OKAY YOU RIGHT TO ROAMERS—YOUR NEWS FROM THE SUMMER OF CLEAN UPS & POSSIBLE TRESPASS

Summer Round-up What we’ve been up to this summer, what’s coming this autumn, and a final call for print orders Dear Roamers, Autumn is beginning to make itself known. Stepping out for my morning walk, I noticed that the branches once laden with blackberries have been picked bare by purple-stained fingers, paws and beaks. It’s been a busy summer of swims, trespasses, investigations, festivals and acts of Wild Service. So, before we head into autumn, here’s a look at where we’ve been, and where we’re going. A summer of swimming During some of the hottest days of the year, many of us did the most natural thing imaginable: went looking for water. But across England and Wales, swimmers and paddlers continue to encounter fences, warning signs and threats of trespass. So this summer we set out to understand just how difficult it is to reach our rivers. Our investigation of 89 English river catchments found that 71% of riverbanks have no access land or public right of way on either bank within 100 metres of the water. The findings put numbers behind something swimmers, paddlers and walkers have known for years: we are a country full of rivers that most people have remarkably little right to reach. As our summers get hotter, access to cool water and shade matters more. We can manage genuine risks without shutting people out. Other countries do. Access, safety and care for nature are not opposites. A weekend in Makerfield Earlier this month we took the campaign to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s own constituency. Despite large areas of Makerfield being Green Belt countryside, there is a right to roam over just 1% of the constituency. We started at the Wigan Diggers’ Festival, spending the day talking with hundreds of people about access to nature and hearing local stories. Among people gathered to celebrate Gerard Winstanley’s belief in the Earth as a “common treasury for all”, we felt very much at home. The following day we put on our boots for the Makerfield Mass Trespass. When we arrived, new fencing had been erected across our intended route through the Winstanley Estate, with police and security waiting nearby. After a friendly conversation with the officers, we were able to continue, albeit not quite as planned. So we did what we do best: we roamed. We found another route, picked up litter and talked about the landscape and access, before finding an unfenced way through and settling down for a picnic on the grass. There was something wonderfully absurd about eating sandwiches while police and security watched from a distance. We caused no damage and left the land in better condition than we found it. You can watch the BBC report of the trespass below. Or read about it here. The wild service workshop At Platt Fields Market Garden in Manchester, we brought together people already doing brilliant things for nature and others with the first seeds of an idea they wanted to grow. Through practical workshops, shared knowledge and plenty of conversation, we explored how to turn our love of nature into action and give something back to the places that give us so much. It was a reminder of something at the heart of our campaign: access and care go hand in hand. People protect the places they know. Trespasses, trails and tidy-ups Our local groups have been busy too. South Devon took to the water on the River Erme and at the Marristow Estate; Dorset cleared a blocked Right of Way on Deadmoor Common; Leicestershire held a swim trespass and picnic; and West Yorkshire joined Trash Free Trails to give the Yorkshire Three Peaks a post-summer spruce. From clearing paths and picking litter to swimming and trespassing, local groups have been putting responsible access into practice in their own patches. New groups are springing up too. Take a look at our website to find, or start, one near you. trailer teaser story visual trailer teaser story visual Final call for this batch of Nick Hayes prints Funding is tight right now. That’s one of the reasons we launched our print shop, featuring artwork by Right to Roam co-founder Nick Hayes. Every penny raised goes back into our investigations, actions, local groups, workshops and campaigning. Our first collection helped fund our work over the summer. Our current collection closes for pre-orders on 30th September and we’re still short of our fundraising target. So if you value what we’ve been doing and want to help us keep doing it, this is a very direct way to support us. And you get to take something beautiful home in return. Newsletter subscribers can also get a free postcard and bookmark set featuring our campaign artwork. Add your chosen print and the gift set to your basket and enter ROAMFREE at checkout. Final orders close on 30th September. If you can help with one final push by ordering a print or sharing the shop, we’d be enormously grateful. Coming up this autumn There’s plenty stirring this autumn. A few dates for your diary: ROAM: Animations Inspired by our Right to Roam - Bimingham, 5th October, 7-8pm Sarah Silverwood, Edd Carr and Grace Lee have created three short films inspired by Right to Roam. Join Animate Projects and Grand Union for a free screening and conversation with Sarah, Edd and Right to Roam’s Jon Moses. Book your free place here. Love Your River - York, 18th October Join Amy-Jane Beer and friends for a day celebrating Yorkshire’s rivers, including a ceremonial mixing of waters and procession through York, followed in the evening by words, music and poetry at the Love Your River Bardic Session. Reserve your free spot here. Summit Wrong?! - 24th October Our North West group will attempt to reach several fenced-off Peak District summits while exploring the life and legacy of pioneering access campaigner Ethel Haythornthwaite. Time and meeting place to come so keep an eye on our channels to stay up to date. South Devon Coming up: a river trespass on 18th October, costume and banner making on 15th November, Wintertide Festival on 21st November, and a solstice sunrise on 20th December. There’s plenty more in the works, so keep an eye on our website and local group channels as we roam our way into winter. Thank you to everyone who swam, walked, trespassed, volunteered, researched, picked litter, came to an event or supported us this summer. See you out there. Jess, on behalf of the Right to Roam team x Can you help keep us roaming? The right to roam campaign is kept afloat by small donations from a few hundred monthly supporters. We are grateful for every single one of you. It’s what keeps the work going, but if we want to scale what’s needed, we need to grow that base. We currently have a target of 1,000 subscribers in order to make the campaign sustainable for the next year. Can you help? £5 / Month £10 / Month £15 / Month £20 / Month As an extra bonus for supporters, those who choose to become monthly paid supporters of the campaign will automatically enter into our ongoing art print giveaway as a thank you for helping sustain the movement long term. Visit our social accounts RIGHTTOROAM.ORG.UK This email was sent from this site. 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FROM PROTECT THE WILD—DEFRA WANT UNDERCOVER FOOTAGE

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more The Government wants our undercover bird shooting footage PROTECT THE WILD SEP 25 READ IN APP For almost a year, we’ve been working undercover to expose what happens inside the bird shooting industry. We’ve documented intensive breeding, suffering, and birds being treated as disposable products. Now DEFRA is examining the industry and has written directly to Protect the Wild asking for our evidence. We have rather a lot to send them! That’s just one of the stories in the first episode of our new weekly recap, which you can watch below :) I’d love you to give it a watch and tell me what you think in the comments and whether this is something you’d like us to keep doing. The idea is to provide a digestible (and enjoyable) format to look over the biggest stories and issues affecting British wildlife and the work that we’re doing here at Protect the Wild. The first episode has just gone live :) 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—CATAPULTS & WILDLIFE CRIME

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Shot off a rooftop for fun, and left to die! In Cumbria, two boys filmed themselves shooting a gull for fun, then posted the sickening footage in a facebook group - for a “laugh”. CHARLOTTE SMITH SEP 17 READ IN APP The catapult attack at Southsea pier has not been the only one. In Cumbria, on July 7th, two teenage boys filmed themselves using a catapult to shoot a gull off a roof. In the video the gull can be heard letting out a pain filled squawk, then seen falling from the roof. What makes this more gut wrenching, is that the boys run away laughing and sniggering at the suffering and pain they have just caused an innocent, defenceless animal. Sign our petition, stop catapult crime! The teens seemed to be so proud of themselves, that they went on to post the footage into a facebook gull appreciation group - a group which is full of gull lovers. It’s hard to comprehend what they were thinking, other than they seem to have abused an animal, taken a video of them doing it, and shared it into a group where people, who love that animal, would see it - all for a reaction! It shows a staggering lack of empathy for the gull, and all the humans that would be, rightfully, upset from this cruelty. Cumbria Police have reported they are investigating the incident, stating that on the 14th of July they arrested a 14 year old boy in connection with the video. But, because the boys appear to be under 16, there are real concerns that nothing meaningful will follow, and they’ll be no consequences felt by either teen, who think animal abuse is funny. Sadly the gull's fate is unknown, which makes the video all the more unbearable. Unless someone kind found them, they likely faced a slow agonising death, from a metal ball lodged deep in the body, a broken wing or leg, starvation or infection. The injuries are catastrophic and often need human intervention and veterinary care, then rehabilitation for the animal to survive. Sign our petition, stop catapult crime! Why the law has to change We are seeing catapult crime again and again, yet no meaningful action taken by authorities because the current legislation is not good enough. A living animal is targeted for a “laugh” and the law offers no clear answer, because protections are scattered, inconsistent, and depend on the species involved or the exact circumstances of the attack. We believe a law that protects some animals but not others is not a law against cruelty. Whether the target is a swan or a gull, a fox or a pigeon, the pain, fear and suffering is felt the same. That’s why we are calling on the government to make it a specific criminal offence in England to use, discharge, or attempt to discharge a catapult at any animal, whether or not the animal is struck, and whatever their species. Wildlife is not target practice. Add your name and help us make this the law! Sign our petition, stop catapult crime! JOIN THE FIGHT TO PROTECT THE WILD Want to support our work fighting for British wildlife? Please consider becoming a monthly donor today and you’ll be joining thousands of others chipping in to keep us alive and kicking! 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

FROM PROTECT THE WILD—GUGA IS ON THE MENU STILL AFTER SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT WON’T TAKE IT OFF

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Scottish Government REFUSES to Ban Guga Hunt Here’s what happens next. DEVON DOCHERTY SEP 6 READ IN APP Last month, the campaign to end the Guga hunt achieved a truly momentous milestone: NatureScot rejected the 2026 Guga hunt licence, saving the lives of 2000 Gannets who call the island of Sula Sgeir their home. Some of those chicks will just be beginning to fledge the nest and take their first flights out over the ocean as I write this email - a lovely thought, and one that makes everything we fought for over the past year feel so incredibly worthwhile. But along with that wonderful news, I’ve got some bad news as well. NatureScot’s rejection only protects the Gannets for one year. While the hunt is still allowed in law, it could still be licensed in future years, and the Scottish Government just confirmed they do not intend to outlaw the Guga hunt. This is despite almost 6000 of you emailing the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs directly to ask making ending the Guga hunt a priority in the new Government’s upcoming programme of work. It’s also despite NatureScot’s latest scientific data showing that the Guga hunt is no longer sustainable and could hold back the recovery of Gannets for decades, on top of a coalition of animal welfare authorities concluding that the Guga hunt is not humane. Take action There is so much urgent evidence pointing to the need for the Guga hunt to be outlawed for good. That’s why it’s so shocking that we just received a response from Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture, Marine, and the Islands saying the Govt is not going to ban it, and repeating the same stock statement they’ve been giving for almost a year. But there was something else in their response that really stood out to us. The Government acknowledges the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s conclusion that there is no humane method of killing the Gannets that would be possible on Sula Sgeir. That conclusion followed advice from the Humane Slaughter Association, while the Scottish SPCA has also strongly opposed the hunt on welfare grounds. Yet in the very next paragraph, we’re told that NatureScot sought advice from the hunters themselves, legal advisers and unnamed “specialist, external advisors”, before concluding that the proposed method of killing the chicks would not constitute an offence under animal welfare law. That raises some pretty big questions. Who were these external advisors? What advice did they give? What evidence was used to reach that conclusion? And, does it really take someone committing a criminal offence before we recognise that the suffering being inflicted on these birds is unacceptable? We’re going to be digging into that, so expect to hear more from us soon. It is good to see, however, the Government recognising the growing number of animal welfare organisations calling for a complete ban on the Guga hunt. This is no longer some niche campaign demand they can easily dismiss - the call for a ban is growing, and they know it. Our job now is to make that call louder, bring more organisations, MSPs and members of the public behind it, and build the political pressure until refusing to change the law is no longer a comfortable position for the Scottish Govt to hold. Guga hunt petition will be discussed next week Regardless of the Scottish Government’s pitiful refusal to act, there are still other routes to secure change. The Scottish Parliament petition to ban the Guga hunt is due to be discussed by the Petitions Committee on Thursday next week, putting this issue back in front of MSPs for the first time since the election. The petition - started by wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby - was temporarily paused in March while a new Parliament was elected. But it’s now back open for signatures and currently sitting at 107,031. How high can we get that number before Thursday? SIGN THE PETITION The petition is coming back to a newly formed Committee, with fresh MSPs around the table and a fresh chance to move it forward. A huge surge in signatures before the meeting would send a powerful message: the public demand for this hunt to end has never been stronger. And remember: once this petition is eventually closed, you won’t be able to add your name. So while we still can, let’s make PE2202 the biggest petition the Scottish Parliament has ever seen - sign and share it today. Keep this campaign going - Become a Gannet Guardian The Scottish Government’s refusal to act is deeply frustrating, but I can promise you one thing: We will not take no for an answer. We will give this fight all we’ve got, for however long it takes, until this cruel hunt is history. But to do that, we need you fighting alongside us. SUPPORT US Become a Gannet Guardian by giving just a few pounds a month to help keep this campaign going until the Guga hunt is gone for good. As a thank you, we’ll send you your own mini Gannet as a reminder of the birds you’re helping to protect. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM MARRIANE WALKER —BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL—ABOUT VULTURES

View email in browser Your voice can lift vultures higher, John! Share these stories and inspire others to care like you From Egyptian Vultures crossing continents on migration to Griffon Vultures circling high above mountain landscapes, and Hooded Vultures quietly keeping towns and savannas clean, vultures can be found across much of the world. Vultures are nature’s clean-up crew, yet, sadly, they are among the most threatened groups of birds. It’s why on International Vulture Awareness Day, we wanted to spotlight the progress being made to protect these incredible species. We’re putting vultures on the map Effective conservation depends on knowing where and how to target our efforts. By tracking vulture movements and understanding the threats they face, we can identify the places where action is needed most. We’re protecting the most important areas for vultures Drawing on decades of experience, we are working with our Partners around the world to safeguard vital places for vultures to feed, nest, roost and soar. This will enable us to help reverse their decline. Remember, your voice is the lift that can help reach more hearts and minds. Celebrate International Vulture Awareness Day by inspiring others, and together we can save the birds and nature we love. International Vulture Awareness Day also marks the start of something special. From 8–11 September, we’ll be bringing you closer to BirdLife’s General Partnership Meeting and Global Flyways Summit in Kenya. Throughout the week, my colleagues will keep you updated with key highlights that are all thanks to your support. Watch a personal message from our CEO, Martin Harper. Thank you for being with us. Warmest wishes, Mairianne Walker | BirdLife International Supporter Team Image credit in order of appearance: Egyptian vulture globally endangered species in flight by GGRIGOROV/Shutterstock.com Griffon Vulture by David Tomlinson Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Website You are receiving this email because you opted-in to hear from BirdLife International BirdLife International is a registered charity 1042125 Address: BirdLife International The David Attenborough Building Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK For full details on how we collect, use and store your personal information see our Privacy Policy. update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Copyright © 2026, All rights reserved.

FROM EMMA FOR THE LEAGUE OF CRUEL SPORTS

League-Against-Cruel-Sports Banner stating top 3 reasons to attend our AGM Dear John, With only two weeks to go until the 2026 AGM, here are the top 3 reasons why it’s worth joining us: 1. Hear from inspirational speakers The AGM is a chance to hear directly from the team at the League. You’ll also hear a message from Chris Packham and Nigel Palmer from the Badger Trust which will be shared exclusively at the meeting. 2. Have your say The AGM is your opportunity to share your views and help shape our priorities for the year ahead. To use your voice, you can complete your proxy vote ahead of the AGM here. A new motions process is also being launched, designed to make it easier for members to put forward motions in 2027 and have your ideas heard. 3. Hear what’s next on hunting You’ll hear an update on ‘What’s Next’ now that the hunting consultation has concluded, including how we’ll continue to push the Government to strengthen the Hunting Act. If you’d like to submit any questions ahead of the meeting, you can do that on this page of our website. I want to attend the AGM Please join us for the AGM on 19 September 2026 at 10:00am and make your voice heard. If you’ve already registered to attend, we can’t wait to see you there! We’re looking forward to bringing Members together to celebrate our partnership. Warm wishes, Signature Emma Slawinski  Chief Executive Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram League Against Cruel Sports New Sparling House, Holloway Hill, Godalming, GU7 1QZ www.league.org.uk Telephone: 01483 524 250 © 2026 League Against Cruel Sports Registered Charity in England & Wales (No.1095234) and Scotland (No.SC045533) You are receiving this League Against Cruel Sports email because it relates to your membership. Unsubscribe View this email in your browser. supporter

FROM PROTECT THE WILD—WHAT THE GAME INDUSTRY GETS UP WITH THEIR WASTE

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more “Straight in the bin” Disposal of live waste on a ‘game farm’ PROTECT THE WILD SEP 5 READ IN APP Over the past few months we have been publishing analysis of undercover footage obtained on so-called ‘game farms’ across England. We began by looking at the sheer scale of the shooting industry, then how adult birds (not every bird, but far too many) are sometimes treated, and the enormous numbers of eggs collected and washed - and in some cases dumped unlawfully in open-air trailers. Recently we looked at very young chicks being ‘sexed’ and sorted. But we didn’t explain why and what happens to the birds the industry doesn’t want… Sorting Sorting takes place when chicks are very young, and it has two functions on a farm where birds are being bred for the gun. The first is sexing - ie sorting males from females. The second is checking for weak or unhealthy birds. A breeding operation exists to produce eggs - and those eggs are laid only by females. A male is needed to fertilise them, but because farms typically rotate one male pheasant among eight females, only a small number are ever needed. The rest are, in the industry’s own accounting, surplus. While it depends on the individual farm’s requirements that year (and how Avian Flu has impacted imports of chicks from continental hatcheries), as many as half of every hatch on a so-called ‘game farm’ may be killed within hours of being born. Not for any reason connected to their health. They are killed because they are male, and a male pheasant will never lay an egg. ‘Unhealthy birds’ - ie birds that because of deformity or ill-health will not survive the rigours of egg production without costly intervention - won’t add to the farm’s bottom line so will be disposed of too. They won’t be treated, cared for, rehabilitated, or set carefully aside for something else - to use the words of one of the senior workers talking in the undercover footage we’ve posted below, they will be put “straight in the bin”. The method of disposal The question the industry would rather we didn’t ask: what happens to the chicks the farm doesn’t want? The typical method of ‘disposal’ is maceration. The chicks are dropped from trays, usually fully conscious and often with piles of other ‘waste’ like eggshells, into a high-speed mechanical shredder. They are literally ground up alive. We are saying ‘usually’ because undercover footage from one farm the investigative team visited suggested that it may leave the chicks to die in the trays after sorting: every chick thrown into the macerator was (as in the screenshot below) already dead. This practice was different from what was observed at other farms, but as we can’t be certain this is a regular practice, we are not naming the farm at this point. Typically, the shooting industry likes to disguise the actions they know the public will be incensed by with softer words: ‘processing’, ‘dispatch’, ‘culling’, and the like. But strip away the euphemisms and what remains is a machine being used to kill live animals at industrial speed within days of hatching, simply because those animals were worthless to the business that bred them. Become a Game Changer The law Maceration might sound like some sort of fringe practice dreamt up by rogue operators, or a historical anomaly. Far from it. It is current, and it is written into UK law. The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (WATOK 2015) - which sounds like so much of the oxymoronic legislation that benefits the shooting industry - explicitly permits maceration, gas killing, or cervical dislocation as lawful ways to kill chicks under 72 hours old. In typically cold, remote words, it states that “The killing of surplus chicks…in hatchery waste must be as rapid as possible.” It’s also worth knowing that under UK law (and this advice was last updated in March 2026), a staff member working on a farm does not need a WATOK licence “to kill surplus chicks or embryos in hatchery waste” - in other words, the specific licences required to carry out animal slaughter under WATOK 2015 are not required if you’re a temporary or casual worker being employed on a ‘game farm’ for the summer and part of your role is going to be dumping live chicks into a machine that grinds them up. In-house training is all you need… At this point, it’s a fair question to ask how on earth a ‘game farm’ trains someone to work on the macerator anyway. Practice? Repetition? Just pick the person who doesn’t mind throwing helpless birds into a meat grinder? There really is no answer that reflects well on the industry or the people involved. ‘Humane’ does a lot of heavy lifting Shooting industry bodies will tell you maceration is ‘humane’ - ie ‘showing kindness, care, and sympathy toward people or animals’. Their loose interpretation of ‘humane’ totally ignores the fear and stress of the conveyor belt and the sorting facility, but it is used because (the industry will tell you) death is instantaneous. That claim rests entirely on the operator being properly trained, and the system functioning as intended, every time, on every bird, without exception. That’s the sort of ‘quality assurance guarantee’ that industrial-scale processing rarely earns. It is the sort of ‘quality assurance guarantee’ that unlawfully leaves a chick to die in a trailer full of broken eggshells, after all. Become a Game Changer The pattern, again Forget any noble concepts like ‘humane’ or ‘welfare’. This industry is not organised around the wellbeing of the birds it breeds. It is organised around egg output. Killing day-old chicks is where that logic leads. Maceration is a cost calculation, made by an industry whose business model depends on maximising eggs and minimising anything that doesn’t produce them. It is simply cheaper to destroy ‘unwanted’ chicks than integrate them into the system. The truth is that the chicks going into the macerator were never seen as animals to be cared for. They were a byproduct to be disposed of by whoever is at hand on the day. Living waste to be put ‘straight in the bin’… Video and images recorded by an undercover investigative team 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. Become a Game Changer 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. 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. But we are only just getting started. Many of you have already become a Game Changer, standing 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. We are extremely grateful We are reaching a larger audience all the time, though, many of whom won’t know that Game Changers help us fund investigations, take on staff, and make us more effective. So we are going to repeat the call here - this is just the beginning, please be a 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