BOXING DAY HUNTERS MEET IN TOWN CENTRES

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Protests planned across the UK against Boxing Day Hunts TOM ANDERSON DEC 23 ∙ GUEST POST READ IN APP Mounted field riders with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt gather in a town centre. As communities across the UK brace themselves for the annual display of pro-hunt Boxing Day carnage, many wildlife defenders are organising to resist. Protect the Wild has put together a handy list of the protests and events taking place to stick up for our wildlife. This list is a work in progress, so get in touch if we’ve missed out a demo in your area. For hunts, Boxing Day parades are a crucial public relations exercise. Pro-hunt groups like the British Hound Sports Association present these yearly events as a noble British tradition. The Boxing Day parades typically begin with a speech by the huntmaster and are characterised by pomp and silly outfits. However, this ‘time-honoured’ pastime is also marked by arrogance, drunkenness, violence and, of course, wildlife crime. On top of that, Boxing Day meets are notorious for causing havoc and mayhem on the roads and in residential neighbourhoods, just as people are trying to take some much-needed rest on the bank holiday. Polly Portwin, director of the pro-hunt advocacy group the Countryside Alliance, recently published a post on the organisation’s website saying that Boxing Day meets “offer the perfect opportunity to showcase trail hunting” She goes on to say that they also promote other (supposedly) “lawful hunting activities” too. Portwin even advises members of the public that they can stroke the hounds and horses if they want to. Boxing Day parades are a charm offensive by hunts, who spend the rest of the year terrorising wildlife with a cold disregard for local communities. At Protect the Wild, we want to take this opportunity to urge the public not to make themselves complicit in the cruelty of fox hunting by attending Boxing Day parades. Instead, we recommend attending one of the many protests being organised around the UK. This year, one local council has already passed a motion saying that the annual meet by Tiverton Foxhounds will not be welcome. As the UK moves toward a public consultation on a new ban on fox hunting in early 2026, we hope that people will be emboldened to organise even harder in their local areas too. South Dorset Hunt Boxing Day South Dorset Hunt Boxing Day - via Weymouth Animal Rights Protect the Wild’s Rob Pownall: “Boxing Day hunts are deliberately staged as tradition and spectacle, designed to normalise behaviour that would be unacceptable on any other day of the year. Resisting them isn’t about disrupting celebrations, it’s about refusing to let cruelty towards wildlife be rebranded as culture. When the law is weakly enforced and suffering is hidden behind ceremony, peaceful resistance becomes both legitimate and necessary”. Protests: Hadleigh: Suffolk Action for Wildlife will be protesting at 10am on Boxing Day at Holbecks Park in Hadleigh against hunting and wildlife persecution. Canterbury: East Kent Sabs will protest the Kent Hounds. Bungay: Action Against Animal Cruelty will protest the Waveney and Norfolk Harriers. Helston: West Cornwall Hunt Sabs will protest the Cury Hunt. Tavistock: Plymouth and West Devon Hunt Sabs will protest the Spooners and West Dartmoor Hunt. Tiverton: Local Independents for Tiverton will protest the Tiverton Foxhounds. Abergavenny: Boxing Day Protest Against hunting and the Monmouth Hunt. Cholesbury: Action Against Foxhunting is planning a protest against the Kimblewick Hunt on Cholesbury Common in Buckinghamshire. Beverley - Hull Wildlife Protectors and the Hull Animal Rights Team will protest the Holderness Hunt Boxing Day Parade. Kirkbymoorside - Action Against Foxhunting will be protesting against the Sinnington Hunt. Battle: Individuals posted on Facebook promising to protest a meet by the Southdown and Eridge with East Sussex and Romney Marsh hunts. Other events: Great Torrington: The Great Torrington Events Safety Committee is running a campaign against the Torrington Farmers Hunt and the Stevenstone Hunt. They are calling on their supporters to complain to Devon County Council, Great Torrington Town Council, Torridge District Council and the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner. Denbigh - Community members have launched a petition against the Boxing Day meet of the Flint and Denbigh Hunt. Easingwold Against Foxhunting on Boxing Day Easingwold Against Foxhunting on a past Boxing Day protest Don’t forget to put pressure on your local MP in the New Year too. It’s more urgent now than ever as the government has finally given a rough timetable for its long-promised public consultation on strengthening the ban on ‘trail hunting’. Let’s keep the pressure up to ensure that fox hunting is finally consigned to the dustbin of history. Use Protect the Wild’s automated tool to email your MP and demand a workable ban on hunting. Check out these resources from Action Against Foxhunting to help you challenge Boxing Day and New Year’s Day hunt meets in your area. Finally, why not make a New Year’s resolution to get involved with your local hunt saboteurs. Header image: Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt in Castle Cary on Boxing Day 2021, via Action Against Foxhunting. A guest post by Tom Anderson Journalist for Protect the Wild Subscribe to Tom SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM WILD JUSTICE — A DOODLE TO SEND GREETINGS

Good afternoon, Today, on Christmas Eve, a short newsletter just to wish you a Merry Christmas from the team at Wild Justice, along with a Christmas doodle from Chris: Packham does Picasso's Dove as the 'Eagle of Peace' - 2025 As we mentioned in our last newsletter, we were recently in London for our (since postponed) hearing surrounding supplementary Badger cull licences. Whilst yet another delay was frustrating, we still made best use of our time... We have been bringing the festive cheer to our friends at Natural England and the NFU - some of the forces behind the 240,000 Badgers culled so far. You can watch a short teaser video of Chris, Ruth and Bob delivering them an early Christmas present - click here or on the photo below to watch it. That's it for now! We'll be in touch before the New Year with a round up of Wild Justice's 2025. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable festive break. Thank you, Wild Justice (CEO: Bob Elliot. Directors: Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 258th Wild Justice newsletter. This email was sent to you because you subscribed to it through the Wild Justice website or through an e-action or a petition where you ticked a box. Thank you. We will only use your personal details to send you the Wild Justice newsletter. We will not give or sell your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time: there is an unsubscribe button at the foot of this email or you can reply to this email and ask us to remove you from the list (the former will happen immediately, the latter might take a few days). 124, City Road London Greater London EC1V 2NX UNITED KINGDOM Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options

IT’S BOXING DAY — SO HELP THE FOXES SAY PROTECT THE WILD

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Help animals this Boxing Day! PROTECT THE WILD DEC 26 READ IN APP fox laying on snow Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash It's Boxing Day! And to celebrate we are offering a huge 20% OFF EVERYTHING across our shop until the end of 2025 There is so much to choose from! And every purchase helps us Protect the Wild! No code needed, just add what you want to your basket and the discount will be automatically applied :) We really do appreciate you choosing to shop with us over the festive period, every sale helps put us in the best spot possible to begin the new year. And we've got huge plans for 2026 to fight even harder against those who abuse animals for kicks, so we truly value every pound that you spend with us. Shop now Just some of our work ahead: Pushing through a proper ban on hunting and ensuring the public is equipped to respond to the public consultation in record numbers Fighting to completely end the Badger cull and expose the Badger blame game Producing 20 animations covering a whole range of issues affecting British wildlife Releasing the biggest undercover investigation into the bird shooting industry in British history Launching national campaigns to end bird netting and expose the realities of the pest control industry Challenging the Guga hunt up in Scotland through protest and days of action Continuing to pump out content challenging and exposing cruelty to animals SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

