FROM MARINE CONSERVATION SOCIETY — AN UPDATE

A big thank you, PFAS update, and winter wellbeing tips View in browser A wide shot of a coastline, with white foamy waves lapping against the cliff side. Text overlaid reads: Thank you! Hi John, Thanks so much to everyone who supported our Unlikely Ocean Hero appeal – together, you raised £8,300! Your donations will have a huge impact on all our work, particularly with native oysters and other hero species around our Atlantic Coast and beyond, so a very big thank you. January brought a lot of marine-related policy updates and reports, which can be hard to keep on top of. To help break this down, our lovely Public Affairs Team has created a short round-up of what’s new and what it means for our seas. Since winter can feel hard with long nights and not a lot of sunshine, I've got some tips to share on how you can support your wellbeing with a wintry walk by the sea, as well as giving you a dose of ocean optimism with our latest positive ocean news. Let's dive in! Amy Digital Channels Manager Marine Conservation Society Boost your wellbeing this winter A wide shot of a snowy beach. Several people can be seen walking along the shoreline. Beaches aren’t just for the summer – in fact, they’re a great way to boost your mood in winter, when many of us can feel a bit low. Take a walk along the sea, enjoy some much-needed daylight, and switch off from the noise of daily life. I'd love to hear what you most enjoy about a winter walk on the beach! Inspire me to take a wintry walk on the beach Positive ocean news Several test tubes are lined up, filled with different coloured liquids including red, orange and teal. Credit: Ryan Zzazueta | Unsplash In January, France’s ban on PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer products came into force – taking us one step closer to protecting our precious sea life from toxic chemical pollution. There's plenty of other positive news too - so grab a brew and read on. Read the latest positive ocean news A flurry of ocean updates A wide shot of the houses of parliament lit up at dusk. Credit: Luxstorm | Unsplash From water White Papers and the High Seas Treaty to plans for PFAS, it’s been a busy month for policy updates across the UK. If you're struggling to keep up with all the announcements and what they mean for our seas, don't worry, we've got a handy breakdown of the top announcements. Read the policy round-up A light blue star fish lies on top of some seaweed. Text overlaid on top of the image reads: Seas capture more carbon than trees. But only a healthy ocean can combat the climate crisis. Let's restore ocean health together - become a member. Donate Our shop Contact us Unsubscribe The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to protecting our seas, shores and wildlife. Marine Conservation Society | Company Limited by Guarantee (England and Wales) No. 2550966 Registered Charity No. England and Wales No. 1004005 | Scotland No. SC037480 VAT No. 321 4912 32 Registered Office: Overross House, Ross Park, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7US. Scottish Office: CBC House, 24 Canning Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EG.

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — POLITICIANS ARE ALLOWING THE KILLING TO CONTINUE

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Hunting News: While politicians argue about 'trail hunting' the killing goes on NOTE THIS post contains GRAPHIC IMAGES FEB 5 READ IN APP January was a bad month for hunting. On 5 January, Emma Reynolds, MP for Wycombe and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - together with Baroness Heyman of Ullock - formally introduced the government’s new Animal Welfare strategy to parliament, which included a commitment to finally introducing a ban on trail hunting as well as criminalisation of the use of snares and a ban on shooting Brown Hares during their breeding season. Increasingly desperate pro-hunt advocates have been busy arguing in parliament and the media that the UK’s hunts are a persecuted law-abiding bunch who are just trying to lawfully trailhunt. We’ve been working hard too, pointing out what a crock of horse manure that all is - check out our rebuttals of their arguments here and here. While all that hot air has been blowing, the cruel reality of hunting has been going on as if nothing was happening. In our first hunting update of 2026, we share several stories that illustrate, once and again, why we need a proper ban to end this bloodsport once and for all. - Mendip Farmers Hunt, South Dorset Hunt and the Portman Hunt all killed foxes this month, documented by sabs and monitors. - A wildlife defender received a written apology from Pytchley with Woodland huntsman Luke Chutter for verbally abusing her. But is it worth the paper it’s written on? - The Flint & Denbigh Hunt caused havoc on the A55 in North Wales AGAIN, letting their hounds run loose on the road. - Finally, a supporter of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt pleaded guilty to assaulting a wildlife defender, bringing the total number of BSV convictions to a shameful fifteen. As parliament dithers foxes are still dying The Labour government has repeatedly promised to ban trail hunting. It made that pledge in its 2024 election manifesto and repeatedly since then. In April last year Labour promised to organise a public consultation on the issue, which was slated for early 2026. It’s nearly February and we are still waiting! Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for the UK’s fox hunts. They are out killing as many foxes as they can, with no more than a token facade of trail hunting. At least three hunts - the Portman, the Mendip Farmers Hunt (MFH) and the South Dorset Hunt (SDH) - have unlawfully killed foxes this month. Two of the killings were captured on camera. Just before the start of the month - on 31 December 2025 - a hiker on Dartmoor was shocked to see a fox ripped up in front of him. The walker told DevonLive that the hunt had chased the fox for nearly an hour before they caught him. Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed that the hunt involved has now been issued with a Community Protection Warning. Killing captured by eye in the sky Mendip Hunt Sabs (MHS) passed on drone footage to the police after their eye in the sky captured crystal clear images of the MFH’s hounds ripping up a vixen on 18 January. Here is an image of the pursuit and a GRAPHIC PHOTO of her mutilated body: The Mendip Farmers Hunt pursuing the vixen. A member of Mendip Hunt Saboteurs cradles the ragged body of a vixen ripped apart by the Mendip Farmers’ Hunts’ hounds - 18 January 2026. A member of Mendip Hunt Saboteurs cradles the ragged body of a vixen ripped apart by the Mendip Farmers’ Hunts’ hounds - 18 January 2026. A member of MHS told Protect the Wild that, unfortunately, the MFH were becoming more and more blatant in terrorising wildlife in the Mendip Hills. They said: “This is not an isolated incident, we have filmed and witnessed persistent and relentless illegal fox hunting from the Mendip Farmers Hunt all season. They have become more brazen as we have filmed multiple incidents of their hounds close behind foxes in recent weeks. Sadly, this culminated in us capturing the brutal death of this young vixen as she was ripped apart by hounds.” Show Quoted Content “This is not an isolated incident, we have filmed and witnessed persistent and relentless illegal fox hunting from the Mendip Farmers Hunt all season. They have become more brazen as we have filmed multiple incidents of their hounds close behind foxes in recent weeks. Sadly, this culminated in us capturing the brutal death of this young vixen as she was ripped apart by hounds.” Later the same month, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs (NDHS) reported that the Portman had killed again. The group wrote on Facebook: “The terrified animal had no chance struggling across the wet ground and became completely disorientated at the end as their body flooded with toxins from the chase, fatally turning back along the hedge into the path of hounds. There was nothing sabs could do. Convicted huntsman Shaun Marles, dog beater Henry Marshall and recently convicted thief Kieron Fookes were all smiles. Disgusting.” This beautiful fox was killed by the Portman Hunt on 24 January Show Quoted Content “The terrified animal had no chance struggling across the wet ground and became completely disorientated at the end as their body flooded with toxins from the chase, fatally turning back along the hedge into the path of hounds. There was nothing sabs could do. Convicted huntsman Shaun Marles, dog beater Henry Marshall and recently convicted thief Kieron Fookes were all smiles. Disgusting.” This beautiful fox was killed by the Portman Hunt on 24 January The same day, Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) witnessed the murder of another fox, this time by the South Dorset Hunt. After a brief and performative spell of following a scent, the Hunt began pursuing a fox, caught her and ripped her apart on camera. After WAR filmed the killing, SDH’s new huntsman Keiran Hawkes managed to grab the camera from a sab in an attempt to hide the evidence. Luckily, the brave wildlife defender was able to get it back. Later on, WAR’s sabs were abused and assaulted by Hawkes, a hunt supporter and several riders. They wrote on Facebook: “Shortly [after witnessing the killing of the fox], three female riders approached our sabs incredibly aggressively and after being told that we had filmed the hunt killing a fox, proceeded to whip our sabs around the head and ride aggressively at us using their horses as weapons. Several sabs were head butted by the poor horses. A local elderly man and his wife, very obviously pro-fox hunting, came out to tell us that ‘they keep the countryside clean’. Meanwhile, Keiran Hawkes proceeded to hit another sab over the head with his whip.” Show Quoted Content “Shortly [after witnessing the killing of the fox], three female riders approached our sabs incredibly aggressively and after being told that we had filmed the hunt killing a fox, proceeded to whip our sabs around the head and ride aggressively at us using their horses as weapons. Several sabs were head butted by the poor horses. A local elderly man and his wife, very obviously pro-fox hunting, came out to tell us that ‘they keep the countryside clean’. Meanwhile, Keiran Hawkes proceeded to hit another sab over the head with his whip.” ‘While Parliament dithers and delays, it is business as usual for hunters’ According to Protect the Wild’s Rob Pownall: “While Parliament dithers and delays, it is business as usual for hunters. The law is weak, enforcement is patchy, and animals continue to pay the price.” While politicians argue about the legal loopholes and score political points, it is sabs and monitors who keep taking considerable personal risks to monitor the hunts and save lives. Please consider making 2026 the year you join your local group. Support Weymouth Animal Rights, Mendip Hunt Saboteurs and North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs to carry on protecting our wildlife. Please consider making a donation to support their work. Pytchley huntsman forced to apologise over misogynistic abuse of a wildlife defender Supporters of the Pytchley with Woodland showing the true face of hunting A lone wildlife defender has been monitoring the Pytchley with Woodland (PwW) Hunt for years. As the debate over fox hunting heated up at the end of last year, the Hunt and its supporters have been growing increasingly aggressive. Emma - a member of the public who goes out alone with camera equipment and a drone to monitor the hunt - was subjected to abuse multiple times during November and December. Hunt supporters and terriermen (who are still going out with the hunt in defiance of the British Hounds Sports Association ruling that trail hunts should separate themselves from terrierwork - apparently they didn’t get the memo!) repeatedly flipped her the finger. One hunt member kneeled down in front of her car and performatively laced up his boot to prevent her from keeping up with the pack. Supporters of the Pytchley became car-parking busybodies and experts on trespass, challenging Emma on where she parked her vehicle and where she could walk. All of this, sadly, is pretty routine for UK wildlife defenders. However, when the Pytchley’s huntsman subjected Emma to a particularly foul stream of abuse, she decided to report him to the police. Lewis Chutter, huntsman of the Pytchley with Woodland. Chutter rode past Emma on 15 November. As he sped by, he cursed Emma. She told Protect the Wild: “I was monitoring from the roadside and the hounds were in cry, going across the field, and I was filming them with my camera. Chutter and his Whipper-in George Painter, came cantering along the hedgeline where I was standing, but I was the other side of the hedge. They were in the field. I was on the roadway, and as he went by, he said: “member of the public, you haven’t even got the fucking bollocks to call yourself a sab, c**t!” Show Quoted Content “I was monitoring from the roadside and the hounds were in cry, going across the field, and I was filming them with my camera. Chutter and his Whipper-in George Painter, came cantering along the hedgeline where I was standing, but I was the other side of the hedge. They were in the field. I was on the roadway, and as he went by, he said: “member of the public, you haven’t even got the fucking bollocks to call yourself a sab, c**t!” Emma took this video of the incident on 15 November. Chutter’s words are audible 18 seconds into the footage: This type of misogynist abuse - of course - isn’t a one-off. Emma sent us this image of another Pytchley rider who called her a “miserable c**t”. This little ray of sunshine called a lone wildlife defender a miserable c***t. Emma explained to us how this abuse is intended to discourage her from continuing to monitor the activities of the Pytchley. She said: “I am actively singled out and targeted by the huntsman and his staff along with supporters of the hunt on a regular basis. A meet does not go by without an incident of some sort happening which is directed at me. I am frequently verbally abused, subjected to acts of intimidation and criminal behaviour which is all designed to prevent me from legitimately monitoring and evidence gathering on the criminal conduct of the hunt. Their behaviour and conduct is disgraceful and shameful.” Show Quoted Content “I am actively singled out and targeted by the huntsman and his staff along with supporters of the hunt on a regular basis. A meet does not go by without an incident of some sort happening which is directed at me. I am frequently verbally abused, subjected to acts of intimidation and criminal behaviour which is all designed to prevent me from legitimately monitoring and evidence gathering on the criminal conduct of the hunt. Their behaviour and conduct is disgraceful and shameful.” We asked Emma how it felt to be singled out like this. She said: “It can be very unpleasant and at times frightening, however I will continue to do what I believe to be the right thing for the right reasons, I won’t be bullied into silence by these cowards and will continue to be the voice for our wildlife and expose these people for who they really are”. It’s easy to see how intimidating all of this is. Emma is on her own with just her camera for protection. She has even been informed in the past that police have received intelligence about threats against her by the hunting community. The terriermen she encounters are often masked and unaccountable. Forced to apologise On this occasion, Northamptonshire police chose to do something. They spoke to Chutter about the language he used and he agreed to send a letter, as part of a ‘Community Resolution’, where he said sorry for causing Emma ‘harassment, alarm or distress’ and promised that it won’t happen again. The wording of his letter shows that the police considered he used language capable of breaching Section 5 of the Public Order Act (causing ‘harassment, alarm or distress’). They could have charged Chutter - and probably would have done so if the shoe was on the other foot and he was a sab. Instead, they chose the more lenient Community Resolution approach. Despite the apology, the abuse and intimidation toward Emma from the Pytchley is steadily increasing, not de-escalating. It seems likely that Chutter’s apology isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. To give a couple more examples, a hunt supporter tried to grab Emma’s camera in order to stop her filming on 27 December last year. Chutter’s wife, Lizzy, regularly gives Emma the middle finger too. More people flipping the bird, this time masked terriermen out with the Pytchley in a quad This is by no means the first time that Emma has had to report intimidatory behaviour to the police in the course of keeping an eye on the local hunts. It’s clear that Emma’s monitoring work is vital. As Protect the Wild has previously reported, the Pytchley have been the subject of multiple police complaints since 2022 over illegal hunting. As the government’s promised ‘trail hunting’ consultation looms closer, we can expect more and more intimidation and violence from hunts. If you’ve been affected by violence and abuse from the hunt it can help to get mental health support. Protect the Wild is funding a trained counsellor who can provide sessions to sabs. Click here to find out more. Check out our Protectors of the Wild page on ‘Assaults and the Law’. Hound havoc on the A55, AGAIN The Flint & Denbigh Hunt in North Wales let their hounds loose on a busy road yet again. The hunt also caused controversy back in 2024 when North Wales Hunt Sabs filmed them causing havoc on the A548. The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) posted on Facebook: “On the A55 in North Wales yesterday, the scene of previous accidents caused by out of control hounds belonging to the Flint & Denbigh Hunt who were hunting on the adjoining Kinmel Estate. Numerous fleeing deer were also seen.” The incident was reported to the local police by road users. The HSA quipped, “Did they lay a trail across a 70 mph dual carriageway?” The Flint & Denbigh are no strangers to the headlines, in 2021 The Mirror reported on one of their riders punching a horse after he failed to make a jump. Hunt havoc on the roads is a nationwide problem Hunts causing havoc on the roads isn’t confined to North Wales. Late last year, following reports from hunt saboteurs, wildlife monitors and members of the public, Lincolnshire Police decided to advise hunters who cause problems on the highways to take road safety courses. Lincolnshire Police told the BBC that they had made their decision after their officers had witnessed “horrendously dangerous behaviour” from local hunt groups. They also said they were receiving an “increasing number of road safety complaints” from the public about fox hunts. Meanwhile, in December 2025 in Yorkshire, panic broke out in late November as a riderless hunting horse ran out of control across a busy highway. The chaos hunts regularly unleash on UK roads is just another sign of how little they care about local communities. Find out more by visiting hunthavoc.info. Yet another conviction for the notorious Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt Kieron Fookes of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt - convicted of theft. The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) criminal gang totted up another conviction on 22 January, when Kieron Fookes pleaded guilty to theft of a hunt sab’s radio. This was the 15th time a member of the BSV has been convicted of an offence. The case arose out of an incident at Pulham in December 2023 when a lone sab was surrounded by five hunt supporters. Fookes snatched her radio from behind, so the theft wasn’t captured on her bodycam. Fortunately, Fookes’ comrades videoed it themselves. North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs (NDHS) wrote: “thankfully the morons were all filming themselves and had no qualms handing over the evidence to clear their own names and place the blame squarely on Fookes! Fookes’ laughable defence was that he hadn’t stolen the radio, and the sab had randomly punched him in the balls (ew) in some sort of weird backwards swing and he was clutching his painful nuts and defending himself, not holding onto the stolen radio!” Show Quoted Content “thankfully the morons were all filming themselves and had no qualms handing over the evidence to clear their own names and place the blame squarely on Fookes! Fookes’ laughable defence was that he hadn’t stolen the radio, and the sab had randomly punched him in the balls (ew) in some sort of weird backwards swing and he was clutching his painful nuts and defending himself, not holding onto the stolen radio!” Bournemouth Crown Court fined Fookes a trifling £100 and he was ordered to pay £30 compensation for the radio. The theft occurred as part of the same incident that eventually led to the BSV’s Charlie Mayo and Kieron Bashford being convicted of Wilful Obstruction of the Highway after obstructing a wildlife defender who was trying to protect a fox. The BSV’s other criminal convictions include: assault, driving without due care and attention, actual bodily harm, assault by beating (including, on one occasion, for spraying urine at someone) and - of course - multiple convictions for illegally hunting a fox with hounds. But their criminal records don’t really do justice to quite what a menace the BSV are to wildlife and the public at large. Here are a few more examples: During the 2023/24 hunting season, the BSV accounted for a massive 12.83% of total reported fox chases and kills in the UK. In March 2025, a member of the BSV was filmed threatening a council worker with a spade while causing havoc on the road. Dorset Police Rural Crime Team said that it was investigating two reports of illegal hunting by the BSV in February 2025. In February 2025, police were called after a BSV member rode into a sab from NDHS while in pursuit of a fox. In 2024, Dorset Police arrested two members of the BSV over attacks on sabs from NDHS. One man was charged with assault and theft. The arrests are thought to relate to an assault on two female sabs by three masked men in October 2023. On that occasion, the women were pushed and shoved, and their cameras were stolen. This assault was followed by attacks on the homes and vehicles of several activists. In August 2023, the BSV was filmed allowing its hounds to kill a fox, and then tear up her corpse. BSV members didn’t intervene at any point. Also in August 2023, the Hunt was caught blatantly cubbing (trapping and killing young fox cubs). In 2020, a monitor from Somerset Wildlife Crime was deliberately knocked down by another member of the BSV. In 2014, the BSV’s Mark Dogrell trampled hunt saboteur Nid Warren with his horse, leaving her with serious injuries. In 2025, the Hound Sports Regulation Authority (HSRA), the regulatory arm of the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), published the results of the disciplinary against the BSV for the 2024 killing of a fox in a residential garden at Pelsham farm. The incident had provoked mainstream media headlines and public outrage. Surprise, surprise... The BSV were given a mild telling off from the HSRA and allowed to keep on hunting, carry on terrorising foxes and menacing communities. We need a real ban on hunting with hounds to stop the BSV. Until then its up to us to sabotage their cruel sport. Sign our petition calling for a proper ban on hunting, and check out our proposal for a proper ban on the hunting of mammals with hounds. Use Protect the Wild’s automated tool to email your MP and demand that they ensure that Labour follows through with enacting a proper ban on hunting. Protect the Wild has supported several groups to keep exposing the BSV through our Equipment Fund. You can donate to the fund here. Finally, please donate what you can to support the work of North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs. Images and footage of the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt courtesy of Emma, a local wildlife defender. Images of the Mendip Farmers Hunt giving chase and the dead vixen via Mendip Hunt Sabs, video of the South Dorset Hunt ripping up a fox courtesy of Weymouth Animal Rights. Image of Kieron Fookes via North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs. Many thanks to all the groups who provided us with images or video. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

WE ARE STILL USING PEAT — AN OBJECTION FROM PLANTLIFE

Help us end peat sales View this email in your browser Plantlife logo - The global voice for wild plants and fungi Hi John, Did you know that in 2026, the sale of peat for horticulture is still continuing? Peatlands are one of our biggest allies in the fight against climate change and the impact of destroying them is devastating. Despite significant progress, it's a shocking fact that the industry still gets through 760,000 cubic metres of peat per year! Last year the UK Government committed to introduce legislation to end the sale of peat - but it has yet to uphold this promise. That’s why we need your help John, to tell the UK Government that we don’t want peat in our gardens anymore and to pass legislation to finally put an end to peat sales. We want to take this to the Prime Minister’s doorstep, delivering it in person at 10 Downing Street. So, make your voice heard and sign now! Protect peatlands today The horticulture industry has taken steps to become peat-free and has reduced usage by more than 50%. But without legislation to prohibit it, this progress is not enough. Peat, ripped from the landscape, is still being sold in bagged compost, it's used to grow most of the plants you buy in the garden centre - it's even used to grow many of the vegetables you buy from the supermarket. Why is this a problem? Digging up peat: Emits huge amounts of carbon, directly contributing to climate change. Worsens the risk of flooding for nearby communities, as worked peatlands can’t absorb excess rainwater like intact ones can. Obliterates habitat which might otherwise be home to many rare and unique species of plants, insects and birds. Help us put an end to peat sales This isn't a new problem, but it's one that's getting old. We're ready to make 2026 the year peat sales are banned once and for all. We hope that you will join us. Thank you. Sally Nex, Peat-free Campaign Advocate Follow Plantlife on: Instagram Instagram Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter YouTube YouTube LinkedIn LinkedIn Website Website 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 Plantlife respects your privacy. You can read more about how and why we use your personal data at www.plantlife.org.uk/privacy-notice Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

PEACEFUL PROTEST - FROM PROTECT THE WILD—

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Protesters punished harsher than those who brutally kill wildlife PROTECT THE WILD FEB 8 READ IN APP Last week, three activists were found guilty of criminal damage for a peaceful visual protest. Their offence was painting the windows of an elite hunting and shooting shop in central London during the March for Love and Resistance in 2022, using temporary green paint to draw flowers, trees, and words like love and liberate. Each activist was fined just over £1,000 and given 100 hours of community service. Three years on, the legal process is over. The verdict is in. What it exposes is not just the punishment of protest, but the priorities of the justice system itself. We’ve set up a fundraiser for anyone who wants to support these brave activists for daring to stand up to the cruel hunting and shooting industries. And in the below video, I sit down with two of them to ask why they did what they did, what it’s cost them, and why they still believe it was worth it. Support the protestors Contrast this with wildlife crime Just weeks ago, gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kill a hen harrier on the Conistone and Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Hen harriers are among the UK’s most persecuted birds of prey and are legally protected. Their illegal killing has pushed them close to extinction across large areas of suitable habitat, particularly on grouse moors where they are targeted to protect birds bred and shot for sport. Dingwall pleaded guilty to two offences. He was fined £400 for each offence, plus a £320 victim surcharge and £400 in costs, bringing the total penalty to £1,520 for conspiring to kill a protected species. This is not an isolated case. On 30 March 2024, an RSPB covert camera recorded a gamekeeper beating a buzzard to death inside a cage trap on a pheasant shoot near Hovingham, North Yorkshire. On 12 January 2026, Thomas Munday pleaded guilty to killing a protected species and was fined £1,215. Taken together, these cases show how wildlife crime is treated in practice. The deliberate persecution of protected birds of prey routinely results in modest fines, while those who peacefully challenge the industries responsible face harsher consequences. What are we supposed to conclude from this? Painting the windows of a shop that sells high-end firearms for killing animals resulted in a £1,000 fine for each activist. Conspiring to kill a protected bird of prey in a national park resulted in a total financial penalty of £1,520. One act involved temporary paint and no harm to life. The other involved an attempt to kill a protected wild animal in one of the UK’s most iconic landscapes. Yet the penalties sit in roughly the same bracket. Support the protestors A system that punishes challenge more than cruelty Wildlife crime in the UK is routinely under-punished. Fines are low. Custodial sentences are rare. Deterrence is minimal. By contrast, peaceful protest, especially protest that challenges elite industries, is increasingly treated as a serious threat to order. This is not accidental. Hunting and shooting are not fringe pastimes. They are politically connected industries, wrapped in tradition, wealth, and influence. Their crimes are framed as unfortunate exceptions. Challenges to them are framed as disruption. The law reflects that imbalance. Standing with people who act from conscience The three activists in this case did not profit from their action. They did not harm anyone. They acted publicly, visibly, and with the intention of drawing attention to cruelty that is otherwise hidden behind shopfronts, estates, and elite respectability. They have now been fined for that decision. We have set up a fundraiser for anyone who wishes to help cover their legal costs and fines, and to show solidarity with people willing to take personal risks to challenge injustice. There is no obligation to donate. If you believe that peaceful protest should not be punished more harshly than wildlife persecution, you may wish to stand with them. Support the protestors Any additional funds raised will support ongoing work exposing the bird shooting industry and pushing for real accountability for wildlife crime. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

RIGHT TO ROAM FROM THE ROAMERS — IT’S ALL A SLOW PROCESS — BUT WORTH THE READ

Can't see this message? View in browser   Five Years. Nine Failures. Fifteen Signs of Hope. Dear Roamers, Over the past five years there have been no fewer than nine major policy announcements, commitments, or reviews of public access. All of which have since been shelved, abandoned, diluted, or have otherwise vanished into the ether. First, the Agnew Review – announced during the heady days of the pandemic, when access inequality was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. This promised “radical, joined up thinking” that would lead to a “quantum shift in how our society supports people to access and engage with the outdoors”. It was shelved. Next: the government’s response to the Glover ‘Landscapes Review’, with its clarion cry that ‘fair access is given to all’. To evidence action taken, the government scrabbled together a handful of regional initiatives it had little hand in… and a poetry prize. In response to Glover’s call for enhanced access rights on access land, the government said it would “aim to review the open access maps to clarify rights and inform any further consideration of expanding open access rights”. Aim to review – translation: ‘think about considering’. It didn’t happen. Then came the, admittedly bold, declaration that everyone ‘will live a fifteen minute walk from a green space or water’. An idea which promised to defy laws of physics and geography unless the government simultaneously enacted the comprehensive right to roam the minister was quick to explicitly rule out. This is still technically government policy. But when we made a freedom of information request about progress it turned out no one had actually done any real work on the proposal and the suggestion to make it a legally binding target had been quashed. So much for that. Still, on and on the announcements came and went. In 2023, Rishi Sunak announced the “search” for a new national park in England. I guess he’s still looking. Around the same time a ‘woodland access implementation plan’ was published, promising to “enhance and create new access rights in woodlands”. It didn’t. Perhaps having a new party in power would finally lead to some actual delivery. Unfortunately here too the record has been mixed. Labour committed to a Scottish style right to roam (yay!), U-turned after lobbying pressure from the major landowning and farming lobbies (boo!) re-committed to extending the CRoW Act (mostly yay!), which became a commitment to a White paper (okay!), which became a commitment to a Green paper (hrm!) which has been kicked into the long grass (sigh!) and is now due to be “published [sometime] this parliament”. Last Boxing Day they promised to remove the 2031 cut off for registering historic rights of way. But they still haven’t allocated parliamentary time for it to happen. Still, just as under the Conservatives, the announcement machine keeps rolling. The latest Boxing Day splash saw the government declare that the first of their “nine national river walks” was to be piloted on the river Mersey. Long term readers of the newsletter will know we’ve been highly critical of these proposals, and this announcement did little to dampen our objections. It appears the Mersey, which is already one of the more accessible rivers in England, won’t actually receive any new access. Instead the existing path will be getting accessibility upgrades. No bad thing. But a level of ambition worthy of a parish council, not a national government. Governing is hard and we’d love to be more positive about what politics can achieve. After all, the flood of announcements does reflect awareness that the access issue is popular, necessary and not going away. But it’s hard not to conclude that Westminster is currently more committed to the theatre of change than to actually changing lives. This year we need to break through that inertia. To help, this weekend we’re hosting our very first in-person gathering of the entire Right to Roam local group network. This has steadily grown to fifteen regions since we launched it exactly three years ago and we’re excited to finally have an opportunity to meet representatives from across the country to strategise a way forward. We appreciate that not everyone can make these kinds of events (you probably don’t have the time and we don’t yet have the space!) but if you have thoughts you'd like to contribute to the conversation, reply to us here and we’ll throw them into the mix. Best wishes, Jon and the Right to Roam team ---------- For the latest campaign updates, follow us on Instagram & Bluesky To get involved, check out our website here. Can you help keep us roaming? Head to ‘Donate’ here. Learning from those who make muck prosper 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.

FROM WILD JUSTICE — AN INTERESTING READ ON HEN HARRIER PERSECUTION

Good morning, Today’s newsletter contains an update on two court cases, neither of which directly involves us (quite unusually), but are of interest to us and, we believe, might be of interest to you. Gamekeeper pleads guilty to conspiring to illegally kill a Hen Harrier Last week at York Magistrates’ Court, a gamekeeper pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a Hen Harrier in what is the first ever successful prosecution in England relating to Hen Harrier persecution. This is significant. Convictions for raptor persecution are difficult to achieve. These offences often take place in remote areas where the actions of the perpetrators are rarely witnessed. It means that, far too often, the criminal burden of proof (i.e. beyond a reasonable doubt) to demonstrate who committed the offence can’t be reached, and so people who are very likely guilty of illegally killing birds of prey get away with it. This case is an exception. In 2024, evidence was uncovered by the hard and diligent work of the RSPB’s Investigations Team, following intelligence they’d received in relation to suspicious activities on a grouse moor on the Conistone and Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. After installing a covert camera, the RSPB obtained audio and video evidence of gamekeeper Racster Dingwall (and two armed accomplices) plotting over radios the shooting of Hen Harriers, as well as conversations about birds they’d apparently already killed that day (a Buzzard and a Raven). Recorded near a Hen Harrier roost site, the covert recordings captured the trio’s radio conversation as they spotted a Hen Harrier with a ‘box’ on it – code referring to a satellite tag. Other code used by the group included ‘Jets’ (referring to Hen Harriers), ‘Bombers’ (referring to Buzzards) and ‘Nolling’ (to kill a bird of prey). On this occasion, the satellite tag (‘box’) acted as a protective deterrent, with the trio deciding not to kill the Hen Harrier so as not to attract unwanted attention from researchers monitoring the tag’s data and subsequently, enforcement authorities. Instead, they decided to fire warning shots to scare the bird away. Later on, another Hen Harrier was spotted, this time without a tag. In the RSPB’s footage, Dingwall was seen loading his gun and walking towards the roost site. A single shot was heard (off camera). Congratulatory comments could be heard over the radios before they all left the area. Predictably, the defence tried to have the case thrown out on a legal technicality (relating to the RSPB’s authority to install a covert camera on private land). This argument has been used with some success, and some failure, in previous cases. Thankfully, this time the valuable evidence was ruled to have been collected lawfully by the RSPB and was accepted by the judge as admissible evidence. Dingwall faced two charges: Possession of an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. Encouraging and assisting in the commission of a summary offence, believing it would be committed. On 29 January 2026, on what had been the first day of a scheduled two-day trial, (now former) Head Gamekeeper Racster Dingwall, 35, pleaded guilty to both offences. He was fined £400 for each offence, plus a surcharge of £320, plus £400 costs, totalling £1520. Our thoughts… Whilst the work of dedicated groups and individuals, like those of the RSPB and others, have documented the ongoing illegal killing of hundreds of birds of prey over many years (including 147 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed since 2018), it’s not often that a conviction is achieved – a level of injustice that infuriates many of us, and indeed was one of the motivating factors for us when we decided to set up Wild Justice in the first place. This case, supported by high quality evidence, has shown, yet again, that illegal persecution is an ongoing and serious threat to birds of prey, despite the gamebird shooting industry’s attempts to gaslight the public into believing the opposite. The majority of Hen Harrier persecution incidents are known to take place on, or next to, driven grouse moors, yet many supporters and participants of this ‘sport’ regularly deny that the industry has a problem (see a video from Chris Packham here, and some quotes from the industry below). We welcome the conviction in this case although we consider the sentence to be derisory, not helped, in our view, by the Crown Prosecution Service’s failure to provide the court with background context about the widespread persecution of this species and the impact this is having on its conservation status. It highlights the need for improved national sentencing guidelines for judges who may rarely encounter wildlife crime offending and therefore may not understand the wider picture. We do, though, congratulate the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) for helping to secure a successful prosecution under the Serious Crime Act. This was a novel and welcome approach and we hope to see more of it. And whilst Dingwall’s fine is unlikely to act as a deterrent to other would-be raptor persecutors, it’s highly likely that the knowledge that the RSPB can now capture audio and visual footage of such high quality, will lead to offenders looking over their shoulders and thinking twice. You can read the RSPB’s press release on the Grassington case here, and some more detailed notes on the sentencing aspects of the case on the Raptor Persecution UK blog here. Legal challenge against new burning regulations thrown out of court. In other good news, the Moorland Association’s application to the High Court for a judicial review relating to Defra’s new burning regulations has been refused. The Moorland Association (a lobby group for grouse moor owners in England) sought to challenge the process by which Defra introduced the Heather & Grass etc Burning (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which restrict the burning of vegetation over deep peat. After a hearing in London’s High Court on 27 January 2026, Mrs Justice Lieven refused all of the grounds of challenge put forward by the Moorland Association. We’re especially pleased with this decision as burning on peatland is an issue of huge concern. You may remember in spring 2025 we asked you to respond to a government consultation on this very topic, encouraging answers that asked for the strongest restrictions possible when it came to burning on precious peatland. By September 2025, the government announced a change in the rules for burning heather and grass on peatland, redefining ‘deep peat’ as 30cm in depth (previously 40cm), and therefore protecting an additional ~450,000ha of this precious habitat from the damaging practice. We’ve since heard that the Moorland Association intends to appeal last week’s court ruling. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this and will of course keep you updated. That's it for now, we'll be back in touch soon. Thank you, Wild Justice (CEO: Bob Elliot. Directors: Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 261st 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

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — A CRITICAL VOTE ABOUT RIGHT-TO-PROTEST IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more A critical vote on protest rights happens this Wednesday ROB POWNALL FEB 2 READ IN APP This Wednesday, the House of Lords will debate whether animal testing sites should be classified as “key national infrastructure” under the Public Order Act. It is the final parliamentary hurdle. It matters more than ever. Over the past few months, Protect the Wild supporters have pushed back hard against these dangerous regulations. Together, you have sent more than 40,000 emails to MPs, 22,000 emails to members of the House of Lords, and taken to the streets for two days of action in Westminster. Behind the scenes, we have also been working closely with peers to make sure the serious risks of these changes are fully understood. Despite that pressure, the government forced the regulations through the House of Commons in January. That was a setback. It was never the end of the road. Now, everything turns to the Lords. What’s being debated, and why it matters On Wednesday 4 February, peers will consider whether to approve the Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025. At the same time, Baroness Natalie Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party) has tabled a fatal motion. This is a motion that would reject the regulations outright. Her motion states that the House of Lords should decline to approve the regulations because they: represent legislative overreach stretch the definition of “key national infrastructure” beyond any reasonable meaning lack adequate evidence that existing police powers are insufficient further restrict the democratic right to peaceful protest and are being pushed through without sufficient steps to end animal testing itself If peers back this motion, the regulations fall. This is not symbolic. It is a real, substantive challenge. What the government wants to do The regulations would amend the Public Order Act 2023 to classify parts of the life sciences sector as key national infrastructure. This includes: pharmaceutical research and development facilities manufacturing sites for medicines and vaccines and any site licensed for animal experimentation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 That change would make it a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly interfere with the operation of these sites. Penalties include up to 12 months in prison, a fine, or both. Ministers argue this is necessary to protect public health, pandemic preparedness, and the UK’s life sciences industry. They claim protest activity threatens vaccine production, supply chains, and national resilience. Crucially, they have failed to demonstrate why existing laws, covering harassment, obstruction, criminal damage, and public order, are not already sufficient. Why we’re opposing this Animal testing facilities are not roads, power stations, or energy networks. Designating them as key national infrastructure is a profound and dangerous expansion of state power. It risks criminalising peaceful protest and shielding controversial private industries from public scrutiny. Even parliamentary committees have acknowledged how far-reaching these changes are. Human rights organisations warn that they continue a clear pattern. This is the steady narrowing of space for lawful protest in the UK. All of this is happening while the government simultaneously claims it wants greater transparency and a future phase-out of animal testing. Those positions cannot coexist. What happens next The House of Lords has a constitutional role to scrutinise, challenge, and, where necessary, stop flawed legislation. That is exactly what is happening this Wednesday. Thanks to your pressure, peers are informed. Briefings have been circulated. Concerns are on the record. Baroness Bennett’s fatal motion will be debated alongside the government’s proposal. Whatever happens next, this moment matters. It matters because protest rights matter. It matters because animal testing must not be placed beyond challenge. It matters because democracy does not end when a Commons vote is lost. Thank you for standing with us, in Parliament, on the streets, and behind the scenes. We will be watching closely on Wednesday, and we will update you as soon as the debate concludes. We’re blown away by your support. Last month, Protect the Wild gained 530 new monthly supporters. That is the strongest month we have ever had, and it happened because people like you chose to stand with us. Because of that support, Protect the Wild is now backed by more than 7,000 people giving a regular monthly donation. That steady support is what allows us to run undercover investigations, produce hard-hitting media, and keep applying pressure where others hesitate or stay silent. Now, as we move into February, we want to see if we can beat January’s total. If you would like to be part of that and help make February our strongest month yet, you can join us as a monthly supporter by clicking here. Support 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