PROTECT THE WILD — OUR NATURAL SPACES — AND VINNIE JONES

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Petition to stop Vinnie Jones' shooting lodge in National Park National Parks Are for Wildlife and for Everyone — Not for Shooters and Shooting Lodges PROTECT THE WILD DEC 2 READ IN APP Actor Vinnie Jones - recently seen cosplaying as a gamekeeper in the Netflix series “The Gentlemen“ and cosplaying a rugged country landowner in the reality show “Vinnie Jones in the Country” - has submitted a planning application to turn redundant farm buildings at Blackwool Farm, Ebernoe (SDNP/25/01964/FUL) into seven private “bespoke accommodation units” for guests taking part in countryside “sporting activities” - a euphemism for shooting non-native, factory-farmed pheasants and partridges out of sky. If approved, this development would carve off a section of the South Downs National Park, a vital area of protected countryside in Southern England that features rolling chalk hills, ancient woodlands, river valleys, and dramatic coastal cliffs, and hand it over for the exclusive use of paying shooters. This is not rural regeneration. This is not community benefit. This is the commercialisation of a protected landscape for the sake of bloodsport. The development must be stopped. Sign the petition National Parks exist to protect nature, not enable its destruction Officially designated in 2010, the South Downs is the newest national park in the UK. The campaign for its creation began in the 1920s due to concerns over development and was driven by public interest groups and a growing movement to protect Britain’s countryside for the benefit of the entire nation. It was created to conserve wildlife, preserve landscapes, and provide space for the public to enjoy nature. These priorities aren’t optional. They are legal duties under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act. Turning farm buildings into luxury lodges to facilitate shooting parties directly contradicts the purposes the National Park was created for. Which however you look at it is not a ‘sporting activity’ at all’… Sign the petition Wildlife in the South Downs is already under pressure Wildlife in the South Downs National Park is already under considerable pressure from climate change, habitat loss from intensive arable farming, and declining water and air quality. Ebernoe, where Mr Jones wants to bring his shooting clients, is renowned for its bats, ancient woodlands, nightingales, dormice, and diverse insect life. Ebernoe Common, a National Nature Reserve and Special Area of Conservation managed by Sussex Wildlife Trust, is right next to the proposed ‘shooting lodge’. How can that possibly be allowed? Developing a new hub for shooting on the edge of a nature reserve means: Increased disturbance from gunfire. More traffic, more noise, more pollution. More land management geared towards killing non-native pheasants rather than protecting natural biodiversity. National Parks should be held in trust for everyone. They should not be playgrounds for those who can afford guns and “private bespoke accommodation”. A shooting lodge serves a tiny, wealthy minority — while the costs to wildlife, the landscape, and local residents are shared by all. Our National Parks should restore and rewild, not become venues for hobbyists with guns. Sign the petition The Planning Authority Must Reject SDNP/25/01964/FUL On its website, the South Downs National Park Authority says the diverse habitat of the South Downs “supports birds, plants, reptiles, amphibians, fish and small mammals, as well as our brilliant pollinators”. It talks about “renaturing”, boasts of a “Triumph for nature as we smash our Trees for the Downs target”, and the “rare and unexpected species” that calls the Park ‘home’. It says that the Downs are “too much for one pair of eyes, enough to float a whole population in happiness”. NONE of this is compatible with the industrialised shooting industry, with the ‘predator control’ it insists on, and the slaughter it practices. Britain is one of the most bioversity-depleted nations on the entire planet. The south of England is already littered with shoots. We simply cannot allow yet another ‘national park’ to become like the North York Moors, the Peak District, and the Yorkshire Dales - dominated by shoots disguised as “diversification”. Speak Up Now: Sign our petition and oppose the Ebernow development If like us you believe that our national parks should prioritise wildlife, public access, and peace over the blasts of shotguns, then your voice is urgently needed. What you can do: Sign our petition Submit an objection on the South Downs National Park planning portal Share this information widely — many people still don’t know this is happening Write to your councillors and MP urging them to oppose the development This planning application is not a done deal. Public pressure works as we have proved many times. The National Park Authority must hear loud and clear that this is not what people want for the South Downs. The South Downs should be for wildlife. For walkers. For families. For nature lovers. NOT for hobbyist shooters cosplaying as ‘country gentlemen’. Support Protect the Wild with a small monthly donation We’re flying this month. 19 new Protect the Wild supporters in the first 48 hours. That’s how a real people powered movement grows. We only ask for a few pounds a month, because our strength is thousands of people chipping in tiny amounts. Together, that becomes unstoppable. No big funders, no hidden backers, just ordinary people making vital work possible. We do everything we legally can to fight for British wildlife. Undercover investigations, hard hitting animations, fearless journalism, detailed reports, equipment and mental health support for activists, protests, and pressure campaigning that holds the powerful to account. Our target is 100 new monthly supporters. We’re on 19. Can you help us hit it? 💚 Support Protect the Wild SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing