare it away with his driver.
But
Sheriff Annella Cowan said the evidence proved he was out for revenge on the fox and had used his club as a weapon. She told
Forbes: "My understanding was you had seen it, you became annoyed with it going for your chocolate biscuit, you hit it
on the head with your driver.
"You did it deliberately.
I am satisfied you are guilty of this offence."
The
fox had become a popular fixture at the club, where some members used to feed it.
Other golfers told the court how they saw the company boss run at the creature moments before
he hit it over the head on 10 September last year.
Forbes'
golfing companion, Graeme Duthie, 55, also from Peterculter, said they had spotted the fox several times that day.
He said: "The fox was biting Donald's bag. Donald ran
towards the bag and shouted at it. He hit it with the club in his hand. I think he got a shock because it didn't run away
after shouting so loudly at it."
Procurator fiscal
Sandy Hutchison asked: "How hard would you describe the blow?"
He
replied: "I wouldn't have said it was very hard. It was the longest club in the bag. It was nothing like a proper
golf shot."
Mr Hutchison asked whether the fox
had moved when he arrived at the scene. Mr Duthie replied: "It was fairly still. There was a wee bit of movement. It
didn't make a sound at all.
"I thought it
was stunned and it would get up and walk away. There was no blood whatsoever."
The engineer said the pair had waited a couple of minutes then carried on golfing.
Forbes said he remembered the fox looking back at him in a "threatening
way" at the eighth hole.
He told the court: "I
heard that some members had been bitten by the same fox."
He
went on: "My actions, I thought, were proportionate in relation to the threat it was being to me and my belongings. It
was an instinctive swing - I happened to have the club in my hand at the time."
As well as imposing the fine, Sheriff Cowan ordered forfeiture of Forbes' driver.
After the incident, Forbes' membership was suspended by
officials at Peterculter Golf Club. No-one at the club was available for comment last night.
Grampian Police wildlife crime officer PC Dave MacKinnon said: "The circumstances of the
case and the conclusion should highlight to the public the protection afforded to wild mammals and other protected species."
WAAC says - There are two kinds of human species in this world - those who are truly human and
shine with goodness and those who shrivel in the dark because they're so destructive. Judi
"Wildlife experts insist foxes never attack domestic
pets, but that is simply wrong says Judith Summers"
WAAC says - I WONDERED HOW LONG IT WOULD BE BEFORE THE DAILY MAIL WOULD START
TO VILIFY FOXES AGAIN? THE AMNESTY DID NOT LAST LONG DID IT?? A VILE PAPER FULL OF LIES AND HYPOCRISY REGARDING FOXES!!
THEY HAVE EVEN DRAGGED UP TO THE ATTACK ON THE KOUPPARIS TWINS AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO PROOF THAT THESE BABIES
WERE ATTACKED BY A FOX. How do I know, well consider this - there was No mention in the papers that
the Koupparis family had refusedDNA testing (just a quick swab but this was turned
down by the family). No mention in the papersthat Mr Koupparis left for America the day
after an attack that had left his twins seriously injured and lying in hospital - one
was in intensive care after choking on milk in the ambulance and so had to be monitored because this had caused
breathing difficulties. However our childish and nasty media decided to blame this on the fox too. So many
things just did not add up and if you include this with NO PROOF then you have a kangaroo court
mainly made up of blood-sports supporters - yes, those sadistic mutants with a nasty mean streak
whose only aim in life seems to be getting back to legally torturing foxes to death again!. Judi
A badger cull to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis in cattle may not happen, the
farming minister tells BBC South West.
Licence to kill badgers secretly
WESTERN
DAILY PRESS -SATURDAY 14 MAY 2011
WAAC comments marked in red.
Farmers could be granted a cloak of secrecy if they allow badgers to be trapped and shot on
their land to prevent violent reprisals from extremists.
With details of a badger cull to prevent
the spread of bovine TB not likely to be released until the first half of July, farmers have been fearful their properties,
livestock and families may be attacked.
One of the region's most high-profile farmers, BBC
TV presenter Adam Henson, told a farmers' meeting last week he had received hate mail following the screening of a Countryfile
programme on the issue. It had included the warning: "We are going to burn your children." (strange
don't you think, that this creature never even reported this threat to the police).
But now the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has revealed that the identity of farmers allowing culls
on their land need not be released.
Kevin Pearce, the NFU's Director of Regions, told the
Daily Press: "This is a massive issue and the security of our farmers is vitally important to us and an ongoing
concern that their families and businesses may be targeted.
"We are trying to provide as
much protection as we can and the legal advice we have received states that under the special circumstances of safety of individuals,
their identity can be protected by being withheld."
If a cull is allowed, it will be carried
out in the hot-spot regions by farmers and others who are formed into limited companies, who would be licensed to shoot badgers
under strict supervision.
The cull would be limited to 70 per cent of badgers within the specific
area. (This is the most stupid statement of all - killing badgers will be a free for all leaving some
badgers terribly injured and dying a slow agonising death in their own setts. Other farmers will just get the local
terrier-men in to enjoy a day of torturing badgers to death.)
Limited-company
status would grant its members anonymity – and as the police would be involved in granting firearms licences, lists
of people involved would be exempt from freedom-of-information legislation. A lengthy consultation on the possibility of controlling
the spread of bovine TB through cattle herds across the country began in the autumn. (in other words
legalised murder)
A decision was expected from the Government towards the end of February,
but an announcement was postponed for further assessment of the thousands of responses the Government had received.
At that stage farmer organisations feared the Government might do an about-turn on the whole issue – in the
same way that it had done on the sale of Forestry Commission property, following a widespread public outcry.
But within the past month the industry had been led to expect an announcement about cull details sometime next week.
Yesterday, though, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced there would be a further delay.
It stated that the end date for the period of the Government's consideration would now be July. With Parliament going
into the summer recess on July 19, an announcement is expected to be made before then – but, with Bovine TB responsible
for the destruction of 38,000 cattle last year, the farming industry is bitterly disappointed at another postponement.
"This further delay is a blow and will only increase the level of frustration among cattle farmers who are losing
their livestock to the disease on a daily basis," said Mr Pearce.
Meanwhile a limited cull
of badgers in one area of Wales has been ordered by the Welsh Assembly, despite vehement protests from the environmentalist
lobby, including threats from the Animal Liberation Front that it would tear down farmers' fences and damage farm buildings.
The Badger Trust distanced itself from the threats, dissociating from any use of force or intimidation against people
carrying out "officially approved procedures."
Three of the proposed 300-square kilometre
hot-spot areas for culling are likely to be in the South West. (It'sa
shame that the farming unions and hunt loving Defra minister Jim Paice can't force the farming industry to take
responsibility for their own filthy farming practices before apportioning blame onto the already persecuted badger populations).
Dumped, dazed and distressed: The six fox cubs left to die in
a cramped barrel
18 fox cubs found along with other morbid remains
All but one is recovering well - the RSPCA are looking after the animals
These
six fox cubs were discovered fighting for their lives after being squashed inside a screw-topped plastic barrel. Five more
were in another barrel and seven cubs had been trapped inside a sack, which had been tied shut.
In all 18 cubs had been dumped and left to die in a ditch
in Spalding, Lincolnshire - but luckily a member of the public stumbled across the defenceless animals.
RSPCA inspector Jon Knight described the incident as one of
the most appalling and distressing he has ever seen.
After the foxes were discovered on April 25 he said: 'I could not believe my eyes when I saw
the poor fox cubs crammed together inside the barrels and the sack.
'Had they not been discovered then it is clear they would have perished
very quickly.
'They
could hardly move, and obviously had no access to food and water.
'This was one of the most distressing incidents I have ever been involved
with.'
The foxes
were extremely dehydrated. Three bags of shredded rubbish were also left at the scene and contained soiled shredded paper
and bird and rabbit remains.
A fourth bag with maggot-infested bird remains was also found.
It is thought that the fox cubs may have been kept in captivity prior to being abandoned because the shredded paper
left next to them was soaked with fox urine.
The cubs were aged between five and eight weeks old and are currently being cared for at an RSPCA
centre.
They have been
examined by vets and are recovering well, they will be monitored and rehabilitated by the RSPCA in preparation for their release
back in to the wild when they are ready.
A further fox cub was later rescued from the scene, but had to be put down to prevent it suffering further as it had
a fractured skull and jaw.
Inspector Knight added: 'Whoever has done this should not be allowed to get away with it, which is why I am appealing
to anyone in the Spalding, Fenland and greater Peterborough area, or even further afield to get in touch.
'We need to find the person responsible and we need the
public to help us.
'Therefore
anyone with any information, no matter how small, is urged to call the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.'
WAAC
says - What a strange paper the Daily Mail is! One minute they are vilifying foxes and reporting numerous stupid stories
about people being bitten by them and now they are being sympathetic towards them, hurray!!! But schizoid or what??
The wedding of William
and Kate on Friday will be a joke, a hopelessly overhyped celebration of an absurdly undemocratic system, writes SPIEGEL
London correspondent Marco Evers. He pities the bride for her imminent loss of freedom, and wonders why this eccentric
nation continues to worship the Windsors.
The whole thing feels like an aberration of history.
It's wrong if the head of state of a country can only
come from one family. It's wrong to furnish this clan with palaces, land and all manner of grants to spare its members
the indignity of having to earn their keep and enable them to live in luxury. It is wrong to address the Windsors and, from
next Friday the delightful Kate Middleton as well, as Your Royal Highness or even Your Majesty. It is wrong to see them as
anything other than people made of flesh and blood, like you and I.
Millions of Britons know that. TheGuardiannewspaper wants to abolish the monarchy, as does theIndependentand
theEconomistmagazine.
Many professors, film directors, writers, actors and politicians would like Britain to become a republic -- but they remain
in the minority which for years has been constant at around 18 percent of the population.
Cherie Blair, the difficult wife of the former Prime Minister Tony, once refused to curtsey in front
of the old Mrs. Elizabeth Windsor, but the majority of Britons enjoy doing that, and much more, for Queen and Country. The
Windsors are Europe's most expensive royal family, but the people go on paying, without grumbling, at least as long as
Queen Elizabeth remains alive.
The Queen Owns all the Swans,
Whales and Sturgeons
But Great Britain
is a strange country. It has no written constitution but a rigid class system. The lawyers wear wigs in court
and there are no citizens, just subjects. By law, all swans, all whales and all sturgeons are the property of the Queen, but
there's no British national football team.
And if the Queen wishes
to award an honor to one of her subjects, he can proudly call himself "Officer" or even "Commander of the Order
of the British Empire." What on earth do these titles actually refer to? Much in this realm seems at least as antiquated
as the London Underground.
British soldiers are fighting for democracy
in Afghanistan and Libya, and they fought for it in Iraq. But at home, they defend the absurdly undemocratic idea that nobody
but a Windsor can be head of state. As soon as Elizabeth, 85, shuffles off her mortal coil, her son Charles, 62, already worn
down by his long wait for the accession, will take the throne, even though opinion polls show the majority of Britons don't
want the brooding, esoteric prince to become king.
