Twenty years after the passing of the Hunting Act there are still several hundred hunts going out with packs of hounds (and more often than not with a hardcore of badger baiters and dog fighters that make up hunt ‘terriermen’).Having tried to bludgeon the public and the authorities into submission and force repeal of the Act, which numerous Tory politicians (and one or two anomalous Labour politicians like the unlamented Kate Hoey) wanted to see happen, they have been largely backed into a corner where they (and their websites) now have to routinely claim they are ‘hunting within the law’. That has come about not because the police or the CPS have cracked down on law-breaking by hunts over the last two decades, but because a relatively small group of sabs and monitors have (firstly) done everything they can to stop hunts killing wildlife through interference, and (more latterly) as consumer equipment has become cheaper and more available documented hunts regularly breaking the law. That has led to more social and mainstream media exposure and more public outrage. Hunting is dying, but right now its corpse is still kicking. It’s vital groups can keep applying pressure. Manpower/volunteers on the ground will always be the most crucial element, but ensuring those ‘eyes in the field’ have the right tools, the right equipment, is right up there too. And while equipment is vastly better in a myriad of ways than even a decade ago, it is still relatively expensive - especially when added alongside the cost of operating a vehicle that covers thousands of miles every ‘season’: fuel, running repairs, insurance etc. Which is why Protect the Wild looked at the sporadic grant-giving we operated under our previous iteration as Keep the Ban, and decided to supercharge it. We launched our Equipment Fund and Support Networkabout eighteen months ago and haven’t looked back since. In just the last six weeks we have sent new cameras and radios to Cheshire Hunt Sabs, a thermal imager to Derbyshire Against the Cull, contributed to a drone bought by Dorset Hunt Monitors, provided drone batteries and abodycam to Locals Against the BSV, and helped South Norfolk Hunt Saboteurs stay on the road. And just a few days ago we answered a call made by a group we have been proud to help before - Cheshire (Borderland) Monitors who have repeatedly exposed criminality by the Wynnstay Hunt…
Of course when our colleagues at Cheshire Borderland Monitors say ‘thanks to PTW’ they are also thanking our incredible supporters, because without our supporters there is no equipment fund and there is no kit to give out. We have said many times that we will never forget that this is very much a joint effort between Protect the Wild and you. We are the conduit, we liaise with the groups, establish what they need, and work with them to get the kit out to them - but it’s YOU that helps us to fund everything. Which is why we always thank our own supporters when we write posts like this. And we mean every word when we do. This year alone we have provided groups with over £13,000 worth of funding - that money comes from supporters who have entrusted us to spend their money with the due diligence it deserves. Sabbing and monitoring - protecting wildlife from the people who want to harm animals - can be dangerous and exhausting. But we, us, you, the groups we support are making a genuine difference, out in the field where it is needed. Hunts are losing support and being watched like never before. So, thank you to the groups out on the front line - and thank you to every single one of you who are supporting them.
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