UPDATE FROM LEGAL JUSTICE & MORE ON THE WOODCOCK

 Woodcock: Our petition asking for a change to the shooting season of Woodcock will be debated this afternoon at 430pm.  Thank you to all of you who have sent your MP a briefing on this subject. Big organisations send their briefings directly to MPs but we think that you are the best person to tell your MP what you think - and if our briefing is in line with your views then feel free to use it. Have a look here - click here.

 

Westminster Hall debates allow backbench MPs to debate issues shown to be important to the public by dint of passing 100,000 signatures in a petition. The debates are non-binding on the government. However, the last two speakers in such debates are an opposition shadow minister (we think it will be Alex Sobel MP, Leeds North West) and a government minister (we think  it will be Trudy Harrison MP, Copeland). It is an opportunity to put the government on the spot and call for change - that's what you have helped to do if you signed the Woodcock petition.

 

 

You can watch the debate online on the Parliament You Tube channel on Monday 27 February from 16:30 - click here for link.

 

 

Lead in game meat: today a paper is published on the ongoing failure of the shooting industry to remove toxic lead shot from the human food chain. Three years into a 5-year initiative the progress has been practically zero. At this rate it will take another 47 years to get rid of lead from food. Wild Justice has been very tangentially involved in this particular study but we have our own 'lead in meat' results coming soon so this is a useful introduction to the subject for new subscribers. 

 

Here is a link to our blog on the subject - click here - which also has a link to the detailed study published today. 

 

We believe that lead ammunition should be banned, on human health and environmental grounds.

 

 

And a thank you: a mammal gave us £2000 last week - for lack of details click here. 

 

 

Our next newsletter: we'll comment on the Woodcock debate and we think we may have some other news too but the next newsletter is likely to be towards the end of the week as we are rushing around doing other things... 

 

 

If you like what we do and would like to make a general donation which will be used across our range of work, then please consider donating through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here. Thank you for all your donations.

 

That's it for now. We couldn't do any of this without you.    

 

Thank you,

 

Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).

 

SABS REPORT AGAIN ON A BRAVE DAY OUT TO STOP THE KILLING

Here is the latest news from the HSA.

On Wednesday over 50 sabs joined Devon County Hunt Sabs to take part in a mass sab on Dartmoor to scupper the day’s fox hunting planned by the Two Bridges Hunt Club: the Dartmoor Hunt, Spooners & West Dartmoor Hunt, Mid Devon Hunt and the South Devon Hunt.

Perversely, the meet – which was hosted by the Dartmoor Hunt at the Princes Hall Hotel – is held every year to mark the anniversary of the Hunting Act. Their plan was to spend the day killing Dartmoor’s foxes, however sabs from all over the south – and Ireland – totally ruined their day, with a number of foxes helped to safety.

Groups included: Plymouth & West Devon Hunt Sabs, Somerset Sabs, Bath Hunt Saboteurs, Mendip Hunt Sabs, Bristol Hunt Saboteurs, Reading Hunt Saboteurs, Weymouth Animal Rights, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, Wiltshire Hunt Sabs, Surrey Hunt Sabs, South Coast Hunt Sabs and Leinster Hunt Saboteurs.

Dartmoor landowner Alexander Darwall owns the 4,000-acre Blachford estate. His estate is used for hunting and shooting and he is listed as a member of the Dartmoor Hunt. He recently got wild camping banned on his land. This mass sab was also in solidarity with the Right to Roam movement. Dartmoor should be a safe place for wildlife, not a playground for bloodsport junkies.

The weather was typically wet and wild, there was even snow! Between all of the sab groups and excellent sab runners, there was no escape for the hunters.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the HSA. The South Devon Hunt was the first hunt ever to be sabbed in 1963. While they keep hunting, we will keep sabbing.

THE HUNT SABS - SEEMINGLY GUILTY CAUGHT ON CCTV

Here is the latest news from the HSA.

Hounds from the West Norfolk Hunt have invaded the garden of an elderly woman and killed a fox on her patio. The hunt terrier man can be seen climbing into the garden and furtively removing the body whilst the hounds are left to roam the garden.The incident happened on Monday 20th February in the vicinity of Hingham, Norfolk. CCTV footage shows hounds hunting through gardens whilst being actively encouraged by the huntsman. No attempt is made to stop the hounds from chasing the fox. 

The terrified fox seeks refuge in a fenced patio area but the hounds chase it there, corner it and kill it. The West Norfolk Hunt terrier man then scales a six foot high fence, furtively removes the fox’s body and escapes through a gate, making no effort to remove the pack of hounds from the private property.

This awful incident was witnessed by the terrified homeowner, who had been enjoying a peaceful spring afternoon in her own home prior to the hunt invasion. It is now being investigated by Norfolk Police.

A Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson commented:

Sadly this is not an unusual situation, the only thing unusual about it is the excellent CCTV coverage of the kill. Just weeks after the leaked Avon Vale video once again showed the world the depravity of the hunting community you would expect the hunts to be on their best behaviour but it appears they just can’t control themselves. Hunts are organised criminal gangs who think the law doesn’t apply to them. We commend the courageous householder for being prepared to take a stand against this shocking act and sharing it with the world.”

Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt Sabs said:

Our thoughts are with the family who’ve had to endure this frightening and deeply shocking crime in their own home. We understand the homeowner’s elderly mother is undergoing chemotherapy and was resting at her daughters home at the time. We particularly sympathise with her situation and wish her well.

Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt saboteurs regularly attend illegal hunts conducted by the West Norfolk Foxhounds. We have observed and recorded them routinely hunting outside of the law as well as a litany of associated crimes. The West Norfolk Foxhounds have a well earned reputation for violence and intimidation meted out to sabs and local residents alike.

This week is the 18th anniversary of the hunting act. The act is clear, hunting animals with a pack of dogs is illegal. We call for the full enforcement of the law to bring hunters and the complicit landowners who host them to justice.”

The post West Norfolk Hunt Invade Garden and Kill Fox appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

WOODCOCK SHOOTING

         

FROM ME - ANOTHER SUCCESS FOR PUBLIC OPINION MAKING THE LEGISLATORS THINK

FROM WILD JUSTICE

         Our petition asking for a change to the shooting season of Woodcock will be debated next Monday - here we ask you to get in touch with your MP about this issue.  Also raptor news, renewed thanks for your actions on SSSIs, a heads-up on glyphosate and a word about our next newsletter.

Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay (Wild Justice) want the

opening of the Woodcock shooting season to be pushed back to 1 December. 160,000 Woodcock are shot for fun across the UK whilst their population is declining. The Defra Secretary of State has powers to vary

the shooting season.

MORE ON THE TERRIERMEN WITH PHOTOS SHOWING WHO THEY ARE

 Work: The Soft Underbelly Of Illegal Fox Hunting

Following a number of recent scandals, hunting’s governing body – the British Hound Sports Association – has announced a ‘review’ of terrier work. But what is this secretive practice and why is it so important to the criminal fox hunters?

At first sight, fox hunting looks like the random pursuit of foxes across the countryside…let a pack of hounds loose and hope for the best.

The reality is very different: fox hunting is, in fact, a highly organised, pre-meditated activity, designed to guarantee the pursuit of foxes for the enjoyment of paying subscribers. Hunt terriermen play a crucial role in this process behind the scenes. 

Terriermen

Terriermen are a familiar sight on fox hunts. They travel on quad bikes which allow them easy access to the woods and fields where they ply their grim trade. Typically, there is a grilled box on the front of the quad containing a couple of terriers, with a longer box on the back for their tools: spades, digging bars, drainage rods, nets, and other equipment.

Earth Stopping

It is totally unnatural for a predator like a fox to run for extended periods. Their first line of defence when hunted is to ‘go to earth’ – to seek refuge underground. But this is a serious impediment to the fox hunters, who want to enjoy the spectacle of a terrified fox being hunted across open fields.

The first job of the terriermen is therefore to trap foxes above ground on the day of the hunt. They achieve this by visiting all known fox earths, badger setts, and other potential refuges the night before the hunt and ‘stopping’ them – filling them in – with earth or other material.

The next day, the hunted fox will make for a known refuge, find it blocked, and be forced to run on, thus producing the extended chase that the subscribers are paying for.

Terrier Work

Despite the best efforts of the ‘earth stoppers’, a hunted fox may eventually find an unblocked refuge during the course of the hunt. Again, this is an interruption to the subscriber’s ‘sport’ and, again, terriermen are crucial to getting the day back on track.

Brutalised terriers are sent into the hole to locate the fox and attack her underground. These days, terriers are fitted with a locator collar that transmits their exact location back to the terriermen above ground. While the terrier savages the fox, the terriermen will dig down – often several feet – to expose their terrified victim.

GUIILTY ON CÁMARA?

HUNT SABOTEURS ASSOCIATION

www.huntsabs.org.uk

Fed up with the constant interference and blocking up of badger setts by the Sir Watkin Williams Wynn (Wynnstay) Hunt, activists decided something had to be done and a plan was hatched to catch the suspects in the act.

On 3rd February, they did just that. The Wynnstay’s huntsman Christopher Woodward and whipper in Charlie Young were caught red-handed blocking a badger sett near Whitchurch, Shropshire, in preparation for the following day’s hunting in the area. Sabs confronted the two, who quickly scarpered the scene.

Just three weeks prior, the two were also caught on camera blocking the same sett.

Hunt staff such as Woodward and Young take orders and are directed by hunt masters. One of these for the Wynnstay Hunt is Lord Daresbury (Peter Greenhall) who sits on the board of the Countryside Alliance. It seems this blatant wildlife crime goes all the way to the top.

Hunts block badger setts to prevent foxes escaping hounds and ‘going to ground’. Badger setts have been protected since 1992 against acts like obstructing access and being interfering with, but this cruel, yet routine activity happens regularly across the UK.

Despite badgers ability to live underground and with lower levels of oxygen, in some cases badgers can suffocate underground as a result of their setts being damaged.

The post Wynnstay Huntsman Caught Red-Handed Blocking Badger Sett appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

(I Have not included photos. The said perpetrators can be seen on the Sabs website)

WELL DONE SABS

 WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT SIXTY YEARS AND STILL DOING IT. WELL DONE TO THE SABS.

Here is the latest news from the HSA.

2023 is the 60th anniversary of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, the oldest direct action organisation in the world.  To celebrate we’ve given away sixty thousand pounds, one thousand to each of our affiliated local groups.  We’re able to give such a large sum because the HSA is run entirely by volunteers and all donations received from our generous supporters go directly to support sabs in the field.  

As the recently exposed Avon Vale video shows, hunts across the country are routinely flouting the Hunting Act and chasing and killing wildlife. Sabs are the only people who directly intervene to save hunted animals and they’re supported to do so by the Hunt Saboteurs Association.

To celebrate our 60th birthday we’ll be sharing videos from our celebrity supporters throughout the year. The first of which is from actor and animal rights activist Peter Egan who has been a staunch supporter of the HSA for many years.

A spokesperson commented 

We’re incredibly proud of our history and the fact we’ve achieved so much without paid staff but we’re even prouder of the support we’re able to give to sabs as they intervene between the hunters and their quarry. This is a significant sum that we’re giving away to mark our anniversary but over the years we’ve given far more and will continue to do so whilst hunt saboteurs are required.

GAMEKEEPER CONVICTED BUT ONLY GIVEN A SUSPENDED SENTENCE

 RaptorPersecutionUK

Further to this morning's blog (here), criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen, 54, of Baileys Hill, in Brockington, near Wimborne, has been given a suspended custodial sentence and a small fine after he pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst working on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset in March 2021. For possessing […]

Both blogs can be read on RaptorPersecutionUK which I follow. 

I have commented that the suspended sentences he received are no deterrent in the battle to prevent wildlife crime.

AND ANOTHER POST FROM SABS

Avon Vale Hunt: Who Knew What And When?

The disgusting video of the Avon Vale Hunt throwing and bolting foxes to a pack of hounds has rocked the hunting world.

Even the extremist British Hound Sports Association – the new name for the disgraced Hunting Office – have barred the Avon Vale from their ranks.

The BHSA claim to have taken quick, decisive action with this move. But, with the video confirmed as having been taken on Tuesday 20th December 2022, questions are already being asked as to how long the BHSA have been aware of its existence.

Indeed, the HSA has received intelligence that, far from acting quickly and openly, individuals at the very top of hunting have been trying to supress the Avon Vale video for weeks. Intriguingly, the person who shot it – Harry Mayo, sole whipper-in for the neighbouring Berkeley Hunt – was being moved on over two weeks ago. An advert for Mayo’s role appeared on the ‘Jobs’ section of the BHSA’s website on 27th January 2023, suggesting panicked moves behind the scenes to drop him before the video emerged.

Bordering’ On The Obscene

The HSA is aware that similar videos are circulating on hunting WhatsApp groups, including one involving a senior figure from the BHSA itself, whose behaviour in a northern hunting field ‘borders’ on the obscene.

We urge anyone in possession of this video – or any other such material – to send it to the HSA. We regularly receive intelligence from within hunting and guarantee 100% confidentially to all sources – no matter what side of the hunting fence you sit on.

Please send any footage to info@huntsabs.org.uk, for larger files you can use the secure file transfer website wetransfer.

SOMETHING MUCH MORE PLEASANT - SSSI’S

 Wild Justice - SSSIs and their condition

Good morning! Last week we told you about the information requests we have sent Natural England about the presence of non-native captive-bred released Pheasants on sites of conservation importance on the southern edge of Dartmoor. This seems to have interested many of you. Thank you for your comments and thank you for your donations too. To see our blog on the subject click here. 

 

We'd be willing to put money on the fact that Natural England probably won't respond very quickly to our requests but we are keen to find out what they say and to tell you about it. But while we are waiting for Natural England to respond we thought you might like to find out about the sites of conservation importance near to where you live.

 

So we have written a blog that walks you through how to use an online mapping site to find your nearest SSSI - click here. There may be one just down the road from you that you knew nothing about!  It may be huge or it may be tiny - wouldn't you like to know?

 

If you do track down your nearest SSSI on the online system then please let us know its name and how close it is to where you live - email info@wildjustice.org.uk please. It's just for fun, but we'll be interested to find out which of our subscribers lives closest and furthest from one of these sites. And the number of emails will tell us whether this is a subject that might be worth following up with you all at a later date in a future newsletter. 

 

That's it for now. Thank you so much for your support. 

 

Thank you,

 

Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).

MORE FROM THE SABS

 In an emergency announcement late on Friday night, hunting’s crisis-hit governing body – the British Hound Sports Association – advised its member packs not to take terriers out on hunts following ‘recent events’.

These events include:

1. East Essex Hunt terrierman Paul O’Shea being secretly filmed torturing a fox with a pitchfork.

2. multi-agency police operation against terriermen across southern England.

3. The already-infamous Avon Vale video in which terriers are used to bolt foxes so they can be fed to the hounds.

Needless to say, fox hunts roundly ignored their own regulators, turning out their usual gangs of masked-up thugs, quad bikes, terriers, and digging equipment. Terriers were confirmed in action at the Blackmore & Sparkford Vale, Mendip Farmers, Fernie, Fitzwilliam, North Cumberland, and Melbreak Foxhounds. Other hunts were hiding terriers in vehicles, in an effort to cast a ‘smokescreen’ over their activities.

It was also ‘business as usual’ in other respects: the Devon-based Stevenstone Hunt disembowelled yet another fox and the Cottesmore huntsman landed his horse on a member of Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs. Mercifully, the brave sab is ok, but – yet again – it could so easily have been different. South Wales sabs were attacked and had equipment stolen at the Sennybridge Farmers Hunt.

(NB. I have not included the photos taken)

A HSA spokesperson commented.

We have long known that hunting is wholly upregulated and that the BHSA is a bad joke. It is the same legal entity, run by the same people, from the same address, as the discredited Hunting Office. Indeed, as the widespread ignoring of their terrier edict has shown, the BHSA has absolutely no authority with hunters on the ground. Hunting is not some legitimate, regulated activity; it is blatant criminality of the most depraved kind.”

WHEN WILL THEY BAN TRAIL HUNTING AND DEFINE IT AS BARBARIC

Another day Another trail. 

These aren’t a few ‘bad apples.’ Hunting is rotten to its core, and hunting bodies such as the BHSA will never effectively police themselves when at their core they want to repeal the Hunting Act.

As previously reported the BHSA is a superficial rebrand of the Hunting Office, the totally discredited organisation made infamous by leaked webinars that advised hunts on how to use ‘trail hunting’ as a smokescreen for illegal hunting, and indeed a number of BHSA board members have their own patchy history regarding hunting and animal welfare.

While we can’t be certain of what comes next for the Avon Vale Hunt, we can be sure that hunt saboteurs and the wider public will not let the hunt, or the individuals involved, get away with this.

Wiltshire Hunt Commented: After yesterdays expose on the cruel and barbaric criminal behaviour of this particularly vile hunt, we are not surprised to see their new hunting body double down to scapegoat the Avon Vale hunt staff for what is a regular practice amongst all “trail” hunts. Particularly horrific in this case is the knowledge that one of those foxes would have been a pregnant vixen.

Unfortunately, despicable acts such as those seen in yesterday’s video will continue on hunts until loopholes of the Hunting Act are strengthened, terrier work on hunts is banned and there’s proper enforcement of the law.

HUNT SABOTEURS FOLLOW-UP

    The Avon Vale Hunt have today been kicked out of the British Hound Sports Association, hunting’s ‘governing body,’ after damning footage of hunt staff digging out and throwing foxes to waiting hounds was released yesterday.

Masters were summoned to Gloucestershire today for a hearing following the release of the shocking footage, with the subsequent public outcry leaving the BHSA with no other option than to kick them out.

In footage leaked to the Hunt Saboteurs Association and aired on ITV News yesterday evening, members of the hunt including whipper-in Aaron Fookes and three terriermen, are seen crouching over what looks to be a badger sett, with the excited hounds being held back by hunt master Stuart Radbourne and others.

After an orange terrier – sent into the hole to find and attack the poor fox – is removed, Fookes grabs the fox from the earth, whoops to further excite the hounds, and then throws the poor animal to the pack.

As the hounds close in to savage this first victim, a second terrified fox bolts left from the earth and is pursued by some of the pack. This leads a hunter off-camera to scream excitedly that “There’s a brace!” – the hunting term for a pair of foxes.

As the footage closes, Fookes is seen to stretch out his arms in celebration, before he and Radbourne run to their horses to pursue the second fox.

While there is outrage among the hunting community, much of this is at the fact that the incident was filmed and has since been made public, rather than disgust at the actions shown.

The truth is, this incident is far from exceptional and shows the part that ‘terrier work’ plays in a hunting day. Many hunts have and will continue to do similar when they think they aren’t being watched.

THE RIGHT TO ROAM

 

Labour Commit to a Right to Roam Act!

Dear Roamers,
 

Time has been all warp and weft over here at the non-existent Right to Roam HQ. Could it really only be a fortnight since our last missive? There is much to update: from big political progress to the fight against local micro-enclosures, and next steps on Dartmoor.

Let’s get stuck in…

 

Political Progress on a Right to Roam Act

 

A massive thankyou to everyone who's been contacting their MP to call for a Right to Roam Act. We've seen lots of creative letter-writing going on and know that the postal service at the House of Commons will have been busy!

 

Everyone's campaigning is paying off, because the past fortnight has seen some amazing progress in how politicians have been talking about Right to Roam:
 

• The Labour party has said it would introduce a Right to Roam Act as part of its programme for government if it wins the next election. Shadow Environment Secretary Jim McMahon made the announcement after visiting Dartmoor and meeting members of the Right to Roam campaign and The Stars Are For Everyone group. 
• The Liberal Democrats have tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament condemning the recent court ruling outlawing wild camping on Dartmoor. Lib Dem MP Richard Foord has also proposed a Private Members' Bill that would extend the right to wild camp to other national parks in England. 
• And of course we remain hugely grateful to Green MP Caroline Lucas, who has been a long-time supporter of our campaign - the second reading of Caroline's Private Members' Bill on Right to Roam is scheduled for 24th March. If you've yet to write to your MP, please do so, and encourage them to register to speak during this debate.
   

We warmly welcome all these developments and will be continuing to engage with MPs of all parties to champion the need for a strong Right to Roam Act and flesh out details. But remember, the thing that really gets politicians interested is voters telling them what they want - so please keep writing to your MPs!

 

Right to Roam Goes Local to Fight Micro-EnclosuresAA

Events in Dartmoor triggered reflections closer to home for our national organiser, Jon Moses, who has been steadily losing access to his local weir for the past ten years. You can read his powerful Twitter thread about this example of ‘micro-enclosure’ here.

Every week someone gets in touch with their own story of local loss: a treasured woodland suddenly strung with barbed wire, a local meadow sealed off without warning, a river blocked off by fences and gates. As Jon notes: these rarely make national headlines but they’re no less important to how we live our lives.

That’s why we’re working with journalists from the Press Association to build up a national picture of these micro-enclosures for an investigation. 

If you have your own story of a place you love that has been taken away, please drop an email to: danny.halpin@pa.media with as much detail and context as you can provide (please CC us in at righttoroam2020@gmail.com as we may be able to help further with media or local contacts).

The best way to fight these losses is to build power locally. That’s why this year we hope to use the campaign as an icebreaker – linking people interested in land justice around the country to start taking action.

If you’re interested, get in touch with our group coordinator, Maria at: mariafg.rtr@gmail.com
 

Next Steps to Save Wild Camping on Dartmoor

This week we hosted our first online event, featuring writer and long-standing Right to Roam supporter Robert Macfarlane, alongside activists from Right to Roam and The Stars Are For Everyone, to discuss next steps in the campaign to save Dartmoor. You can find the recording of the event here.

Rob’s speech was a work of magic so if you’ve only got a spare ten minutes, make sure you give that a listen [it starts at 2.36].

The big news is that, following pressure from RTR and other access organisations, the Dartmoor National Park Authority have unanimously agreed to launch an appeal against the ruling. Dartmoor Preservation Association are helping the DNPA with a crowdfunder to help support the appeal, which you can contribute to here.

Meanwhile, we want to expand the campaign to wild camp beyond Dartmoor and are calling for wild camping to be permitted across England and Wales’ 13 other national parks.

If you’re a hardy winter camper and would like to participate, then take a night under the stars between February 12th - 26th and share your photos, stories and experiences on social media using the hashtag #TheStarsAreForEveryone. Be sure to leave a positive trace by picking up any litter you see and leaving none yourselves.

 

If camping isn’t possible or desirable due to the time of year, perhaps wake early to witness the early-bird dawn chorus; go for a night walk; or to take to the hills or the greenbelt to watch the first stars emerge: all things made easier by camping when the weather is warmer! 

 

Winter blessings,
Right to Roam Team

ANOTHER INFORMATIVE POST FROM LEGAL JUSTICE

 Good morning! Yesterday we sent a list of 16 questions to Natural England about their role in protecting sites of conservation importance from the harmful impacts of releases of non-native gamebirds, Pheasants in this case. You may remember that back in October 2020, Wild Justice secured a legal victory when Defra promised to introduce regulations on the scale and nature of gamebird releases near sites of high conservation importance - click here.

 

That action by Wild Justice secured changes to the regulations about how many gamebirds can be released in or near sites of conservation importance and the actions that landowners must take when releasing non-native species such as Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges. Let's be clear, these were the biggest changes in regulation of gamebird releases ever seen in the UK.

 

However, we believe that the regulations are a good start but are very weak. They are obviously much better than nothing but they are a start not an end point. And the rules and regulations are only ever effective if they are enforced by regulators.

 

The questions we sent to Natural England yesterday relate to a pretty wood on the edge of Dartmoor, called Dendles Wood. This wood is part of the much larger Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation, it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the wood is owned by Natural England and is a National Nature Reserve. So, Natural England should know all about it as a landowner and a regulator.  We say that, but curiously the Natural England website says that the four land parcels that make up the SSSI were last assessed by Natural England over a decade ago. Can that be right? That's one of the questions we have asked.

 

Why are we asking about Dendles Wood?  Our attention was brought to it by a recent, high-profile, legal case where a local land owner, Alexander Darwall, won a court case where he sought to limit wild camping on his land - click here.  Mr Darwall's Blachford Estate owns parts of Dendles Wood and there is a Pheasant release pen very close to the wood. 

 

People visiting the area say that there are lots and lots of Pheasants on the adjacent moorland and in the wood itself. Given the conservation importance of the wood for rare invertebrates, mosses and lichens we want to know what Natural England is doing to ensure that the conservation value of this designated site is protected.

 

You can read more about Dendles Wood and read the letter sent to Natural England yesterday, with its 16 questions, on our blog - click here.  We'll let you know what they say.

 

 

If you like what we do and would like to make a general donation which will be used across our range of work, then please consider donating through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here.

 

That's it for now. Thank you so much for your support. We couldn't do any of this without you.    

 

EXCELLENT EVIDENCE OBTAINEd DIRECTLY BY THe HUNT SABS

 Here is the latest news from the HSA. ( I have not included the photos which equally show the callousness of these criminals)

Mobile-phone footage passed to the Hunt Saboteurs Association shows members of the Wiltshire-based Avon Vale Hunt throwing and bolting foxes to their hounds.

In the damning footage, Avon Vale whipper-in Aaron Fookes and three terriermen are seen crouching over a fox earth, with the excited hounds being held back by hunt master Stuart Radbourne and others.

After an orange terrier – sent into the hole to find and attack the poor fox – is removed, Fookes grabs the fox from the earth, whoops to further excite the hounds, and then throws the poor animal to the pack.

As the hounds close in to savage this first victim, a second terrified fox bolts left from the earth and is pursued by some of the pack. This leads a hunter off-camera to scream excitedly that “There’s a brace!” – the hunting term for a pair of foxes.

As the footage closes, Fookes is seen to stretch out his arms in celebration, before he and Radbourne run to their horses to pursue the second fox.

We routinely sab this particularly vile and vicious hunt, so we aren’t surprised to see them shrieking in delight as the whip chucks the first fox to the hounds as a second fox tries to flee. It’s almost a year to the day since they seriously assaulted a hunt sab after sabs stopped a similar dig out of a fox from an active badger sett near Erlestoke.

We hope Wiltshire Police do their jobs properly this time. For too long this hunt has gotten away with murder, largely because of the protection of Wiltshire Police who have had serving officers riding with this hunt. The Avon Vale are now truly exposed for the bloodthirsty criminals they are.”

A HSA spokesperson commented:This disgusting video shows the full hierarchy of the criminal Avon Vale Hunt working in concert to torture animals. The lowly terriermen find the foxes, the whipper-in throws one of them to the hounds, while the long-standing hunt master supervises the whole sick spectacle. All of this is for the entertainment of the Avon Vale’s paying subscribers who can be heard jeering and laughing off-camera.

The fact that this video has emerged just a week before the 18th anniversary of the Hunting Act – proves, yet again, what we have been saying for almost two decades. Fox hunts are nothing more than rural OCGs – Organised Crime Gangs – who have been allowed to act with impunity for far too long. It is high time that Westminster followed Scotland’s recent example and finally clamped down on the criminal fox hunters.”

The post “There’s A Brace!” – Avon Vale Hunt Filmed Throwing Two Foxes To Hounds appeared first on Hunt Saboteurs Association.

THE HUNT SABOTEURS AND PROTECTION OF WILD ANIMALS SCOTLAND ACT

HERE IS THE LATEST FROM THE HUNT SABOTEURS

The recent passing of the Hunting with Dogs Scotland Bill has been a huge victory for wildlife and a long awaited improvement on the deeply flawed Protection of Wild Mammals Scotland Act that was introduced in 2002. Although the new BiIl is far from perfect it is still a significant step forward and the cracks within the hunting community are already starting to show.

The new Bill has banned the use of more than 2 dogs for hunting wild mammals, including foxes, mink, hares and rabbits. However, it states that a licence can be applied for in exceptional circumstances enabling hunts to be able to go out with more than two hounds. A hunt can only obtain a licence when every avenue has been exhausted including humane control measures and they will be restricted to just one piece of land. Also, hunts can forget about terrorising wildlife multiple times a week for months on end. If they do secure a licence, they can only be out for 14 days over a 6 month period and will be closely monitored.

The Fife Foxhounds shutting down will bring smiles to many hunt saboteurs who spent years exposing the barbaric practices of the hunt. Sabs were often met with aggression from the hunt who regularly lashed out at them and even on one occasion pointed a shotgun at an activist who was successfully stopping a dig out. Sabs also found themselves subjected to online smear campaigns, often finding pictures of themselves, their vehicles and personal information being shared across a large number of pro-hunt pages with lots of unnerving and worrying comments.

Despite the passing of the Bill, our work is far from over. As ever, hunt sabs will be on the front line, disrupting hunts and advocating for the rights of wildlife. Now, with this new law in place, we can focus on supporting the enforcement of this ban and raising awareness about the importance of protecting wildlife from cruel and inhumane practices. We will continue to effectively sabotage hunts that try to exploit any potential loopholes.

Currently, there are just 9 hunts left in Scotland and all are facing an uncertain future. Myles O’Connor of The Buccleuch Hunt will find himself in court on the 14th of February for illegal hunting. The Bill is casting a dark cloud over the others as we approach the end of the current season. By the time the new season begins in September under the new Bill, we wonder how many hunts will still be around?

LET’S SUPPORT THE BBC AND THE ‘WATCHES’

THE WATCHES. I have enjoyed and learnt from for years. They offer something for a very wide audience and, I think, encourage others to take care of what there is and enjoy the beauty around us. 

On a more serious theme with picking up on a negative comment by Tim Bonner of the country alliance. I get ‘hacked off’ by the rhetoric that flows from the mouths of some. “Let me be clear”, “its broken”, its shambolic” and “everyone knows”. Which takes me to Bonner’s final point when he says “It won’t be missed in the countryside”. So he speaks for everyone does he? He knows the views of everyone? Unrealistic and untrue because he cannot know what we all think. In fact, via Twitter Michaela Strachan says she has been overwhelmed by the responses. And now we can look forward to Springwatch and be positive despite the comments of others.

(This is lifted from a printed article) The camera teams, joined by presenters including the likes of Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke, spread themselves throughout the UK, recording never-before-filmed animal behaviour and sharing incredible wildlife stories.

Springwatch first aired in 2005, with a then one-off special Autumnwatch following, before it became a full series in 2006. Winterwatch then began in 2012.

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said the end of Autumnwatch offered an opportunity for the BBC to ‘rebalance its wildlife programming’.He added: ‘The BBC covers many rural issues well and produces lots of good countryside content, but there have been concerns about Autumnwatch’s unrealistic and anthropomorphic approach for many years.

He added “It won’t be missed in the countryside”. I say he is wrong. Let’s support wildlife and not destroy it.