PLANTLIFE THE GLOBAL VOICE FOR PLANTA AND FUNGI

View this email in your browser Plantlife logo Dear John Thank you to everyone who has already supported our rainforest appeal. It's inspiring to see this growing movement of people helping save our magnificent rainforests. If you haven’t donated yet, there’s still time to help rescue the UK rainforests, and their vital species, from extinction. Donate here. Right here in the UK, we need our rainforests, and their plants and fungi, to store carbon, slow floodwaters and clean our polluted air - but they can’t do that if they’re left to go extinct. In 2022, UK woodlands removed 316,454 tonnes of pollutants from the atmosphere, saving over £1.7billion in avoided negative health impacts*. Temperate rainforests are an important part of this. Rainforests save our lives – and now they need us to save them. We desperately need to protect biodiverse sanctuaries like rainforests because they support all life on Earth. Thriving ecosystems clean the water we drink and the air we breathe – so when we damage biodiversity, we threaten life as we know it. Think of what would be possible if our rainforests were restored and expanded. Join the national movement of people saving our magnificent rainforests by donating today. Donate today From all of us at Plantlife we hope you have a restful and celebratory end to the year. Alistair Whyte Head of Plantlife Scotland Photo on the left is of a waterfall in a rainforest and photo on the right is of lichens covering a tree Images: Llyr Hughes References: *Woodland natural capital accounts, UK – Office for National Statistics Follow Plantlife on: Twitter Twitter Facebook Facebook Instagram Instagram YouTube YouTube LinkedIn LinkedIn Copyright © Plantlife All rights reserved. Plantlife International is a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered Charity in England and Wales (1059559) & Scotland, (SC038951) Registered Company in England and Wales (3166339) Registered Office: Brewery House,36 Milford Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 2AP, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1722 342730 enquiries@plantlife.org.uk www.plantlife.org.uk Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

LABOUR GOVERNMENT TO BAN THE SMOKESCREEN OF TRAIL HUNTING

View this email in your browser Hi, Supporter Labour To Ban The Smokescreen Of Trail Hunting Finally, over 20 years since the flawed Hunting Act was introduced, Labour has announced they will stop the charade of trail hunting. The ban is part of an Animal Welfare Strategy that is due to be published today and was a manifesto pledge of the Labour government. “Trail hunting” at the Beaufort just last week. Hunt sabs in the field realised within weeks of the passing of the original Hunting Act that trail hunting was simply a ruse to disguise traditional, illegal hunting. We spent the next fifteen years saving lives in the field and collecting a tsunami of evidence about the true nature of trail hunting. A tsunami of evidence: Coniston Foxhounds dig out a fox - November 2025. However, the decisive moment came in November 2020, when the HSA published leaked webinars from the Hunting Office in which leading figures from the hunting world tutored hunt masters in how to circumvent the law. Masters of Foxhounds Association Director, Mark Hankinson, described creating a smokescreen by pretending to lay a trail: “It’s a lot easier to create a smokescreen if you’ve got more than one trail layer operating and that is what it’s all about, trying to portray to the people watching that you’re going about legitimate business.” Mr Smokescreen himself. Ex-police inspector and Countryside Alliance Police Liaison Officer Phil Davies added: “Now you know more about hunting than the saboteurs or the courts will know but what it will do is create that smokescreen or that element of doubt that we haven’t deliberately hunted a fox, so if nothing else you need to record that and it will help us provide a defence to huntsmen.” Trail hunting is a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting. While Paul Jelley, leading hare hunter and another ex-police officer, suggested that hunts purchase burner phones for the purpose of concealing criminality: “So something for you hunt staff and terriermen, trail layers and everybody to consider, if you’re recording evidence for the Hunting Act, trail laying, whatever, don’t use the same phones or anything you’ve been using for social media and bragging about what you’ve been doing out hunting.” Following the publication of the webinars, trail hunting went into a death spiral: the Hunting Office itself collapsed, major land owners fell over themselves to ban trail hunting, and the Scottish government pre-emptively banned the practice before introducing its own revised Hunting Act. Today’s announcement is the culmination of that process. Environment minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock , who recently spoke at an HSA parliamentary event, commented: “In our manifesto we said we would ban trail hunting, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. There is evidence that trail hunting is being used as a smokescreen for the hunting of wild animals, and that’s not acceptable. We are working out the best approach to take the ban forward and will run a consultation to seek views in the new year.” Baroness Hayman addresses an HSA event in parliament. An HSA spokesperson commented: “We will anticipate a proper ban on trail hunting, which closes the loopholes in the current law and blows away the hunting smokescreen once and for all. We hope that the animal welfare reforms will not only contribute to the end of fox hunting, but also allow England to join Scotland and Wales in banning cruel snare traps. Hunt saboteurs have spent decades working in the fields, and more recently in parliament, to protect all animals harmed by hunting. Over the last twenty years we have learnt that hunters will stop at nothing to pursue their bloodlust - we therefore anticipate that there will be more work to do even when legislation has passed. This season has already seen wildlife chased and killed under the guise of ‘trail hunting’, a loophole that fails to prevent cruelty. A ban is long overdue to end the savage cruelty caused by hunting with hounds. We will wait to see the outcome of the consultation, but it is clear that far stronger measures are urgently needed to protect wildlife.” Join the Hunt Saboteurs Association! Support our vital work by becoming a member. Join The HSA Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Facebook icon Instagram icon Twitter icon Logo Copyright (C) 2025 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — TIME TO END THE BADGER BLAME GAME

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more It's time to end the Badger blame game for good ROB POWNALL DEC 21 READ IN APP This week, Protect the Wild has formally written to Angela Eagle MP, the Minister of State at Defra, calling for an end to the final badger cull and an end to the wider badger blame game once and for all. It matters. And it isn’t over yet. There has been progress. After years of denial, the Government has finally accepted something campaigners, scientists, and the public have been saying for a long time: badger culling has failed. The days of mass slaughter across England are coming to an end. But here’s the problem. More than 250,000 badgers have already been killed, and despite this, bovine TB has not been eradicated. New outbreaks continue to appear. In some cases, the disease has spread into so-called Low Risk Areas through the movement of infected cattle. And yet, badgers are still being targeted. The final badger cull is happening right now The last badger cull in England is set to take place in Cumbria (Area 73). This cull is being allowed to continue even though: TB levels in badgers in the area are low There is no clear evidence that badgers pose a meaningful ongoing risk to cattle The policy was never designed in a way that allows its effectiveness to be properly measured Rising cattle TB cases are linked to cattle movements, not wildlife In other words, this final cull isn’t about protecting cattle. It’s about defending a failed policy. Killing badgers didn’t work. Vaccinating them won’t fix it. The Government now says that badger vaccination will replace culling. But badger vaccination is being used as a political sticking plaster, not a science-led solution. There is no solid evidence that vaccinating badgers reduces TB in cattle. What it does do is keep wildlife in the frame and delay the hard work of fixing cattle-based disease controls. Bovine TB is a cattle disease. Its persistence is driven by: Known testing failures The movement of infected cattle Intensive farming practices and biosecurity gaps Blaming wildlife doesn’t fix any of that. Sign the petition Progress is welcome. But it’s not enough. Yes, we are closer than we’ve ever been to ending badger culling. But “nearly over” is not over. Allowing the final cull in Cumbria to continue, and replacing killing with badger vaccination, keeps the same flawed thinking alive. It sends the message that wildlife must still pay the price for policy failure. That is not acceptable. We’ve written to the Minister. Now we’re asking you to act. Our letter to the Defra minister sets out clearly why: The final Cumbria cull should be stopped immediately Badger culling must end permanently Badger vaccination should not be used as a substitute TB policy must finally focus on cattle, not wildlife Alongside that letter, we have launched a new public petition: End the Badger Blame Game Stop the final badger cull. End badger culling and badger vaccination for good. This petition is about drawing a line under more than a decade of cruelty, denial, and distraction. Badgers are not the enemy. They never were. If you believe it’s time to stop scapegoating wildlife and demand a science-led, humane approach to bovine TB, please sign and share the petition today. The closer we get to the end, the more important it is that we don’t let this moment slip. Sign the petition Help protect Badgers for good We’re funded entirely by kind people like yourself. We don’t have major donors or govt backing and so that’s why over the coming weeks you’ll see us doing all that we can to push our 2026 Wildlife Calendar. It’s just such a great way for us to raise funds and you get an awesome calendar in return! :) Packed with beautiful wildlife photos taken by our incredible supporters, like this one by Graham Brace for the month of September! Protect the Wild 2026 Calendar SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM THE ROAMERS - WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO WALK OUR RIVERS

Can't see this message? View in browser   The Right to Roam Christmas Film: Wild Service on the River Roding Dear Roamers, The Right to Roam Christmas film is launched! Recap of 2025 Right to Roam awarded TGO Campaign of the Year First Kendal group meeting A huge thanks to all of you who have followed and supported the campaign through 2025. It has been, as the cliché goes, ‘a year of highs and lows’, with a major victory at the Supreme Court, yet more shuffling of government ministers (annoying!), and further attempts by major landowners to chip away at the limited access we already have. With your help we’ve been fighting back and pushing forward. We end the year with a firm commitment from the government to introduce a Green Paper, which will explore expanding statutory rights of access (the first step on the road to new legislation), a bigger and more vibrant local group network than ever, and lots of exciting stuff already lined up for 2026. It’s going to be a big year. More on that in January. But for now: a treat – our first Christmas film! NEW FILM: WILD SERVICE ON THE RIVER RODING Many of you will know that last year the campaign published a book called WILD SERVICE: Why Nature Needs You (available at all good independent bookshops etc), highlighting stories showing how access can lead to guardianship of the natural world. One of those stories featured a community project on the Roding, a neglected river in east London which, in 2017, was squatted by the environmental barrister (and Right to Roam’s sometime legal adviser!) Paul Powlesland, as part of a plan to live among the reeds and defend the river’s rights. We felt this story captured everything about the spirit of guerrilla guardianship that we believe Wild Service represents. So, we teamed up with Paul and the now established River Roding Trust for a weekend of community connection and care. Filmmaker Connor Newson (lavandafilms.co.uk) came along for the journey and kindly put together this beautiful film: Wild Service on the River Roding. Watch on our YouTube channel HERE. CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR This week we were delighted to hear the readers of The Great Outdoors Magazine had voted us as their Campaign of the Year! We don’t do it for the awards but still, it’s nice to be recognised. It’s also a recognition of the thousands of YOU – writing to your MPs, attending trespasses and protests, signing petitions, donating to the campaign, sharing stories and helping flower a new countryside in countless hopeful ways. NEW KENDAL GROUP As mentioned, our local group network is growing from strength to strength (all power to Nadia, who is doing a heroic job holding it all together in the limited hours we can afford!) and we’re excited to say a new group in Kendal is forming. The first meeting will be held on Sunday 18th January 6pm at Fell Bar in Kendal. ------------------------------------------------ We’ll be back in touch in the new year, until then, enjoy the film and a merry Christmas from all of us at Right to Roam. Jon, on behalf of the Right to Roam team ------------------------------------------------ We’ve been campaigning for bold new access legislation for five years, and with the help of the generous support of a few hundred subscribers - each donating around £5-£10 a month - we’ve been mostly able to remain untethered to the demands of grant funding and fundraising. If you feel you could become one of our monthly supporters to keep us agile and focused, please head over to our website: www.righttoroam.org.uk/donate For the latest campaign updates, follow us on Instagram & Bluesky To get involved with campaign action, check out our website here. Want to become a Right to Roam supporter? Head here. Take Action Visit our social accounts Check out our site   This email was sent from this site. If you no longer wish to receive this email, change your email preferences here.