The pomp and ceremony
surrounding the marriage of William and Kate is the latest expression of British eccentricity -- but a large part of the world
appears to be succumbing to it as well.
Yes, the carriages of gold and
velvet look pretty, the bride's train will be a sight to behold and Westminster Abbey is quite a spectacular backdrop
for the ceremony. But is it really worth all the fuss? More than 10,000 journalists are descending on London. The German networks
ARD, ZDF, Sat.1, RTL, n-tv and N24 will hardly be broadcasting anything else on Friday. Everyone is pretending that this spectacle
is the most important and beautiful event on earth -- but it is not.
Oddly,
the British public isn't as interested in the wedding as one might think. Most Britons say they don't really care
about the event. Only about a third of them plan to watch the show on TV. And, compared to previous royal nuptials, relatively
few of them plan to take part in the traditional street parties. In the center of London, hotels have plenty of spare rooms
even though they have been offering discount deals for the weekend.
Millions
of British subjects already fled the island on budget airlines before Easter and are now populating the beaches of Turkey,
Cyprus, Egypt or the Caribbean. The weather there is guaranteed to be better than in London, where heavy rain is forecast
for Friday.
Britain is still mired in its worst economic crisis since
World War II. Everyone should be rolling up their sleeves to haul the nation out of the doldrums. But the government declared
the wedding day a public holiday, and schools, banks, offices and factories will be closed -- just because the heir to the
heir to the throne is getting married. The extra holiday may lead to increased turnover in the nation's pubs, but it will
end up costing the economy billions.
A Wedding Dictated by Palace
Protocol
In truth, the marriage of William and Kate is a sad
spectacle. Two young people aren't getting wed in the way they would like but how the palace, protocol and granny demand
it.
William, 28, is accustomed to that because he was born into it.
But for Kate, 29, Friday will mark the end of her freedom. For her parents, it will be a bit like the death of their daughter.
She won't belong to them anymore -- she will be elevated to some form of distant, aristocratic human being, forever unavailable
for that impromptu dinner with Mum and Dad.
Fairytale wedding? No way.
Some friends and relatives will be present in Westminster Abbey, but most of the
guests will be strangers, and some of them will be repulsive ones at that. King Mswati, the despot of the impoverished African
nation of Swaziland who has 13 wives, will be flying in with his entourage of 50 people. Arab potentates have also been invited,
some of whom are currently having pro-democracy demonstrators shot at in their streets. Who would want to get married in such
company?
Half the British cabinet is coming, along with opposition Labour
leader Ed Miliband, who bears the grand official title "Leader of her Majesty's Loyal Opposition." Former conservative
Prime Minister John Major will be present. But the last two Labour prime ministers, Tony Blair and
Gordon Brown, have not been invited. Is that their punishment for having supported the ban on fox hunting?
Why should the autocratic Sultan of Brunei get invited and not the two previous leaders of a democratically elected British
government?
The whole world is waiting to
admire Kate's wedding dress. The designer will be inundated with work after this. But the wearer of the dress faces a
future that shouldn't really be desirable for an intelligent woman in the 21st century. Kate will have only three tasks
from now on: serving her husband, looking good and bearing children, preferably boys. Apart from that, all she has to do is
shut up.
It's like in the 1950s
-- only much worse because she will have to continue curtseying to the Queen and other higher-ranking members of the family
she has married in to.
The whole thing feels even worse than just an
aberration of history. It's a joke.
Parakeets living wild in Britain could be culled because they pose a threat to native wildlife
and are damaging food crops.
WAAC says - Once again we have the media
screaming for the murder of animals - this time parakeets!! Why do some people think that the only animals worthy to be on
this planet are them, when in fact the only pest species on this planet is the human race.
FARMERS are being told to contact the police if they receive menacing telephone calls from anti- badger cull campaigners.
The Farmers’ Union of Wales said producers had been asked for their views on the planned west Wales cull, which
forms part of the Assembly Government’s strategy for tackling bovine TB.
Several farmers
complained the calls had been “threatening”. Some were said to have been left feeling “quite shaken”.
FUW president Gareth Vaughan said anti-cull protesters had no right to intimidate people.
He added: “Businesses
should not be bullied into holding an opinion on something when they have every right to stay neutral or keep their views
private.”
The union has not indicated which group or groups might be responsible, and farmers
accept that most campaigners behave responsibly and have a legitimate right to voice their concerns.
But
Mr Vaughan said a “small number of individuals” were using tactics which had “no place in a democratic society”.
The police have advised anyone who receives such calls to record the details, including times, names and, if possible,
telephone numbers. Complaints can be reported to the police by dialling 101.
WAAC
says - The FUW have fork tongues! The only people being undemocratic here are the farming unions and the corrupt Welsh
Assembly Government that is riddled with greedy farmers. VOTE THEM OUT IN THE MAY ELECTIONS!!
The farming unions talk about their members being terrified after being intimidated by callers
against the cull - but where is their proof for such a claim? If this was a terror threat then the police would know exactly
how to track the callers. But I think I know almost everyone involved in campaigning against the cull here in Wales and
not a single one of them would stoop to ringing up farmers in cull area's to intimidate them. The FUW went
on to say that intimidation is very undemocratic - which is all a bit rich coming from a union hell bent on blaming badgers
for 'bovine'TB instead of their own filthy farming practice. I would like to ask this union where the democracy
is when the Welsh Assembly Government (made up of many AM's with connections to farming) ignores sound
science and public opinion in order to pander to their farming colleagues? It becomes even more absurd when
calls for the cruel murder of badgers comes at a time when bTB rates have been falling in Wales due
to more strict cattle measures. I can only assume that the FUW and their friends in the Welsh Assembly only want
them dead out of sheer spite.
Cowardly Cotswold Vale hunt thugs up to their old
tricks again...
On Saturday 26 February, hunt saboteurs from Bristol, Bath and South Wales attended a meet of the Cotswold
Vale Farmers foxhunt at Southwick Farm near Tewkesbury.
At approximately
2.30pm the Huntsman (Alan Morgan) and Whip (John Hodges) instigated a vicious and sustained attack on sabs, who were
on a footpath.
The attack involved hunt supporters including Hodges'
son. With Huntsman and servant attempting to ride people down, the supporters coralled sabs in a gateway and attacked
them. They body barged a female sab before punching a male sab to the ground where they kicked him in the face and about
the upper body. They also stole his video camera.
When a female sab
tried to intervene she was thrown down a wooded bank. The huntsman, trapped two female sabs against a fence and attempted
to steal their video camera, but he failed, so he pushed one of the females to the floor and encouraged his horse to walk
over her - luckily she was un-injured as the horse trod carefully over her.
The
sabs eventually managed to escape but were followed by the hunt supporters who kicked and abused them until they made
it to the safety of their vehicle. Undeterred by the attack they continued to monitor the hunt for the rest of the day
before taking one of their number, who they suspected of having broken ribs, to seek medical attention. The
police are now investigating the attack.
This is just the latest in a long
line of attacks by the Cotswold Vale Hunt on hunt saboteurs. Three years ago they smashed a female sab over the head
with an iron bar. They have also kicked a sab unconscious, broken several peoples ribs and stolen a number of video
cameras. Alan Morgan, the huntsman, is currently being investigated by police after being caught on film making racist
remarks to a hunt saboteur.
Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs
Association, stated: "Violence is a way of life for these people. They abuse animals every day and are happy
to do the same to people who stand in their way. They have been allowed, with the collusion of the police, to get away
with these vicious, cowardly attacks for far too long. These attacks will not deter our members, in fact, they only
make us more determined to stop them illegally hunting and killing British wildlife".
Press release from PROTECT OUR WILD ANIMALS For immediate release
Protect Our Wild Animals [POWA] has accused DEFRA Minister Jim Paice and Lib-Dem
MP Roger Williams of wilfully peddling hoary old pro-hunt propagandist myths as fact, in an attempt to demonise both foxes
and animal abuse activists, following an exchange between them in the Commons on Thursday [17/3]. The group suspect that
exchange of being part of a propaganda offensive aimed at weakening the presently overwhelming public opposition
to a repeal of the Hunting Act.
POWA is calling upon both men to publicly acknowledge that stories of foxes being
transported en masse from towns to be dumped in the countryside are just that, and that there is no reliable evidence to support
these absurd anecdotes - which have been circulating for decades.
POWA Associate and RSPCA Council
member, John Bryant, a former Chief Executive and Wildlife Officer of the League Against Cruel Sports, who now runs a humane
wild animal deterrence service, said:-
"Fox dumping is a rural myth, surfacing whenever the fox hunting
is at issue. For 20 years I have written to the press offering up to £1,000 for evidence identifying any culprit. I
have never received even one claim. Amazingly, people have written to papers detailing large and exact numbers of foxes
they claim to have seen being dumped - but never manage to get the alleged vans' registrations. The Fox Project
too offers a reward - again no claims. The Union for Country Sports also asked for evidence to support these
allegations and reported nothing concrete. A BBC Countryfile investigation was equally fruitless. One of the country's
leading fox experts, Professor Stephen Harris, has described these stories as 'fabricated'.*
Such
operations would, anyway, be very difficult to conduct, let alone conceal, and extremely costly in time
and resources. Nor is it anything animal protection activists or local authorities would do. The RSPCA consider that such
movement would be cruel and almost certainly criminal.
POWA spokesman Alan Kirby added "The conclusion
is inescapable. These tales are actually just yet more lies from people who will say anything to promote their 'right'
to be cruel to animals, especially foxes, for 'sport'. For Jim Paice to pretend concern for foxes' welfare
is particularly sickening as he is a strong supporter of fox hunting, and, I believe, once scornfully decried the
humane alternative - drag-hunting - as being like 'kissing one's sister'. Mr. Paice is now a Minister
of the Crown and required to display a rather higher level of integrity than was apparent in his Commons answer to a fellow
pro-hunting MP."
ENDS
Lindsay Hill, whom JB debated against on the Today prog re. fox dumping, has
been doing PR for the Union of Country Sports Workers for years and is on their Committee. This is her profile from their
website:-
Lindsay Hill Lindsay is a huntsman’s wife,
and she enjoys working with horses, coursing and gamekeepering activities.
And this was published in "Livin' Country'
in an article on the UCSW: Lindsay Hill, Huntsman’s wife, Beater/Picker-up, Shropshire (Tel:
01588 638480)
An Oliver Hill is the huntsman and a JM [since 2001] of the United FH:-"Today the United is a strong part of South Shropshire’s rural life. With our Huntsman and Joint Master Oliver
Hill MFH ... the United Pack is well placed for the twenty first century." http://www.unitedpack.org.uk/history.html
His phone no. in Bailys is the same as hers above. So I think we can reasonably conclude she's his
wife. Lucky fellow,
she's quite a looker as you can see [almost rivalling Janet George in the beauty stakes, in fact] ...
There's a line in an old Squeeze
song 'Cool For Cats' [referring there to gangsters' wives] that her photo made me think of. It goes something
like:- "... funny 'ow their missus' always look the
bleedin' same."
PS
Some of the claims she made in the debate on Today were mindbogglingly absurd. I'll try to make
a transcript of them. JB tells me Stephen Harris heard the item on Today and was very complimentary.
There is nothing female about women that enjoy cruel sports and boy does she
look manly!! Hard as nails!!! Judi
Gamekeeper
jailed for horrific fox attack
14th March 2011
A FORMER gamekeeper has been jailed for 16 weeks after he admitted filming an horrific
attack by two dogs on a trapped fox.
The footage
taken by Stephen Metcalfe on his mobile phone was so distressing that it made one of the magistrates cry when viewed in court.
The 32-year-old claimed he was not directly involved
in the attack - but he refused to name the two other men involved.
Kevin Campbell, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said the unidentified men had caught the fox and were keeping it in a
sack with its mouth bound.
He said they told
Metcalfe they wanted him to film their dogs attacking it “for training”.
The fox was then held down by its neck by one of the men, with its mouth still tied, as the dogs repeatedly tore
into it at the unnamed location.
It was later
shot dead by one of the men, who are both known to Metcalfe.
He had previously worked as a gamekeeper for four years and was trained in humane methods of killing animals.
Metcalfe, of Cavey Garth, West Burton, near Leyburn,
North Yorkshire, admitted causing unnecessary suffering and being present at an animal fight.
Granville Rooley, mitigating, told Northallerton magistrates that Metcalfe felt intimidated by the other two men and was not directly responsible for the incident.
Sentencing him to 16 weeks in prison, the magistrates told
him that he had plenty of chances to walk away. He was also banned from keeping dogs for ten years.
A man has
been arrested after the USPCA and PSNI seized a vehicle and trailer containing two stags which, it is thought, were about
to be hunted.
The practice known as 'carting' is illegal
and the hunting community has long maintained that it doesn't exist.
The trailer was registered to the County Down Hunt, but the hunt master said he knew nothing about the events.
Although the animals' antlers had been removed, a vet confirmed
they were stags.
The vet also said they were tagged, indicating
they had been reared on a farm.
However, the number which
might identify exactly who had reared them had been scraped off the tag.
While it is illegal to breed stags for hunting, it is not illegal to hunt stags in Northern Ireland.
However, the practice is banned in the rest of the UK.
Stag hunting was recently outlawed in the Republic of Ireland.
Stephen Philpott from the USPCA said the County Down operation had confirmed the charity's long-held
suspicions.
"The people that do it pretend that they
don't. They would have you believe that the animals they hunt they have come across while out riding and that they are
actually wild animals," he said.
"We have believed for
the last ten years that the animals aren't wild, but were being bred somewhere and then being brought solely and purposefully
to be hunted by dogs and men on horseback and unfortunately it looks as though we were right."
Cruelty
For over a year the USPCA had been monitoring a group of people they believed were organising stag hunts
in County Down.
It
is believed the stags were to be hunted by dogs and horse riders
That surveillance led them to conclude that a hunt would start on Tuesday outside Loughbrickland.
Several 4x4 vehicles, horseboxes and horse lorries were observed arriving at the location
where the hunt was believed to be starting from and then leaving.
A
woman approached the USPCA inspector and asked him if he was there for the hunt.
She then told him that her husband was a master for the hunt and that she had received a phone call to
say that the hunt was cancelled and that people should leave the area.
Me Philpott said he believed that there had been a conspiracy to commit an offence under the welfare of animals act.
"How can anyone else call it anything else other than cruelty,"
he said.
"First of all there's the stress they suffered
in the back of that box, it was pitiful.
"And then to
put them through another 20 miles of stress being chased by dogs horses and people. It needs to be put an end to."
THIS FOX HUNTER IS CLEARLY TELLING LIES - NO COUNTRY FOX,
PARTICULARY ONE SHE CLAIMS HAD BEEN HUNTED, WOULD EVER APPROACH PEOPLE, EVEN IF IT WAS SICK!!! PLEASE DAILY
MAIL, STOP YOUR HATRED OF FOXES. FOXES HAVE EXISTED FOR CENTURIES IN BRITAIN WITHOUT CAUSE FOR CONCERN! THIS SILLY CRUEL
WOMAN WAS OBVIOUSLY BITTEN BY A DOG. MAYBE NOW SHE WILL KNOW WHAT BEING ATTACKED BY DOGS FEELS LIKE. Judi
STRONG WORDS FROM THE HUNT
SABS, BUT BUT HOW ELSE DO THE COMPASSIONATE VENT THEIR ANGER AT SICK SADISTS. I CAN ONLY CRY MY EYES OUT!!. Judi THESE PEOPLE NEED FINDING URGENTLY
WORDS FAIL ME - THERE ARE SOME
SADISTIC FUCKING PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD
WAAC says - We can only hope the fact that fox hunting has 'already'
been banned by a democratic Government in this country (obeying the will of the British people), it will
stop the hideous few from getting their gruesome fun back! Judi
Western Mail 25.5.10 Western Mail farming comment by Steve Dube, Western Mail - NEWS of police being called to a stand-off
over the planned badger cull in northern Pembrokeshire comes as no surprise…The animal rights lobby incorporates a
lunatic fringe that sometimes seems prepared to stop at nothing in support of its “righteous” cause. That’s
why Thomson Ecology refuses to confirm or deny its contract to survey the cull area – and why the men who do the work
wear masks and balaclavas to hide their identities…. (story)
Note from Wac - So typical of the Western Mail to
be biased - Dube is their farming correspondent, so I suppose we should expect such vitriol from this rag!! Compassion
it seems, is a dirty word!!
"This story didn't begin as a book," Safran Foer tells us. Here lies the problem with his
vegetarian polemic. It doesn't hang together. By turns, his narrative is tendentious and disturbing, opaque and revealing,
sentimental and passionate. Though told with a novelist's skill, his argument is full of loose ends and contradictions.
Safran Foer's exploration began with a simple objective: "I simply wanted to know – for myself and my family
– what meat is." The significant word here is family. Before recording a horrific visit to a factory
farm ("it takes me several minutes before I take in how many dead [chickens] there are. Some are blood matted; some are
covered in sores"), he thinks of his first-born: "He will rustle around in his crib for a few minutes... then be
taken into my wife's arms, against her body, and fed." Therefore, he says, his experience in the hen house "affects
me in a way that could be more easily forgotten or ignored if I weren't a father, son or grandson." It is as if nobody
has ever had a child before Safran Foer. The most powerful sections of Eating Animals are his investigations of America's
vast protein factories. The Smithfield pig farming operation "produces at least as much fecal waste as the entire human
population of the states of California and Texas combined." His account of the conditions in which these creatures are
held is deeply distressing: "Four out of five times a sow will spend the 16 weeks of her pregnancy confined in a 'gestation
crate' so small that she will not be able to turn around." These horrors, he claims, are getting worse. "The
factory hog farm is still expanding in America and worldwide growth is even more aggressive." Except it isn't –
at least in the UK. Gestation crates have been banned here since 1997. Safran Foer admits this in a tiny, tacked-on
preface to the British edition, but also insists: "The techniques and outcomes are often identical to those I describe."
This is questionable in scale. In the UK, 2.2 million cattle are slaughtered each year. In the US, the figure is almost 100
million. Of course, caring husbandry and humane dispatch should be essential in animal farming. After visiting two of the
"kindest farmers", Safran Foer admits "it's hard not to think of them as heroes", but maintains that
reform in animal farming will never overcome his objections. Deliriously immersed in paternity, Safran Foer brushes aside
the fact that flesh eating has always been a part of human life. ANDhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348812/Libel-laws-used-silence-pig-farm-protesters.html
We
will not be silenced just because this evil Con/Dem government have brought in a new law to stop factory farm critics. See you in court 'cruel' factory farmers!!! Judi
Fox Killed by EVIL Crawley and Horsham Hunt This fox is just one of many torn
limb from limb by this barbaric hunt since the ban. There is no doubt in my mind that this hunt scum
have the same vicious mindset as the former German Nazi Party, which enjoyed killing defenceless beings!. Foxes are vastly misunderstood by the general population - but the truth is beginning to dawn at last. Hunts have up
until now done a very good job of brainwashing us all into believing that foxes need to be controlled - they don't!
Foxes are being tortured to death for no other reason than hunts want to carry on the enjoyment of abusing using
them in a groteque game of seek, chase and kill. Anyone who can take enjoyment from the suffering of an
animal to its grisly death, then I can only assume that these same people really do have the same mindset of
those that felt no pity for their human victims during the holocaust. Judi
Hunt Monitors from a West Sussex-based fox and badger protection group had to witness
a fox being chased and killed.
Yesterday at a meet nr Arundel, West Sussex Hunt Monitors witnessed the Crawley & Horsham Hunt chase and kill a fox. The
Hunt was heard encouraging the hounds and blowing for the kill yet still had the cheek to tell Hunt Monitors it was only an
accident.
The Hunt threw the fox to the Hounds. Hunt Monitors made their persence known and the fox was given
to a quadbike rider. He panicked and drove off leaving a monitor to grab the fox. Seconds later the Hunt returned with supporters
to obtain possession of the fox. They placed it into a bag and dumped it somewhere.
Sussex Police were called
through 999 however they seem reluctant to enforce the Hunting Act. When called through 999, Sussex Police failed to attend.
A spokesman for the West Sussex Animal Cruelty Investigations Team said: "The law is simply a joke. Sussex Police
have failed in their duty yet again. I cannot comment further on the police enquiry."
The press and media
have also been informed about this incident. We except it to be displayed on television in due course. A spokesman for the
Animal Cruelty Investigations Team continued on to say: "Without police support, a publicity campaign is the only
way we can expose Crawley and Horsham. Hunt Monitors will be out at every Hunt Meets and are always looking for support. We
thank our supporters for their continued support."
Killing
of giant fox was “outrageous” says animal expert 09/01/2011
An animal welfare expert has condemned the killing
of a giant fox, and blamed hunt supporters for hyping up horror stories to try and overturn the hunting ban.
John Bryant, who runs the British Humane Wildlife Deterrence
Association in Tonbridge, called the capture and death of the fox – believed to be one of the biggest ever found in
Britain – "outrageous".
The 26.5lb
beast was put down by vet Keith Talbot after being seen in his parent’s garden in Maidstone near the remains of their
19-year-old tabby cat Amber.
But Mr Bryant, who
has spent the last 12 years helping deter vermin using non-harmful methods, said killing foxes does not resolve the problem
as others will move into the empty lairs.
He also
denied that foxes were getting bigger and more common in urban areas and questioned whether the giant fox – which was
the size of a lynx – had actually killed the cat.
"There is no evidence of any increase in numbers over the last 20 years. Only 16 per cent of foxes are urban,
the rest are rural," he said.
"The only
difference is these urban foxes are getting bolder – they see people all day long, it is part of their environment and
many people feed them.
"Rural foxes are probably
bigger than urban foxes. Although both are scavengers, rural foxes eat lots of dead animals and fruit which is more substantial
than the scraps found by urban foxes."
Mr
Bryant said the Maidstone cat should not have been left outside at the age of 19 and claimed it may not have been killed by
the fox, which measured in at almost 4ft long.
"They
eat dead animals so the cat may have died before the fox found it," he said.
"I used to run a cattery and we started to bring in injured foxes and they would be fine with the cats."
Mr Bryant, who is a trustee of the RSPCA, said foxes were getting
a bad name due to hopes by David Cameron and the hunting community to get a repeal on the hunting with dogs ban.
"Stories are being hyped up saying foxes are on the increase
and becoming dangerous – degradation of a species makes it easier for people to get rid of it," he said.
He admitted the Hackney fox attack on nine-month-old twin girls
Isabella and Lola Koupparis last year was horrific but said such cases were "freakishly" rare.
"We won’t see another one like that in my lifetime," he said.
"What I do is educate. I don’t harm the culprits.
For example I’ll install a system that sprays water when a fox goes near. They quickly learn where they can and can’t
go.
We couldn't agree more Mr Bryant. The vet who shot this fox should
be struck off. Judi
thug terrier-men, and don't they look evil?
TRIAL CONTINUES
Leicester Mercury
Friday, January 07, 2011
By tim healy
Two Fernie Hunt employees have denied being involved in digging out a fox hiding in a burrow
so it could be chased by hounds.
Huntsman
Derek Hopkins and terrierman Keith Allen said they were acting within the law when a secret camera run by the League of Cruel
Sports filmed them digging at the site, which was also a badger sett.
The pair have been charged with hunting a wild mammal contrary to the law and digging a badger sett
or being reckless that their actions would damage it.
But they told Leicester magistrates that the footage showed them trying to dig out a terrier which had been sent
in after the fox, and which had become stuck.
Philip Mott, QC, defending, said flushing out a fox with a terrier for it to be shot was allowed under the Hunting
Act 2004.
The court heard the incident
happened while the Fernie Hunt was chasing a trail – where false trails are created using scent laid down by the hunts.
It is said to have taken place on Wednesday, January 27, last year
after the hunt met at Thorpe Langton, near Market Harborough.
Allen and Hopkins said the hounds picked up the scent of a fox in a burrow and that joint master
of the hunt Chris Parker had ordered them to snare it then shoot it.
Allen (51) of Nether Green, Great Bowden, told the court it was his job to lay the trail and kill
any foxes which were accidentally run to ground or snared.
He said: "I put in the terrier to flush out the fox. I had put purse nets over the entrance
to the holes. "I was going to snare the fox in one of the nets and shoot it with my shotgun."
Diana Cottrell, prosecuting, asked him whether the fox had been
dug out for the hounds to chase. Allen said: "Definitely not, no."
He said the fox escaped as the hole was being dug to scare it into the snares.
Allen told the court the hounds had been following the line of
the second trail when they came upon the live fox underground at Mill Farm near the hamlet of Stonton Wyville.
Miss Cottrell asked Allen if he knew he was digging an active badger
sett.
Allen, who has 24 years experience
as a terrierman, said: "I could see no evidence of an active badger sett. I don't think it was one."
Hopkins (45) of Welham Road, Great Bowden, who has been the Fernie
Hunstman for a decade, told the court the riders and hounds had followed two trails that day before the hounds found the fox.
"We were trail hunting," he said.
He denied they were hunting live foxes. He said the joint master
of hounds decided the cornered fox should be shot and he called in the terrierman to "dispatch" the animal.
Hopkins said he could not see any signs of an active badger sett
in the area where the fox had gone to ground.
Hopkins said he had kept the hounds away from the hole as the fox was dug out.
He said that when the fox ran off, followed by some of the hounds, he and other hunt staff actively
stopped the hounds from chasing the fox by cracking whips.
Can you imagine the terror for any fox that finds
itself trapped by evil terrier-men thugs? See photo's of these vile men (below) charged with illegal hunting -
they look like evil personified!! But what cowards they are to treat a defenceless animal so cruelly. If the magistrate
in this case does not make an example of this low life slime, then I and many others will take it that he/she must
have sympathies with the hunt - let's hope this court does the right thing and throws the book at these vile
men. They deserve a public flogging, and if I was the law, I'd see they got it!. Judi
MORE
PRO-HUNT TRIPE FROM THE DAILY HATE (MAIL)
Fang-tastic Mr Fox: Cat-killing four-foot beast caught by vet is
'biggest in the country'
ByDAVID WILKES Last updated at 7:44 PM on 2nd January 2011
Monster: To give a sense of scale, seven-year-old Archie Wright
stands next to a 26lb fox shot in Maidstone, Kent
Weighing two stone and measuring four feet from his nose to the tip of
his tail, this is thought to be the biggest fox ever found in Britain.
Twice the
normal size of the species, it was trapped and killed in a garden in the South East after apparently devouring a pet cat.
The discovery has fuelled fears that urban foxes are hunting new prey after getting bigger and bolder
as they gorge themselves on leftovers, including treats put out for them by animal lovers.
The
animals’ rise was highlighted last year after twin babies were mauled in their east London home.
Nine-month-old
Lola and Isabella Koupparis were left scratched and scarred after a fox jumped into their cot in the night, leading to calls
for the animals to be culled as pests.
The new giant was caught by vet Keith
Talbot at his parents’ home in Maidstone, Kent, on Boxing Day after they told him they believed a fox had killed their
black and white pet cat, Amber.
He
said today: ‘Obviously, they were very upset. Amber was 19 and liked sleeping on the front door mat.
‘Dad had seen a fox come down the drive and stalk up to her a few nights before. He phoned me and said would
a fox attack the cat? I said - perhaps a bit naively - I don’t think so, she would wake up and see it off.
‘A couple of days later dad heard a commotion outside and looked up to see a fox disappearing
up the drive and the next morning found parts of the cat on the lawn. Unfortunately, the family pet was no more.’
Attacked: The 19-year-old Amber, pictured right, was thought
to have been killed by the monster fox in Maidstone, Kent
Biggest: The Handbook of British Mammals says the average
fox weighs up to 15lbs, with reports of up to 22lbs. This fox, caught in Maidstone, pictured, was 26lbs
Mr Talbot, 28, who works
in Scotland, went to stay with his parents for Christmas and put down a trap to try to catch the offender. On the first night,
he caught a 14lb fox and the next night the giant specimen, which weighed 26.5lb. Both were humanely destroyed.
The Handbook of British Mammals says the average fox weighs up to 15lb, with reports of up to 22lb.
Mr Talbot said: ‘I’ve seen cats and foxes in the garden before and they normally give
each other a wide berth.
‘Cats can usually defend themselves
and are not on the menu for a fox. But when a fox gets that size, and particularly in bad weather, it appears it may become
desperate and go for a cat.’
Super-size: This is what a normal fox looks like - almost
half the size of the one caught in Kent
Victims: Last year nine-month-old twins Isabella (left) and
(Lola), pictured with parents Nick and Pauline Koupparis, were attacked and scarred by a fox
He was surprised at the size
of the fox, but it was only when he showed it to his friend Roy Lupton, a veteran fox shooter who weighed it, that he realised
he could have just caught the country’s largest fox.
Mr Talbot said: ‘I’m
not against foxes, I think everything in nature has a place. But there is a limit and when something like that happens and
they start eating cats, it probably tells you that the balance of nature has been upset by humans feeding them and that it’s
time for controls to come in.’
Mr Lupton, 35, a financial adviser as well
as a keen field sports enthusiast, said: ‘It was a huge fox.
The worrying aspect is that the urban fox’s behaviour
is changing.
‘They are getting bigger because some people feed them because they
like to see them in their gardens. With the additional size comes added confidence and then they start taking on new prey
- and once they find an easy food source they will capitalise on it.’
The giant
fox’s discovery was revealed today on the internet-based Fieldsports Channel.
Presenter
Charlie Jacoby said: ‘If it took a cat, who’s to say it wasn’t on the path to taking a child?
‘If I lived in the suburbs with children, I would think twice about leaving the baby out in
the pram on a warm summer night knowing outsize foxes are out there.’
Tomorrow the
channel will seek to confirm that an even bigger fox has been found after a man contacted them to say he shot one weighing
34lb in Somerset last year.
Something is not right about this story. Get a grip Daily
Hate. What's the betting this 'old' cat which at nineteen would have been frail and let's face it should
have been better looked after in his ripe old age, will have been responsible for countless bird deaths in his life.
So I ask where does the Daily Hate get off by calling this poor fox, a monster? As far as I'm aware the only monsters
in this world stand on two legs, wear red, grey or camoflage coats and use dogs to kill defenceless foxes and their cubs. And why the hell are the Daily Hate still dragging up that Koupparis story up? Their kids were attacked by a very frightened
cub. Adult foxes don't have razor sharp claws, they are worn and dulled down very quickly. This story is just another pathetic attempt to vilify the fox in some desperate attempt to bring back fox-hunting.
It's disgusting how grown men and women in the media are acting out of spite and grasping at any straws to get an
ignorant public on the fox hunters side. It's sick! Judi
The court was shown footage, shot at long range by the League Against Cruel Sports, of men digging at the sett.
The video also showed mounted members of the hunt looking on.
Huntsman Hopkins and Allen, a terrier man, both face charges under the Hunting Act 2004 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.
Both Hopkins (45), of Welham Road, Great Bowden, and Allen (51), of Nether Green, Great Bowden, deny hunting a wild
mammal with a dog contrary to the law.
They also deny interfering with a badger sett, or being
reckless that their actions would damage it.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place
on Wednesday, January 27, after the hunt met at Thorpe Langton, near Market Harborough.
Diana Cottrell, prosecuting, told the court the case included footage of a day's hunting.
Ms Cottrell said:
"The DVD will show that there are hounds on the scent of a fox at around 1pm and that fox has gone to ground.
"You will see huntsman Hopkins ride up on his white horse and then instruct terrier man Allen to introduce a
terrier into the sett."
She showed the bench a DVD of the incident which occurred at the
hamlet of Stonton Wyville.
The film was shot by hunt monitors, who set up an observation post
in Church Langton, about one-and-a-half kilometres away, and used long lenses to record the footage.
The
DVD showed hounds collecting around a badger sett and the hunt assembling as men on foot dug at the entrances to the sett.
A fox is then seen running from the sett and hounds heading in the same direction followed by members of the hunt.
Other footage showed hounds allegedly chasing a fox at another location.
Further evidence
was shown which claimed the sett was occupied by badgers.
Ms Cottrell added that a terrier was
introduced into the sett by Allen on the instructions of Hopkins.
Philip Mott QC, defending, stressed
that to show there was an offence under the Hunting Act the "hunting" of the fox had to be intentional. In law,
it is legal to flush out a fox with a dog unintentionally and for it to be killed by shooting.
7 Dec 2010 ... European Ministers have dropped plans to ensure that
halal and kosher meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning is accurately ... www.secularism.org.uk/euro-ministers-drop-proposals-to.html - Cached
Pandering to the Muslims and Jews - how disgusting! So our animals are to continue being
killed for archaic religious beliefs while those members of the public who would prefer not to eat animals
killed in this way will have no choice, unless they opt for a veggie diet - which in any case is healthier. We
need to fight this abscene ruling by alerting the public about it! And also the obscene cruelty to our unfortunate animals and
the fact that an unwitting public will eating meat from these tortured souls. Judi
OMAHA, Neb. (Newsweak.com Exclusive) — Eighteen grade 5 students of Mavis Beacon
Elementary School are undergoing counseling after a school field trip visit to a beef slaughterhouse. The children
reportedly were horrified to see how cows were processed into beef. Some of the students vomited, and most cried.
Their teacher, Maxwell Barnes, faces disciplinary action for organizing the school field trip. “I didn’t see
anything wrong with it.” Barnes stated. “Earlier this year we had a field trip to a chocolate factory.
Kids have a curiosity about where their food comes from. I don’t think there should be anything wrong with showing
them where meat comes from.”
The children were escorted through the facility from the loading bay, where cattle enter the
building, through to the stunning process where the animals receive a pneumatic bolt to the brain, rendering them brain dead.
“Some of the kids started crying then.” said slaughterhouse foreman Dan Smith. “We told them it was all
a natural part of how beef is made and ends up in yummy hamburgers, but that didn’t seem to help much.”
The field trip then went awry after the brain dead animals were chained up by their back legs and then cut into
to be bled to death. “I saw one little boy throw up.” Smith said. “And then after that there was screaming
and running and all these other kids throwing up all over the place. We tried to calm them down but it was out of control
by then. These kids were just freaked out, they didn’t even finish the tour.”
It's a pity they don't take kids to a slaughter-house here in the UK - it would make most turn veggie.
Oh but I doubt the animals would be brain dead - most animals are only slightly stunned for halal. In other words, animals
can still feel pain, they can hear and feel unimaginable terror, but in most cases they cannot move or even scream. What a
nightmare! Judi
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
A FARMER is furious after a hunt which is barred from his land 'terrified'
his cattle – possibly causing one heifer to abort her calf in fright.
Stephen Owen claims the East Devon Hunt
have been banned from his farmland for more than 30 years because of the wildlife that thrives within it.
But on Saturday
he says he returned to his farm in Dunkeswell, near Honiton, to find that a pack of hounds and riders had been 'tearing'
through his 100-acre site during a trail hunt.
The farmer now claims his herd of 32 mixed breed suckler cows are 'like
wild animals' after being frightened by the dogs.
Mr Owen, 66, also believes one heifer may have lost her unborn
calf and is waiting for a vet to visit his property to examine her.
The Joint Master of The East Devon Hunt has apologised
to the farmer but said he 'could not comment' on whether their hounds entered Mr Owen's land.
Mr Owen said:
"I'm really upset about it. We don't allow them on our land because large parts of it are conservation areas,
with lots of wildlife including otters, kingfishers and deer. There are also rare plants that we don't want damaged.
"On
Saturday my wife and I went to market at Bridgwater and came back to find they had been tearing around on my land.
"The
neighbours had seen them doing it and tried calling to warn us, but we weren't there.
"The whole pack of hounds
had run through my herd, with the horns blowing and everything – it scared the living daylights out of them.
"The
hunt have said they are very sorry they've caused us extra work and that they will pay for the veterinary costs. I don't
think that is enough though.
"Before the weekend the herd would eat from my hands but now they're too frightened
to come near me, they aren't even approaching the feeders."
Chris Stephens, Joint Master of the East Devon
Hunt, said he and his horses had not entered the farm.
He said: "Myself and my horses did not go on the farm. I've
apologised to him for coming through the valley as I know he does not like it, but we stayed on the bridle path.
"I
don't really know about the hounds – I can't comment on that."
According to their website, "The
East Devon country lies in the south-eastern extremity of Devon, boundaries marked on the east by the M5 motorway running
up to Cullompton then crossing country to Dunkeswell, across to Honiton, then Sidmouth and running the coast back to Exmouth."
They
are a foxhound pack, originally formed in 1890. Since the Hunting Act came into force they have been meeting for trail hunts
which involves using hounds to hunt a trail laid with a rag steeped in a fox-based scent.
22 November 2010
Huntsman first to be convicted twice under Hunting Act
A huntsman from Somerset has become the first person to be convicted twice under the Hunting Act.
Richard Down, 47, from West Bagborough, was found guilty at Taunton Magistrates Court of hunting a wild mammal
with more than two dogs.He was convicted for chasing an injured stag with three hounds.
Under the act, only two are allowed if the purpose is to relieve the animal's suffering.The
Quantock Staghound huntsman was first convicted in June 2007. On that occasion he was found guilty of chasing deer with hounds.'Slap in the face'
The latest conviction was based on video footage gathered by the League Against Cruel Sports. The video showed an injured stag race across the combe in the Quantock Hills while being pursued by three hounds. The defence said that when Down entered the combe, he was looking for the stag and under the Act, more than two hounds
were allowed.But as soon as the injured stag was found, the prosecution said only two dogs
were allowed to gather the mammal which then had to be shot straight away to relieve suffering. Down,
who was described as one of the most experienced huntsmen in the country with 21 years' experience, said he was not in
a position to stop the dogs once they had found the stag. Prosecuter Kerry Barker said the chase caused the
stag "great distress". District Judge Martin Brown said he was "in control of the
hounds and could have called them back". He was ordered to pay a total of £2,920. League chief executive Douglas Batchelor said: "This is a real slap in the face for anyone who claims the Hunting
Act is not working. "Let's hope this steep bill he faces in paying back the court costs will
act as a deterrent to him in the future."Since the Hunting Act came into force in February
2005, 154 people have been convicted however the Countryside Alliance said of those, only four were for hunting, the rest
were for offences such as poaching.
Messy: Queen kills injured pheasant with her walking stick.
When a gundog brought an injured pheasant to her, the Queen did not hesitate.
She took the bird from
the dog's jaws and hit it four or five times over the head with her walking stick until she was satisfied it was dead.
Buckingham
Palace said yesterday that the Queen had acted quickly "as would any other responsible country sports person" to
put the pheasant out of its misery during a shooting party at Sandringham over the weekend.
The British Association
for Shooting and Conservation said the accepted and humane way of killing a bird was wringing its neck or a sharp blow to
the head with a stick.
But animal rights groups insisted there was no excuse for her actions.
A spokesman for
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: "The Queen is lovingly stroking her darling corgis with one hand while
bashing a pheasant with the other.
"As far as we're concerned killing pheasants for sport or food is akin to
any other kind of animal cruelty.
"I think it may be a bit of a stretch to claim that this is a mercy killing.
The pheasant should not have been shot in the first place."
The Queen, who does not shoot herself, was walking
with Prince Philip and the rest of the party despite her recent knee operation.
A witness said: "She did not kill
the bird quickly because it took several attempts. In the past I have seen her use a little cudgel which finishes off birds
a lot more cleanly."
Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler said: "The way she apparently dispatched this bird is
very messy and would have been very painful for the pheasant. The Royal Family should heed the public mood and give up this
so-called sport.
John Bryant, spokesman for the campaign group Protect Our Wild Animals,
said: "It would be one thing if the Queen was walking down a country road and decided to finish off a terribly injured
bird by banging it on the head.
"But it is a different matter when she does it as
a result of her shooting party maiming these birds with their shotguns."
The RSPCA, which has the Queen
as its patron, did not wish to comment on her killing the pheasant but a spokesman said the charity has a policy of opposing
game shooting for sport.
"We believe it does not justify the causing of suffering to birds and other animals. It
is the case that we have hundreds of policies and not all our members agree with every single one. But the Queen supports
our overall object of preventing cruelty to animals and promoting kindness to them."
It is believed that the Queen
is considering measures to stop photographers taking pictures of royal shooting parties under anti-harassment legislation.
In
November 2000 she was photographed wringing the neck of an injured bird at Sandringham.
A few weeks ago, Buckingham
Palace apologised after children at a school beside the Norfolk estate saw pheasant being shot.
Johann Hari: The religious excuse for barbarity
PLEASE COUNTER THE HIDEOUS COMMENTS
BY RELIGIOUS NUTS ON THE INDEPENDENT'S WEBSITE.
Why are we sitting silently
while our treatment of many of our animals regresses to the standard of the sixth century?
If you are engaged in an act of cruelty, there is an easy, effective way to silence your critics and snatch some
space to carry on. Tell us all that your religion requires you to do it, and you are "offended" by any critical
response. Erect an electric wire fence around your nastiest actions and call it "respect". There's a good example
of this religious modus operandi playing out on a dinner table near you – and this week, we found out it is becoming
more and more common. In Britain, it is a crime to kill a conscious cow or sheep or chicken for meat by slashing its throat
without numbing it first. The reasons are obvious. If you don't numb an animal, it screams as you hack through its skin,
muscle, trachea, oesophagus, carotid arteries, jugular veins and major nerve trunks, and then it remains conscious as it slowly
drowns in its own blood – a process that can take up to six minutes. So we insist that an animal is stunned before its
throat is slashed, to ensure it is deeply unconscious. There isn't much humanity in our factory farming system, but this
is – at least – a tiny sliver of it, at the end.
But there is a loophole in the law. You are allowed to skip all this and slash the throats
of un-numbed, screaming animals if you say God told you to. If you are Muslim, you call it "halal", and if you are
Jewish you call it "kosher". Back in the Bronze Age, or the deserts of sixth-century Arabia, it was sensible to
act this way. You needed to know your meat was fresh and the animal was not sick, so you made sure it was alive and alert
when you killed it. As Woody Allen once said, it wasn't so much a commandment as "advice on how to eat out safely
in Jerusalem". But we have much better ways of making sure meat is fresh and healthy now. Yet for many religious people
it has hardened into a dogma, to be followed simply because it was laid down in their "holy" texts long ago by "God".
Of course, they claim that this practice isn't cruel at all. Henry Grunwald, chairman of the
main body overseeing the certification of kosher meat, Shechita UK, says that when you slash an animal's throat "there
is an instant drop in blood pressure in the brain. The animal is dead." Similarly, Raghib Ali, of the Oxford Islam and
Muslim Awareness Project, says: "It's not cruel, it is better for the animal."
This
has been proven by science to be false. The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) is the Government's senior panel of independent
scientific experts on this area, and their investigation found that "the prevailing scientific consensus that slaughter
without pre-stunning causes very significant pain and distress". The FAWC chairwoman, Dr Judy MacArthur Clark, explains:
"To say [the animal] doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous."
To give just one example:
after you cut a calf's throat, in 62 per cent of cases, large clots form at the back of its carotid arteries, which means
blood pressure to the brain massively slows and the animal doesn't black out at all. It stays conscious as it bleeds to
death from its throat in agony.
Kosher butchers never numb their animals. Most halal butchers now
use some stunning, but the RSPCA warns that it is at a much lower dosage to guarantee the animal is still alive when it is
killed – so it doesn't properly protect them from pain. The attempts by religious people to explain this away and
claim it is in fact a kindness to the animal are a pseudo-science: the intelligent design of animal welfare. That's why
making meat like this is a crime in countries from Spain to New Zealand, where an ethnically Jewish Prime Minister banned
it this year.
Yet in Britain this kind of animal cruelty is becoming standard. Over the past few
years, there has been a dramatic abandonment of the numbing of animals before killing them, in the name of "respect"
for a religious minority. The BBC's You And Yours programme says that halal meat now "accounts for around a quarter
of the UK's meat trade". It is served unlabelled and as standard meat in Wembley Stadium, Twickenham, on all British
Airways flights, at Nando's, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza and even swanky Ascot racecourse. There has been
a huge expansion, then, in the suffering of living creatures – and we are supposed to applaud it as an advance for tolerance.
The halal and kosher meat industries are fighting even tepid proposals by the European Union to ensure
that all meat made from unstunned animals must be clearly labelled. They claim this will render their businesses "economically
unviable". Isn't that an extraordinary confession – that if people knew what they were buying, the companies
would go bust?
Atheists who criticise religion are constantly being told we have missed the point
and religion is really about compassion and kindness. It is only a handful of extremists and fundamentalists who "misunderstand"
faith and use it for cruel ends, we are told with a wagging finger. But here's an example where most members of a religion
choose to do something pointlessly cruel, and even the moderates demand "respect" for their "views". Their
faith makes them prioritise pleasing an invisible supernatural being over the screaming of actual living creatures. Doesn't
this suggest that faith itself – the choice to believe something in the total absence of evidence – is a danger
that can lead you up needlessly nasty paths?
Britain is famously a nation of animal lovers who turn
doe-eyed and gooey at the sight of any furry creature. So why are we sitting silently while our treatment of many of our animals
regresses to the standards of the sixth century?
It is true that, at the moment, there is a frightening
rise in real bigotry against Muslims and, to a lesser but still significant extent, Jews. Some people who object to the rise
of halal meat try to fit it into a preposterous narrative where Britain is somehow being "taken over" by the 4 per
cent of its population who are Muslim, presumably via the Protocols of the Elders of Mecca. I have written many articles against
this resurgent bigotry, and I can see why some people would be shy about anything that would look like piling on.
But
the only consistent position is to oppose viciousness against these minorities, and to oppose viciousness by these minorities.
The proponents of halal and kosher meat are choosing to inflict terrible and unnecessary pain on living creatures every day.
It would be condescending to treat them as victim-children who are exempt from moral debate – and it would be a betrayal
of the real victims here: the sentient creatures having their throats cut.
We need to be much more
self-confident in criticising religious claims. Your ideas do not deserve any special status because you say they came from
an invisible, supernatural being.
No, we don't respect your desire to needlessly torment animals
because some hallucinating desert nomads did it centuries ago. We don't respect it at all. You can cry that we are "persecuting"
you if we stop you committing acts of cruelty if you want.
It's what the religious – Christian,
Jew and Muslim alike – did when we stopped you tormenting women and gays and anybody else you could get your hands on.
One of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God.
WAAC says - GREAT ARTICLE JOHANN- VERY TRUTHFUL! We are supposed to be
a nation of animal lovers yet we allow minorities like Jews and Muslims to brutally kill our defenceless animals. It's
time the British Government put an end to this terrible ritual. It has nothing to do with bigotry either - it is all
about caring for our animals. The best way to stop the killings is to protest loudly and to encourage people to stop
eating meat. I have to admit that I do have a problem with us having to abide by this Muslim law while in countries
like Iran we would be flogged for simply not covering up. It's high time we stopped yet we stopped this
obscene abuse to defenceless animals on our shore. If I get accused of being a racist for saying these things, then bring
it on! I care too much for animals to give a damn! Judi
Viva protest outside Llandudno’s the Lilly restaurant over ‘barbaric’
pate
ANIMAL rights protesters picketed a restaurant because it has foie
gras on the menu.
Viva (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) members organised the protest
outside the Lilly restaurant on Llandudno’s West Shore on Saturday.
The campaign group want
the restaurant's owner to remove the French pate from the menu, because of the controversial way it is produced.
The pate is made from duck or goose liver, but many animal rights groups object to it because the animal is specifically
fattened by force-feeding it corn.
The production of foie gras is illegal in the UK but the product is allowed to be imported from the EU, mainly France.
A Viva spokeswoman, Judi Hewitt, said: “This is why we took our protest to Llandudno and paid a visit to the
Lilly Restaurant. I find it very sad that a few owners refuse to stop serving up this obscenely cruel dish despite knowing
about the horrific abuse to birds.”
The Lilly’s owner Phillip Ashe
said: “We neither want to condemn or condone the production of foie gras but we don’t see ourselves in the position
of having to make the moral decision for our clients.”
“Our
clients are sophisticated and knowledgeable diners who are aware of what foie gras is and what they are ordering.”
WAAC says - NO mention of the fact that these
aquatic birds are confined for life to a cage so tiny they just about fit over their bodies. No mention of
the fact that this process is a torture for these birds, let alone having a metal pipe shoved down their throats
over half a dozen times a day until birds are so ill and exhausted that they can barely lift their poor heads. Phillip
Ashe does not seem to care a jot about these poor birds, otherwise he would NOT serve his vile pate in
his 'sophisticated' restaurant. Ashe also told us to clear off as soon as got there and told us he had seen
the video of ducks being force fed but didn't care. Shame on you Mr Ashe for not caring about birds tortured
for this vile dish and shame on you for condoning the cruelty to these birds by offering your clients a pate
that has been produced by using one of the worst atrocities ever devised by some depraved human being in France. Judi
The great animal rights betrayal The Independent - Saturday 13th November
Government scraps protection for hens, game birds, pigs, cows, sheep
– and circus animals
Saturday,
13 November 2010
Millions of hens will have their beaks mutilated; game birds will remain in cages; pigs, sheep and cows
in abattoirs will lose crucial protection from abuse; badgers will be culled and lions, tigers and other wild animals will
continue to perform in the big top.
In a series of little-noticed moves, the Coalition
has scrapped or stalled Labour initiatives to improve animal welfare some weeks before they were due to come into force.
The Agriculture minister James Paice, who part-owns a farm in Cambridgeshire, has been behind most of
the moves – which have infuriated welfare groups. In the latest of a series of controversial decisions, Mr Paice this
week delayed by five years a ban on beak mutilations of laying hens due to come into force in January.
Millions of hens have part of their beaks sliced off to stop them pecking at each other in confined
units, but campaigners say there is no need for this if flocks are well managed.
The
delay in the beak-trimming ban emerged in a press statement headed "New safeguards for chickens", which hailed the
introduction of a limit on overcrowding of meat chickens which will have little impact. The RSPCA said it was "extremely
disappointed" by the decision, describing beak trimming as "an insult to hens' welfare".
Another policy reversal, affecting hundreds of thousands of game birds, was taken following lobbying
from the Countryside Alliance and other shooting groups. Mr Paice rewrote the new game-bird farming welfare code to remove
a ban on keeping them in cages.
In an additional move, the Department of the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) halted a series of prosecutions of abattoir operators based on secret footage which caught
slaughterhouse workers kicking cattle, pigs and sheep. Tim Smith, head of the Food Standards Agency, which enforces slaughterhouse
standards, said of the images: "The cruelty on show is the worst I have seen." Defra said the prosecutions would
have failed because the footage had been obtained by trespass. Animal Aid, which shot the film, described the decision as
"political".
Furthermore, the Government is reducing the presence of official
veterinarians at livestock markets, to the concern of the British Veterinary Association. According to the BVA, Mr Paice has
also expressed doubt over plans compulsorily to label kosher and halal meat from animals killed without being stunned.
Defra has been stalling on a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses, which Labour indicated in March
it would introduce, keeping 40 tigers, elephants, zebras and other animals performing tricks. Defra says it will announce
its plans "later in the autumn".
Mr Paice again pleased farmers and angered
welfare groups by overturning Labour's opposition to a badger cull and proposing farmers trap or shoot the protected mammal
in order to curb the spread of bovine TB, which can be spread by badgers. He downgraded a research programme into vaccination,
an alternative method of controlling the disease that killed 25,000 cattle last year. A cull is likely to provoke widespread
protests.
Another Conservative proposal – to hold a free vote on overturning
the ban on fox hunting – will be fiercely opposed.
Current concern, however,
is greatest about the U-turns on farm animals because of the huge numbers involved. While there are no authoritative figures,
the proposed game-bird cage ban would have improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of the 40 million game birds bred annually
for shooting. Beak trimming is estimated to take place on 20 million of the UK's 29 million laying flock. Tabling plans
to limit the keeping of broiler chickens to 39kg per square metre, a more crowded level than the industry's basic standard
of 38kg, Defra revealed it would ban trimming by hot blades but allow the less brutal but still painful infra-red method.
The Government's vets on the Farm Animal Welfare Council had recommended allowing
infra-red trimming because of the egg industry's failure to prepare for the ban, which had been scheduled for eight years.
Compassion in World Farming was "deeply disappointed" by the decision.
Its chief policy adviser, Peter Stevenson, said: "It is frustrating that the egg industry has not managed to meet the
2011 deadline. At the same time as the British industry has been failing to phase out beak trimming, the Austrian industry
has successfully reduced the practice so that now less than 2 per cent of hens are beak trimmed."
Animal Aid's campaign manager Kate Fowler said: "The Coalition Government has wasted no time
in removing a raft of popular measures that provided important protection for farmed and wild animals.
"It seems the Lib Dems can't or won't rein in the Tories. The commitment to repealing the
Hunting Act is the most high profile part of the Government's anti-animal welfare package. But badgers, animals at markets,
game birds and animals in circuses are also under threat. As for slaughterhouse cruelty, if this Government's vets can't
or won't take action and the Government won't prosecute, then there is no one to stop slaughterhouses becoming a free-for-all."
Mr Paice said: "These comments are surprising and disappointing. Cutting bureaucracy
doesn't equate to poorer welfare for animals – we listen to expert groups and always base decisions on robust scientific
evidence, including that of the Farm Animal Welfare Council. As far as bovine TB is concerned, these groups appear to ignore
the welfare of cattle."
The Betrayals
Game Birds
Issue: Keeping
of game birds such as pheasants in cages.
Number of animals: affected Hundreds of
thousands.
Last government policy: In one of its last acts in power, on 15 March
2010, Labour introduced a new Code of Practice for "game bird" production which in effect would have banned the
use of battery cages for breeding pheasants within months.
What the Coalition has
done: Animal Welfare minister James Paice withdrew the code and replaced it with a new version which allowed "enriched"
cages to remain. The decision followed lobbying from shooting organisations, such as the Countryside Alliance and the Game
Farmers' Association.
RSPCA comment: "The RSPCA is concerned that the Government
has overturned expert recommendations against the use of cages to breed game birds in England. The Society is calling for
proper scientific research to establish how to best meet the birds' needs under Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act. In
the meantime, the aim is to persuade the industry to act in accordance with the scientific principles of welfare and avoid
using cages."
Circus Animals
Issue: Use of performing wild animals such as tigers and elephants.
How many animals affected: Around 40. Four British circuses use wild animals: the Great British Circus, which has
tigers, lions, camels and zebras; Peter Jolly's Circus (camels, zebras, snakes and crocodiles); Circus Mondao (camels
and zebras); and Bobby Roberts Circus (camels and elephant).
What was going to happen?:
On 25 March 2010, Labour's environment minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, said he was "minded" to ban performing wild
animals after research showed that 94 per cent of the public supported a ban.
What
the Coalition has done: The Coalition said it was considering whether to proceed and would announce its position "in
the autumn". James Paice told the Commons he was sympathetic to a ban but said his colleague Lord Henley was mulling
over issues.
RSPCA comment: "The RSPCA believes the circus is no place for
a wild animal. It does not believe that wild animals should be subjected to the confinement, constant transportation and abnormal
social groups associated with circus life. The UK Government promised three years ago that wild animals in travelling circuses
would be banned – yet lions, tigers, elephants and other animals still tour the UK. We want to see the urgent introduction
of regulations under the Animal Welfare Act."
Slaughterhouse
Cruelty
Issue: Cruelty against pigs, sheep and cattle by abattoir
workers.
Number of animals affected: 29 million.
What was going to happen?: Prosecutions had been started against four operators at five abattoirs, and nine workers,
following an undercover investigation by an animal welfare charity, Animal Aid. It found poor conditions at six of seven slaughterhouses
it investigated between January 2009 and April 2010: footage showed animals being kicked, slapped, stamped, and picked up
by fleeces and ears and thrown into stunning pens. Some sheep had their throats cut while not properly stunned.
What the Coalition has done: The Department for Food and Rural Affairs dropped the prosecutions, saying
it had become aware of legal precedents where courts had refused to accept "unlawfully obtained video footage".
Instead, the Food Standards Agency has asked the 370 slaughterhouses in England and Wales to install CCTV cameras.
RSPCA comment: The RSPCA does not wish to comment on specific court cases.
Badger Cull
Issue: Spread of bovine TB from
wild badgers to cattle.
How many animals affected: 6,000 badgers could be killed
in the first year.
What was going to happen: In July 2008, the then Environment
Secretary, Hilary Benn, ruled out a cull, saying a cull would worsen rates of bovine TB outside of culling areas. Instead
he committed £20m more into trials of a vaccination programme for badgers in six areas.
What the Coalition has done: Proposed that farmers in areas of heavy TB infestation cull badgers by cage-trapping
and shooting them, or by "free shooting" as animals emerge from their setts. It has scaled back trial vaccinations
to one area.
RSPCA comment: "On the basis of the current science, welfare concerns
and practicality, any decision for a widespread cull of badgers would be totally unacceptable. Farmers or any non-statutory
agency carrying out a cull... would make the welfare issues involved in killing badgers worse. It would be near impossible
to police or monitor such a cull and could make enforcement of the Protection of Badgers Act very difficult."
Beak Trimming
Issue:
Mutilation of laying hens.
Number of animals affected: 20 million.
What was going to happen?: Labour decided to end beak trimming, which is carried out to prevent laying
hens pecking and cannibalising each other in cramped battery cages. A ban enacted eight years ago was due to come into force
on 1 January 2011.
What the Coalition has done: After the egg industry said it was
not prepared for the end of beak trimming, the Coalition will delay a complete ban by at least five years, until 2016. Instead,
the Government banned trimming with hot blades and allowed another technology which still causes pain – infra-red.
RSPCA comment: "The RSPCA is extremely disappointed that no specific date has been set for a ban
on beak trimming for laying hens. The mutilation of all livestock is undesirable."
CAMERON, THE MOST CALLOUS PRIME
MINISTER EVER - FOR ALLOWING THE SALE OF PIGS TO CHINA - THE WORST HELL-HOLE ON EARTH. HAVE PITY, PLEASE
SIGN THE PETITION.
On the 8th November 2010 our leader David Cameron agreed a deal to export live
breeding pigs to China. Could there be a worse place to be an animal than in China? There are no farming regulations
there and we already know that animals are skinned alive. Pigs are highly inquisitve, social and intelligent animals.
They are not dirty as we are lead to believe. They are unable to sweat. This is why they roll in mud, to cool
themselves down. We are about to start sending them on aircraft to a life of hell and torture. We should be bringing
all animals away from China and not sending them there.
Western Daily Press 2-11-10
Action at abattoirs after secret
filming
A major investigation by undercover animal welfare
activists into sickening violence and illegal practices in the West's abattoirs, first revealed in theWestern
Daily Presslast year, has had a "huge impact" on the slaughterhouse
industry.
After thePressreported how animals were mistreated in one Somerset abattoir last September, the
undercover investigators from Animal Aid went to another slaughterhouse in Dorset and found similar breaches of regulations
that led to animals suffering horrible treatment in their final moments.
Last
night Animal Aid finally published its full report into the investigations, which also covered abattoirs in Devon and Cornwall,
and outlined how it was changing the way slaughterhouses across the region were run.
The investigation saw Animal Aid activists first go undercover at AC Hopkins, near Taunton, and secretly install hidden
video cameras which captured shocking scenes of a slaughterman kicking pigs, failing to stun them properly and even stunning
a sow as her piglets suckled her.
After that investigation, secret filming
took place at a second West abattoir, ABP in Sturminster Newton, Dorset. That Soil Association-accredited slaughterhouse had
its contract with Sainsbury's suspended by the supermarket giant after investigators filmed a slaughterman taking as many
as four shots with a bolt gun to stun cows sent for slaughter.
As a result
of the Animal Aid action, the continuing self-regulation of the slaughterhouse industry has been put on hold, and supermarkets
like Sainsbury's and the RSPCA's Freedom Food scheme are taking on the meat industry to ensure better standards.
The RSPCA said it would only give Freedom Food accreditation to slaughterhouses
that voluntarily fit CCTV cameras for inspectors to view, while supermarkets are withholding contracts to abattoirs that fall
below the correct standards.
And Bristol University is even using the footage
captured to train vets and Soil Association inspectors.
A spokesman for Anglo-
Beef Processors, which runs the Sturminster Newton abattoir, said: "We are extremely disappointed that the covert filming
by Animal Aid has identified some breaches of our group welfare policy.
"We
expect animal welfare to be nothing less than an absolute priority and any breach is unacceptable.
"Since the incident took place, a robust and comprehensive series of actions have been implemented
including new equipment and the installation of new CCTV cameras. We have also undertaken a comprehensive retraining programme
of all staff who have a responsibility for handling animals," he added.
At
the time of the revelations about AC Hopkins in Somerset, a spokesman for the slaughterhouse industry, speaking on behalf
of the Creech St Michael firm, said Animal Aid's footage should be taken in the context that more than 100 hours of film
was shot but less than half an hour was offered in evidence of malpractice. "It was an isolated incident," he said.
Animal Aid's Kate Fowler said: "We have revealed a shockingly brutal industry
that pays little heed to the welfare of animals.
"Supermarkets and other
retailers should put pressure on slaughterhouses to install CCTV," she added.
Jim Barrington, of the Countryside
Alliance, AND AN INSULT TO THE ANIMALS - and
not nice to anyone who disagrees with him "People should look at what is being offered
here, a new regulatory body plus possibly a new animal welfare law that would protect all wild mammals from unnecessary
suffering.
"You're not talking about trying to obliterate as many as you can, you're talking about taking out the old, the weak and the sick, thereby keeping the population healthy
and at a level that is acceptable to the landowner."
Take out the old, the weak and the sick - what a
croc of shit! Hunts take out as many as they can find and kill, irrespective of their prey's age or ill health.
And if these low life humans get their vile sport back, they will just carry on torturing animals for sick
entertainment as before, or should I say will continue as they already do, until the ban is tightened
up. I accuse Barrington of never being on the side of foxes. If he knew and understood these poor persecuted animals
as I do, then he might have tried to stop his fox hunting pals in their tracks. People like me will not stand
idly by and watch evil hunt bastards legally hurting animals for the sheer delight and fun of it!. These are
not just words either, I mean every word, and I'm far from alone! Was this a man who betrayed the fox for a
dog?. Judi
Nature lovers are mourning a giant stag feared
to have been shot dead for its antlers.
The male red deer, known as the Emperor and reputedly
the biggest wild animal in Britain, was reportedly killed by a trophy hunter in Exmoor, Devon.
He
was apparently shot legally after the landowner was paid for the shooting rights.
Emperor was
9ft tall to the tips of his antlers and is believed to have weighed some 300lbs.
His demise comes
several days after his picture was published in newspapers.
One local deer enthusiast said two
shots had been heard close to the main Tiverton to Barnstaple road.
He added that a group of people
were out watching stags close to the spot where Emperor was killed earlier this month.
Peter Donnelly,
an Exmoor-based deer management expert, said he was angry the animal had been shot during the mating season.
He told The Times: "It could be that he didn't get a chance to rut properly this year, therefore his genes
have not been passed on this time round.
"The poor things should be left alone during the
rut, not harried from pillar to post. If we care about deer we should maintain a standard and stop all persecution during
this important time of the year."
WAAC say's Let's be clear - this poor
magnificent stag was killed for no other reason, than for ego and money. Plus let's not forget who
the real pests are in this world - it's the human race! Why? because the planet continues to be plundered
on epic proportions, squeezing out all other species, and forcing many into extinction. The killer of this beautiful
deer and the greedy money grabbing land owner who sold this poor animal out to a shooting thug (no different to
a hit-man), will one day have to face karma. Judi
Thursday,
October 21, 2010 'Hunt supporters attacked us' claims
Avon and Somerset police say they are investigating allegations by South West Hunt Saboteurs that they were attacked
and robbed by hunt supporters.
The saboteurs claim that the incident took place on Saturday when
members of the South West hunt saboteurs were out monitoring a hunt taking place on the Mendips at Ston Easton and Emborough.
Lee Moon, spokesman for the Hunt Saboteurs, said they were present at the hunt to monitor for evidence of illegal
hunting and to present any such evidence to the police.
Mr Moon said: "Whilst standing on
a public footpath watching the hunt, the group of eight anti-hunt protesters, made up of men and women, were approached by
five vehicles whose number plates had been obscured with mud. "Approximately a dozen men jumped out of the vehicles and
proceeded to attack the hunt saboteurs shouting "get the cameras". People were punched in the face and one man had
his leg repeatedly stamped on.
"The attackers did not stop until they had stolen three video
cameras and one digital camera.
"Members of the anti-hunt group were left severely battered
and shocked by this un-provoked and brutal attack and robbery.
"The incident has been reported
to the police who are currently making enquiries.
Mr Moon added: "We are sick and tired of
seeing hunts trying to portray themselves as part of the tradition and fabric of this country.
"If
our traditions include violence, intimidation and robbery then perhaps they are.
" It is
time the police showed these people that the countryside is not their own private playground and prosecute them for the crimes
they commit against animals and people."
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police confirmed
that there had been a complaint made to them about an incident at Ston Easton on Saturday.
Police
had attended the scene following the incident and had started an investigation.
The spokesman
added that they had been allegations of assault and theft from several hunt observers.
Police
officers had not been able to collect all the statements at the time were now in the process of taking statements from the
complainants in their own homes.
Thursday, October 21, 2010,
11:00 Hunt saboteurs attack claims
Allegations that South West hunt saboteurs were attacked and robbed on the Mendips are being investigated by police.
The saboteurs claim that the incident took place on Saturday when members of the South West hunt saboteurs were out
monitoring a hunt taking place on the Mendips at Ston Easton and Emborough.
Lee Moon, spokesman
for the hunt saboteurs, said they were present at the hunt to monitor for evidence of illegal hunting and to present any such
evidence to the police.
Mr Moon said: "Whilst standing on a public footpath watching the
hunt, the group of eight anti-hunt protesters, made up of men and women, were approached by five vehicles whose number plates
had been obscured with mud.
"Approximately a dozen men jumped out of the vehicles and proceeded
to attack the hunt saboteurs shouting 'get the cameras'.
"People were punched in
the face and one man had his leg repeatedly stamped on.
"The attackers did not stop until
they had stolen three video cameras and one digital camera. Members of the anti-hunt group were left severely battered and
shocked by this unprovoked and brutal attack and robbery."
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset
Police confirmed that there had been a complaint made to them about an incident at Ston Easton on Saturday and had started
an investigation.
Mendip Farmers' Hunt's master of hounds Richard Standing confirmed that
the Mendip Farmers Hunt was in the area on Saturday, but said that he had not seen any hunt saboteurs. He added that he believed
that another hunting group had also been in the area on Saturday.
North West Hunt Saboteurs Association PO Box 239 Manchester M14 7XB
Saturday, October 02, 2010,
10:00
National Trust drops opposition to culling of TB badgers on its land
The National Trust will not oppose the killing of badgers on its Westcountry
properties, if a cull of diseased animals is allowed by the Government.
The
trust has updated its stance on a cull, having previously stated that its preferences for dealing with the spread of bovine
tuberculosis would be cattle-to-cattle controls and vaccination.
But in an new statement this
week, which could prove unpopular among elements of its three-and-a-half million members, the National Trust said it would
not object to a cull on its tenanted farms and other land, provided all the correct checks and balances were in place. But
the trust still stressed that badger vaccination should be used wherever and whenever possible.
The
statement said: "If the criteria for a successful cull can be met, and it is legal and carried out to the highest possible
welfare standards as part of a package of measures that includes more rigorous approaches to reduce cattle-to-cattle transmission,
then we would not object to culls taking place in areas that include our land, where it is shown all other routes have been
explored."
It added: "We accept there is no point addressing cattle-to- cattle transmission
without also addressing the wildlife reservoir of bovine TB. We feel strongly that this should be done as part of a comprehensive
package of measures."
The Government has ordered a three-month consultation on what to do
about the steady spread of bovine TB throughout cattle herds in various areas, notably the South West, and that will run until
the end of the year.
Once all the evidence has been collated, a decision on a way forward is likely
to be announced in the early spring, but it would not necessarily involve the culling of sick badgers. Culling could be one
of the options, using cage traps and shooting.
Farming organisations have urged their members
to respond positively to the consultation paper and encourage a cull in hot-spot areas, where many cattle herds are subject
to prolonged movement restrictions having lost animals that proved positive to TB tests.
The National
Trust, which claims to be "the guardian of the nation's heritage", is a major landowner in the Westcountry.
In particular, it is the largest landowner on Exmoor, where it is the guardian of 7,155 hectares of moorland, woodland
and mixed farm holdings.
Exmoor is one of the four hotspot areas in the Westcountry where 1,700
farmers have signed up for licences applying to cull sick badgers, should the cull go ahead.
The
others include North Cornwall and West Devon, West Penwith and the South Hams, all of which contain well-known National Trust
properties, coastline and farms.
I'm a former NT member and thankful now that I stopped my membership after
hearing about their disgusting decision to allow the killing of badgers on their land. Giving in to ignorant farmers
proves how low the NT are prepared to stoop to pander to these beasts of the countryside. I hope other Trust members
will seriously consider giving up their membership in protest at the NT's cruel and stupid attitude towards
defenceless badgers. Animals that will no doubt be mostly healthy when cruelly butchered by people with no morals or
goodness. Judi
Hilary Benn vows to fight plans to revoke hunting ban
Shadow environment secretary
tells Labour conference government plan to allow free vote on revoking hunting ban will be fiercely resisted
Hilary Benn today vowed to fight plans to revoke the hunting ban. Photograph: Darren Staples/REUTERS
The shadow environment secretary,Hilary Benn, today vowed to oppose coalition plans to bring back foxhunting"every step of the way" as he hailedLabour's achievements in office.
Speaking at the party's Manchester conference two days after Ed Miliband told activists to be humble about
Labour's mistakes in office, Benn focused his speech on what the party had achieved for the countryside when it was in
power and "had the chance".
"Yes, there's more to do – but let's celebrate how our politics changed people's lives
for the better," he told delegates.
Benn rounded on the government's plans for rural affairs, warning that the package of cuts would
harm the environment and "affect the lives of our children and grandchildren".
He said the plan to allow a free vote on revoking
the hunting ban introduced under Labour would be fiercely resisted by the opposition.
The ban has been criticised as unenforceable. Tony Blair, the former
prime minister who pushed through the legislation, confessed in his recent memoirs that he deliberately sabotaged the Hunting
Act to make sure that there were enough loopholes to allow the sport to continue.
Blair wrote: "The passions aroused by the issue were primeval.
If I'd proposed solving the pension problem by compulsory euthanasia of every fifth pensioner I'd have got less trouble
... By the end of it, I felt like the damn fox. I had a complete lapse.
"I didn't 'feel it' either way. I didn't feel
how, for fox hunters, this was part of their way of life. I didn't feel how, for those wanting a ban, this was fundamentally
about cruelty. Result? Disaster."
But Benn, who is standing in the shadow cabinet elections, made clear he would fiercely oppose any move to rescind
the existing legislation – a move he said was at odds with the coalition's claim to be "compassionate".
"It wants to bring
back the barbarous spectacle of fox and stag hunting, and hare coursing to our countryside," he said.
"This isn't compassion. It's
animal cruelty, and we will oppose it every step of the way."
Fox hunting 'linked to the ruling class mentality' Brian May was a member of one of the
most popular rock bands in history, Queen, but now devotes much of his time to the defence of Britain's wildlife.
He is not the first rock star to leverage his fame in pursuit of a cause. Stephen Sackur asked him why he gets so
emotional about the fate of the humble fox.
You can watch the full interview on Monday, 23 September 2010 on BBC World News at 0330,
0830, 1530, and 2030 GMT.
WELSH ASSEMBLY UNVEILS REVISED BADGER CULL PLANS. bovine TB is flawed, argues Astrophysic Brian May.
GUARDIAN - SEPT 20th
In spite of monstrous cruelty and in the face of mountains of scientific evidence that it will not work, farmers and government
officials seem hell-bent on the killing of thousands of wild animals. They call it "culling", and this euphemism conceals an apparently insatiable lust to take revenge
on the animal that has been made the scapegoat for the farming community's continuing inability to control bovine TB in their cattle – the badger.
There are so many reasons not to instigate a cull – and even more reasons not
to license farmers to kill these wonderful creatures on their own land. It's a decision which could lead not only to immense
suffering to the badgers, but could actually make the bovine TB situation worse.
It's almost unthinkable that in both England and Wales the people in government are ready to appease farmers' misplaced anger by slaughtering these creatures
– a venerable and delightful species of sentient mammals which almost certainly inhabited these islands before humans.
But, unless public opinion speaks loudly enough in protest, slaughter is on the cards.
I have just finished watching a TV documentary which included a token statement from the anti-culling side, but presented
an otherwise apparently convincing case that killing badgers is the only way to control bovine TB. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
The recent victory of the Badger Trust in the Judicial Review in Wales, leading to the cancellation of the rural affairsminister, Elin Jones's pernicious culling plan, was based crucially on the judges' realisation that
even if all the badgers were killed in Wales, the likely improvement in the infection rates in cattle was likely to be just
a few per cent. Jones, egged on by the farmers who helped vote her into power, seems unable to give in gracefully.
Today the Welsh assembly government is re-submitting the culling plans, following a paper based on assumptions which I think are almost certainly flawed. I believe the paper would
not stand up if it were submitted to independent review in a journal such as Nature.
As for the English situation, where potential culling plans were announced last week, it's worth saying the alleged effect of badgers on the spread of TB in cows has to be viewed in context.
Bovine TB is at present not transferrable to humans – we can be thankful for this, because the skin test currently used
to determine whether a cow has the disease or not is woefully inaccurate. It is beyond doubt that a small amount of milk from
infected cows is consumed by humans daily. The reason we don't all get sick is because the milk is pasteurised.
So, if human health cannot be affected, why the big panic? Is it sympathy for the cows?
Not a chance. Bovine TB is responsible for the killing of roughly 11,000 cows annually. Shocked? Well, the corresponding figures
of cows killed for other reasons will shock you much more. Dairy cows killed because they contracted mastitis (an infection
of the udder) – 51,000; cows killed because they were not in calf – 75,000; cows killed because they were lame
– 25,000; cows who simply died on farms – 24,000; cows killed because they got too old – 21,000. There are
actually nine causes of death in cattle which outnumber those killed because they are suspected of having bovine TB. And beef
cattle, of course, all die young.
So killing badgers might improve
the death rate of cows by a few per cent in a category that accounts for only a few per cent of deaths anyway. The cull sounds
more and more preposterous, doesn't it?
Are we going to stand for it? I believe that if the current breed of politicians actually
get away with this, they will destroy the public's trust in farmers for ever. There will be no way back. So don't
blame me, Mr Paice and Ms Jones if, in 20 years time, you are looking at a dead animal farming industry and a nation drinking
soya milk. I already made the jump. I have tried this whole year to be sympathetic to farmers, but I cannot go on endorsing
cruelty – and I do not believe the majority of the British public will, either.
Thanks
Brian, this disgusting coalition has to go if we are ever going to move forward in terms of becoming more civilised...... Judi
BRANDED A LIAR - THE WOMAN WHO CLAIMED KITTEN WAS ATTACKED BY FOX.
In the
last POWA Newshound I alluded that the Daily Mail story of 26-8 'Fox squeezes through window... and mauls to death beloved
kitten.' was highly dubious. This is what John Bryant, who has investigated, has told POWA:-
Dear All, The Folkestone case of a woman claiming that a fox sneaked in through a window and killed
one of her two kittens, and which was embellished with lies by the Daily Mail in particular, was in fact a case of a kitten
killed by the family's dog. This is according to a person calling himself Tony Glover, who says he is the grandfather
of the woman's six-year old son Blake. The Daily Mail which claimed that the 'blood-splattered' fox left through
the open window after dropping the kitten on the bed, was also exposed as lying, by the woman herself who said in a BBC Radio
Kent interview, that there was no blood on the kitten nor any punctures. She also claimed she watched it slowly die
the day after the 'attack' a
enlarge 
Close
Hilary Benn today vowed to fight plans to revoke the hunting ban. Photograph: Darren Staples/REUTERS