PROTECT THE WILD STEALS THE NEWS IN MAKERFIELD ALONGSIDE ANDY BURNHAM

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Millions saw our message: PROTECT BRITISH WILDLIFE JUN 19 READ IN APP In the early hours of this morning, I found myself standing on a stage beside Andy Burnham, one of the most influential politicians in Britain and a man many believe could one day become Prime Minister. Millions of people watching national television coverage saw one clear message: Protect British Wildlife. There was no escaping it. I stood as a candidate in the Makerfield by-election for one reason: to force British wildlife into a political conversation that too often ignores it. While the broadcasters l cut away from my impromptu speech (watch below), they could not avoid the message itself. Standing directly beside the winning candidate, with cameras broadcasting across the country, I was able to put the plight of British wildlife front and centre. And that matters. Because despite promises of change, wildlife continue to be pushed to the bottom of the political agenda. A Government Failing Wildlife The current Government came into office promising a better future for animals. Yet since taking power, we have seen a series of deeply disappointing reversals. Plans to ban trophy hunting imports have been abandoned. Promised action on foie gras imports has disappeared. Badger culling continued for two years and despite now having ended there, the Govt has still not ruled out the possibility of it coming back. Meanwhile, wildlife protections continue to be weakened in favour of development, and species across Britain remain in decline. Now the Government has just finished consulting on the future of hunting. That is welcome. But consultation alone is not enough. There is still no clear commitment to removing all of the loopholes and exemptions in the 2004 Hunting Act that allow hunts to continue operating. There is still no timetable for legislation. And there remains genuine concern that reforms could fall short of what animals desperately need. Taking the Message Directly to Andy Burnham Before the count, I had the opportunity to speak directly with Andy Burnham. I told him plainly that his party has failed British wildlife. I explained that since coming into power, the Government has U-turned on key animal protection promises while making life easier for developers and harder for wildlife. I urged him that if he is serious about becoming Prime Minister in the future, he must show leadership on issues that matter to millions of people who care about animals. That means finally ending fox hunting for good. It means committing to a complete end to the badger cull. And it means recognising that British wildlife cannot continue to be treated as an afterthought. Interestingly, when I asked for a photograph with Andy before the results were declared while holding a sign reading “Protect British Wildlife”, his team declined the request. Perhaps not the most encouraging start for a politician with national ambitions. To his credit, Andy listened to what I had to say. And he pointed out that he had voted to ban fox hunting during his time as an MP, and said he heard my concerns and appreciated me raising them. Fortunately, once the results were announced, there was no avoiding the message. Standing directly beside Andy on the stage, with cameras and photographers capturing the moment from every angle, the words “Protect British Wildlife” were broadcast and photographed nationwide. We won’t stop fighting. Thank you for your incredible support as always, onwards and upwards! Donate to Protect the Wild SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH - SUPPORT THEM

View in browser Dear John, Since my email last week, over 30,000 of you have signed our petition calling on the UK government to stop its needless attacks on nature. Now, with Andy Burnham’s election win in Makerfield, the potential Labour leadership race is heating up — so this is our moment to demand a change of direction and an end to the bat-bashing. Let’s push for a future where wildlife thrives and ecosystems recover. Future generations are counting on us. I'LL SIGN THE PETITION I’ve pasted my original email below for more info. Best wishes, Sienna Dear John, UK food production could one day collapse because of biodiversity loss, according to the Joint Intelligence Committee [1]. Put simply, without thriving wildlife and ecosystems, worldwide and at home, the UK won’t be able to feed itself. And yet the UK government continues to blame the environmental protections we all rely on for the country’s economic woes. But with a Labour leadership battle on the horizon, now is the time to demand an end to the government’s needless attacks on nature. I'LL SIGN THE PETITION From the loss of pollinators like bees and butterflies, to the dangers of depleted soils, drought and floods, the Joint Intelligence Committee pinpointed biodiversity loss as one of the biggest threats to domestic food production. It should be obvious – strong ecosystems and biodiversity make the UK more resilient. So why does the government pretend nature is a threat to development [2]? It’s the exact opposite. Research shows that protecting nature is even a vote winner. So with turmoil at the top of government, now’s the time to tell politicians to change course. And turn things around for the sake of future generations. I'LL SIGN THE PETITION Thriving nature means a thriving UK. Let’s make it happen. Sienna, Campaigner, Friends of the Earth NOTES: [1] Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, Gov.uk. [2] Government rolls back nature protections to boost housing, BBC News. About us Supporter promise Privacy policy Contact us DONATE This email was sent to spanishjohnedwards@gmail.com Want to change how you receive these emails? Unsubscribe from this list We send communications to our supporters who have opted in to receive emails from us. Friends of the Earth Limited. Reg. No. 01012357. Incorporated in England and Wales. Registered office: Friends of the Earth The Printworks 139 Clapham Road London, SW9 0HP United Kingdom Copyright © Friends of the Earth Limited

PROTECT THE WILD - LABOUR MP DEFENDS THE GUGA HUNT BUT GETS HIS FACTS WRONG - FUNNY BUT SAD

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Labour MP Loses his Temper at Guga Hunt Protestors He accused us of “attention-seeking” “virtue-signalling” behaviour and of having a “saviour-complex” DEVON DOCHERTY JUN 18 READ IN APP We appear to have pissed off a Labour MP. Allow us to explain why we're not sorry. Torcuil Crichton, Labour MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (the Western Isles in Scotland), accused us and other anti-Guga hunt campaigners of “attention-seeking” “virtue-signalling” behaviour and of having a “saviour-complex” for trying to stop the annual killing of Gannet chicks by hunters in his constituency. END THE GUGA HUNT It seems Mr Crichton simply could not accept that there are people in the world who have a problem with 10 men sailing to a protected native seabird colony, bashing Gannet chicks to death in front of their parents, and selling the carcasses for a profit. Torcuil released a new public statement, where he said the campaign to end the Guga hunt was “fuelled by a lack of real purpose in life”. He even went on to insult our infamous Gannet suit: ”The ‘Goo-ga’ campaign does fall into the virtue-signalling camp of activism and to prove their commitment someone undertook a sweat-drenched election campaign in a penguin suit (he didn’t look anything like a gannet) and was willing to put others at risk by climbing onto the roof of a public building.” We suggest Mr Crichton might want to take a trip to Specsavers if he thought our tailor-made Gannet costume was a penguin. Unfortunately, a man so busy looking down his nose at wildlife campaigners appears to have lost sight of the people he was elected to represent - many of whom oppose the Guga hunt, but are afraid to speak out because of exactly the kind of dismissive, belittling rhetoric his statement exemplifies. We have personally been in touch with people from the Islands who vehemently disagree with the hunt, but fear ostracisation from the community if they speak out. And when their elected MP is publicly mocking and ridiculing those who oppose the hunt, is it any wonder? Mr Crichton’s statement also suggests he may have confused our founder, Rob, standing as a giant Gannet in the Scottish Parliament election with the activist who climbed onto the roof of NatureScot’s offices in a direct action protest. The latter was an action carried out by a completely separate campaign group, Abolish the Guga Hunt. For someone so keen to lecture others on the issue, Torcuil seems surprisingly unfamiliar with even the most basic facts. Then again, this is the same man who mistook a Gannet for a penguin. He went on to defend the hunt by saying: “The guga harvest is an essential part of the history, culture and identity of Ness. It is conducted with due reverence to sustainability and importantly to what it means to the continuation of the living tradition of the islands.” Tradition, culture, identity…these are the exact same arguments Labour rightly rejected when they banned fox hunting. And now they claim Labour is “the only party that can be trusted on animal welfare”. I don’t think that claim can accommodate a practice that even the SSPCA opposes on welfare grounds. So Mr Crichton would be wise to look at the history and stated values of his own party. He is right about one thing though - the Guga hunt is part of the history of Ness. But that is exactly where it should stay, because the mass slaughter of native wildlife clearly has no place in Scotland’s future. No amount of huffing, puffing or parliamentary pearl-clutching will change that. If Torcuil's tirade tells us anything, it's that this campaign is getting noticed. And if that worries him, wait until he sees how many more people sign the petition after we send this email. Button below. DO US PROUD! SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

STOWE BEAGLES - THEY MUST BE ON THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM AT PRIVATE SCHOOL

View this email in your browser Hi, Supporter Sick Private School Hunt Guilty of Killing Hare The huntsman of a boarding school beagle pack pleaded guilty to illegal hunting last week, after shocking drone footage caught them killing a hare and then congratulating each other. Philip Kennedy shakes hands to congratulate another hunt member - believed to be a school boy - as they stand over the scene of the kill Phillip Kennedy, 48, kennel huntsman of the Stowe Beagles - the hunt of the prestigious Buckinghamshire private school of the same name - pleaded guilty to the illegal hunting of a wild mammal with dogs contrary to the Hunting Act 2005 at Northampton Magistrates Court on Thursday 4th June. Drone footage of the incident shows a hare being chased by the pack across a field, as hunt members watch on, before the hare is caught and killed by beagles on a fence line. The hare is pursued across a field by the pack of beagles before being caught and killed on a fence line. Hunt members can be seen watching the chase from the field side Within moments of the kill, three hunt members - some believed to be schoolboys - reach the scene and immediately shake hands to congratulate each other. Shortly afterwards, more hunt members arrive and the celebrations are repeated as the pack of beagles ‘break up’ the killed hare. The incident happened on land belonging to Crockwell Farm, a wedding venue and B&B near Eydon in Northamptonshire, on 13th November 2025 after the hunt met there. Philip Kennedy and other hunt members again congratulate each other with celebratory hand shakes as the pack pull apart the killed hare Kennedy, listed on the Stowe School’s website with the ‘Stowe Beagles’ position in the ‘Games Department,’ was fined a pathetic £258, with a victim surcharge of £103 and CPS costs of £585. Stowe is one of a number of exclusive schools and colleges that has its own pack of beagles, offering hunting as part of their extra curricular activities. Students take on active positions in the hunt such as hunting hounds, whipping-in or taking positions on the hunt mastership. A Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson said, “Once again, we have another court case and more footage shining a light on the illegal activities of hunts today, this time a hare killing beagle pack." “The sick celebrations of these hunters lay bare their intent. But what makes this case even more shocking is the fact that school children were not only present and participating, but that the illegal activity was organised and facilitated by their school!” “This isn’t just an illegal hunting and animal cruelty issue - it’s a safeguarding issue.” “We need to see urgent action by the Government, bringing forward a real ban on hunting with hounds, and for school hunts such as the Stowe Beagles to be shut down with immediate effect.” Over the last twenty years, the hunters have proved themselves to be absolutely determined to carry on hunting. To stop them we need a ban on trail hunting - together with our other recommendations - to produce a watertight ban that even the extremist hunters cannot overcome. You can complete the trail hunting consultation here Complete the Trail Hunting Consultation 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) 2026 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

