PETITION TO BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING REQUEST FROM LEGAL JUSTICE

Good morning! Today our petition to ban driven grouse shooting reaches two months of life - four more months to go until the petition closes on 22 May. Today's newsletter is all about our campaign. We've produced four blogs to keep you up to date and to introduce the subject of driven grouse shooting to new audiences. What driven grouse shooting is - and why we want it banned: stop someone in the street today and ask them about driven grouse shooting and they probably won't know that it is a niche hobby for rich people which causes environmental damage and is underpinned by wildlife crime - read this blog for a simple introduction to the issues - click here. Our petition is flying: after two of the six months allocated to these petitions we are close to half way to the 100,000 signatures needed to generate a parliamentary debate (we have passed 47,000 signatures already). Of the 620 live petitions (on subjects from taxation to abortion, and immigration to children's access to social media) our petition is the 11th most signed and the top environmental petition on the list. This issue energises the public and they want to see change - read this blog to see the spread of signatures across the UK from Shetland to Land's End and from East Anglia to Northern Ireland - click here. Why doesn't the RSPB actively support this petition?: we're in discussion with the RSPB and it's best that they explain their position to you, particularly if you are an RSPB member. The RSPB has produced an excellent video explaining the range of problems with driven grouse shooting - they think it makes the case for licensing, we think it makes the case for a ban of this industry which is 'out of control' - watch the video and find out how to contact the RSPB on this subject - click here. The recent government response to our petition: we were waiting for weeks after our petition passed 10,000 signatures for the Westminster government response and it was simply dreadful. Frankly, the response was disrespectful to the 47,000 people who have signed this petition and looks very much like the responses from Conservative governments in the past decade or more. This government promised change - and yet it seems as though it is in thrall to the toffs of the grouse shooting industry. That impression is strengthened by the inclusion of a statement about heather moorland extent that is regularly trotted out by the shooting industry - and here we find government using just the same falsehood. Wild Justice has written to the Petitions Committee pointing out this gross error and asking the Committee to require Defra to correct it. Read our letter - click here. Of course, the best response to the government is to get this petition over the line of 100,000 signatures and ensure a parliamentary debate on this subject. We'll be bringing you more news as the petition progresses but that’s it for now! We won't get to 100,000 signatures without your support so please spread the word. Thank you. Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 222nd 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). 9 Lawson St Raunds Wellingborough Northants NN9 6NG UNITED KINGDOM Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options