THE SHOOTING INDUSTRY DOES NOT WANT US TO KNOW ABOUT THIS - BEAK GUARDS ARE NOT NATURAL

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more The shooting industry doesn't want you to see this PROTECT THE WILD JUN 9 READ IN APP Many of our readers have been in touch to ask about the strange plastic devices visible on the beaks of birds in some of the images we’ve used with previous articles. Many of us won’t have seen these things before, but what you are seeing are called beak guards — or “bits” — and in the next few articles we will explain why they are used and how they are fitted. We think you will be shocked. We were. Beak guards, also known as “bits,” are small plastic devices clipped through a bird’s nostrils to prevent the beak from closing fully. Plastic spectacles - rigid plastic blinders fitted over a male pheasant’s eyes to block his forward vision - are sometimes used alongside them: if they cannot see another pheasant directly in front of them, the thinking of the farm operator goes, they are significantly less likely to attack or chase each other. Become a Game Changer Become a Game Changer Neither the poultry nor the shooting industry promotes these devices as standard husbandry. Quite the opposite. Industry guidance is explicit: beak guards and bits are temporary management aids, to be used only as a last resort when all other interventions have failed. In fact, guidance makes clear that they should never be the default response to aggression. Environmental changes - more space, improved lighting, better enrichment, reduced stocking density - must be attempted first. This is the exact quote from the government’s ‘Code of practice for the welfare of gamebirds reared for sporting purposes’ (the highlighting is ours): 5.1 The use of management devices or practices that do not allow birds to fully express their range of normal behaviours should not be considered as routine and keepers should work towards the ideal of management systems that do not require these devices. Such devices and practices include mutilations such as beak trimming, procedures to prevent or limit flight such as brailing (placing a band on a wing to prevent extension of the wing), trimming of non-sensitive flight feathers and the use of bits, spectacles and hoods to prevent feather pecking, egg eating or aggression. “Should not be considered as routine.” Heart of England, the pheasant and partridge breeding farm where an undercover investigator worked for a month, did not treat bits as a last resort. Our investigators found that fitting them WAS entirely routine. At Heart of England, bird after bird was fitted with a plastic beak guard. Not some birds. Not birds showing extreme aggression. Almost all of them. Even sick birds. Even hen pheasants nearly blind with Mycoplasma. Can you imagine the suffering of the birds in the images below? The ‘life’ these poor birds were ‘living’. No, we can’t either… Become a Game Changer Regardless of whether individual animals had shown any aggressive behaviour at all, they were fitted with guards. This is not a welfare intervention. This is a production system that has accepted - and planned for - a level of animal suffering so routine that mutilating every bird’s face has simply become part of the process. It also tells us that the people running this farm knew, or should have known, that their conditions were causing birds to attack one another. Aggression, feather pecking, even cannibalism - the behaviours that bits are designed to suppress - do not emerge in well-managed, low-stress environments. They are the product of confinement, overcrowding, boredom and fear. These are stress responses. They are what happens when social animals with strong instincts to roam, forage, dustbathe and escape are denied all of those things. When ‘enrichment’ is a wooden board, and birds are stacked on top of each other in ‘colony cages’. It tells you everything you need to know about what life is like inside facilities like these - and why birds like pheasants have no place in a cage. Rather than address those root causes, Heart of England reached for the plastic clip. It is a revealing choice. The farm’s answer to the problem of birds living in conditions that drive them to harm one another was not to change the conditions. It was to change the birds. To physically prevent them from acting on impulses that their environment was producing in the first place. This is the logic of the factory farm. When animals behave like animals, don’t fix the system: fix the animal. How typical of an industry that complacently congratulates itself on its ‘welfare standards’ while cramming birds in bare cages for months then selling them to shoots for hobbyists to blow out of the air. The implications go far beyond one farm, though. Pheasants are not domesticated animals. They are legally classified as wild birds in the UK, and the industry that breeds them commercially trades heavily on that identity. These are “wild” birds, we are told, released to live freely and naturally. But the image of the wild pheasant sits in sharp contradiction with the reality of a shed full of birds with plastic clips on their faces, unable to peck, unable to behave normally, trapped in conditions so inadequate that without physical restraint they would tear each other apart. There is no humane version of this system. The need for universal bitting is not a management failure at Heart of England specifically - it is proof of a structural impossibility. Pheasants are wild birds. Cage them in large numbers, deny them the space and stimulation their nature demands, and conflict is not a risk to be managed. It is a certainty. The bit is not the solution to that problem. It is the admission that the problem cannot be solved. In our next article, we will show you what the fitting of these devices actually looks like. Birds grabbed, held upside down in ‘bunches’, carried to a table or upturned crates full of scared pheasants, and pinned down while a plastic clip is forced through their nostrils. You can see the terror in their eyes. The footage is difficult to watch. You may want to look away. We are asking you not to. We are asking you to stay with it, to witness what these birds - and millions like them in breeding farms across the country - endured every single day without choice, without relief, and without anyone to speak for them - until now. The birds couldn’t turn away. Neither should we. Images and video recorded by our undercover investigator at Heart of England in 2025. We are working to END BIRD SHOOTING. This suffering has to stop. Please share this article. Share our socials. Follow us for updates. End Bird Shooting Over the coming months our campaign will look at the shooting industry at every level. We will highlight the suppliers — the farms, hatcheries, importers and breeders producing tens of millions of birds under conditions that would provoke public outcry if applied to any other animal. We will expose the providers — the estates and syndicates that take those factory-farmed birds and sell the experience of killing them as leisure. And we will look at the clients — the paying guns who are fully aware of the wildlife crime, the trapping of native predators, and the mass suffering involved, and who have decided that none of it is reason enough to stay away. This industry survives because suppliers supply, providers provide, and clients pay. We intend to examine them all. We are working to END BIRD SHOOTING. This suffering has to stop. Please share this article. Share our socials. Follow us for updates. Join the movement. Become a Game Changer. We are at the beginning of something. Months of undercover work. Hundreds of hours of footage. Farms across the UK exposed. And we are only just getting started. But investigations alone do not end industries. People do. We are asking you to become a Game Changer. To stand with us as we take this fight forward, week by week, piece by piece, until the public, the media and the politicians can no longer look away. The first 500 people to sign up will receive a limited edition pin badge. This is the beginning. Be part of it. Become a Game Changer SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR CONSULTATION TO BAN TRAIL HUNTING SAY PROTECT THE WILD

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more This is your LAST CHANCE to fill in the consultation to ban trail hunting ELIZA EGRET JUN 17 READ IN APP The government’s public consultation on plans to ban trail hunting closes tomorrow! This is a rare opportunity to push for real change: not tweaks, not loopholes, but a clear, enforceable ban on hunting with hounds. We’ve reviewed the consultation in detail and set out how we recommend supporters respond. Click on the button below and send your personal response directly to Defra in under 30 seconds. Respond to Defra Trail hunting is a practice widely used as a cover for illegal fox hunting and the killing of other mammals. It’s been more than two decades since the Hunting Act came into force, and the majority of hunts have largely ignored the law, continuing to hunt wildlife as before. On the rare occasions police have investigated, hunts have claimed to be following a pre-laid scent trail, known as trail hunting, and that any kills were purely accidental. Labour has promised to finally close the loopholes that allow trail hunting to mask as a legal sport. This is the party’s chance to consign the hunting of wildlife to the history books. The hunting lobby will undoubtedly be doing everything in its power to influence Labour and carve out loopholes, allowing them to terrorise and kill wildlife with impunity. So we need to make our voices loudly heard for the animals that can't speak for themselves. Fill in the government consultation now. Every response counts. Respond to Defra SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM PROTECT THE WILD - STOP BIRD SHOOTING - BUY THEIR BADGES

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Support the fight to end bird shooting! PROTECT THE WILD JUN 14 READ IN APP We’re so excited to release these limited-edition End Bird Shooting pin badges, designed by the brilliant Ben Sinclair from Fire Lily Studio. Every badge helps fund our campaign to expose and end the bird shooting industry. If you’ve been following our recent investigations and articles, you’ll know we’re only just getting started. Buy a Pin Badge We’re building something much bigger: more investigations, more exposés, more people speaking out, and a growing movement determined to end the mass breeding and killing of birds for sport. There are only 500 badges available and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Get yours, wear it proudly, and help us build the movement. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing