FROM THE HUNT SABOTEURS

 Here is the latest news from the HSA.

The huntsman of the Fitzwilliam Hunt, Shaun Parish, pleaded guilty to illegally hunting a fox at Peterborough Magistrates Court this morning.

The offence took place near the Cambridgeshire village of Barnack in March last year, during which a fox was dug out from their underground hiding place and flushed out to the hunt’s pack of hounds. Unfortunately for the Fitzwilliam, however, saboteurs were present and recorded the whole incident.

A trial was scheduled for today, but instead Parish chose to plead guilty half an hour beforehand and was subsequently fined £421.

Peterborough Hunt Saboteurs and Beds and Bucks Hunt Saboteurs released a joint statement, saying, 

We are obviously hugely pleased with this outcome. The strength of evidence supplied in this case meant that the Fitzwilliam had no defence to offer. The Fitzwilliam are fast becoming one of the most convicted hunts in the country and it’s clear to everybody that they are simply a criminal gang”.

A HSA spokesperson commented, 

“Today provides yet further evidence that fox hunts are nothing more than rural organised crime gangs. Police investigations are currently ongoing around numerous other hunts and the evidence that fox hunting is rife not only in Cambridgeshire but throughout the UK is now totally irrefutable.

Well done to our Peterborough and Beds & Bucks groups for keeping the pressure on this criminal hunt and saving the lives of many foxes targeted by it.”

RESEARCH INTO HEN HARRIER DEATHS.

 

What many of us knew about the deaths of Hen Harriers

Press release from RSPB: ILLEGAL KILLING IS MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH IN HEN HARRIERS Illegal killing is the main cause of death in Hen Harriers over one year of age and a major cause of deaths in birds under one year according to a new paper, published in the journal Biological Conservation, and led by […]

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THE FINAL TWIST BY JEFFERY DEAVER

 “Jeffery Deaver takes the reader on tortuous journeys and doesn’t spare the detail”

Four thrillers have been published so far with Hunting Time being the last. The Goodbye Man and The Never Game have preceded The Final Twist.

The Shaw family history lies within the books and as the stories unfold we learn more about it. Colter Shaw is the youngest, Russell is an older brother, and Dorion is the sister. There is intrigue and mystery surrounding the absent older brother and that leaves us with Colter as our main man.

He is a reward seeker in the sense of tracking people who have walked away, become lost, or are the victims of kidnapping. He does it for money but he displays values and high ethics. He is the good guy in an otherwise dirty business. 

So far his investigations have taken him into ‘the cult world’ and through the ‘gaming world’ where nothing is as it seems. At the same time as he is seeking to find an individual he is drawn into dangerous situations where people intend to stop him. 

The Final Twist, set in west coast America, is where his search to find the truth places him in extreme danger. They are ‘the big players’ who wish to subvert to gain control and power. And, in doing so, we learn much more of what the family are involved in.

 I’ve made this book seem a simple read but there are so many happenings that will take the reader easily elsewhere for a chapter or three. Twists and turns abound and the story lines are on going. It is continuous and in this third book Russell, the elder son, suddenly appears. He can handle himself as well. But what next?  We now  know in the final chapter both sons are together in the company of their mother. But what do they hope to achieve? So there it is with Hunting Times still to read.

I suggest you read them in the order they were published as there are clear and obvious links running through. 

FROM PROTECT THE WILD

 10,000 back campaign for proper hunting ban

It's now been a couple of weeks since we launched our campaign for a proper ban on hunting.

Our new law would end all hunting with hounds. It would make the sham that is 'trail hunting' illegal. And it would leave nothing up to interpretation.

Over 10,000 of you have now signed our petition which means over 10,000 individual emails have now been sent to Defra asking them to take action to end all hunting with hounds for good.

If you haven't already you can sign our petition here.

CHRIS PACKHAM’S LIBEL TRIAL CONTINUES

CHRIS PACKHAM’S LIBEL TRIAL CONTINUES INTO SECOND WEEK

Chris Packham will return to the High Court today as his libel trial continues into its second week. Chris is taking libel action against three individuals associated with Country Squire Magazine, who are accused of writing defamatory material about him, notably accusations of dishonesty and fraud in relation to the rescue of a number of […]

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THIS IS WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST

 

NATURAL ENGLAND HOSTS DINNER FOR GROUSE SHOOTING INDUSTRY REPS. AFTER SWINTON ESTATE VISIT.

Several months ago I blogged about Natural England's senior management team having a lovely day out on the notorious Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire on 14th February 2023, as indicated by Tweets from Natural England's Chief Exec Marian Spain and Chair, Tony Juniper (see here). When I say Swinton Estate is 'notorious', I'm referring to […]

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JEFFERY DEAVER AND COLTER SHAW

This incredibly brilliant story teller and plotter has engrossed me yet again. If you want to step outside of the normal then these four books will take you into another world full of plot turns and surprises. The pedigree of Mr Deaver is listed within each book and, I ask, how can one man write so many. Obviously he can.

The series is now of four books starting with The Never Game (2019). The family and life of Colter Shaw has been studiously set out and as the story progresses we get more and more. There is reference to the father Ashton Shaw, his way of living and beliefs, that create a mystery which continues through the first book and into The Goodbye Man (2020).  And it has to go beyond that one too for after two books the mystery is still there and eventually the end must come. 

Each book contains a new story. Colter Shaw with his fathers training has exceptional talents. He is a reward seeker in the sense of tracking people who have walked away, become lost and are the victims in a kidnapping. He does it for money but he displays values and high ethics. It can be said that he is a hero? There is fantasy here too and I enjoyed it. 

The Never Game takes the reader into ‘gamers’, into Silicon Valley and the corporate world. What is really real or not. The second, The Goodbye Man, is different, apart from the continuing family matter of Mr Shaw senior. This later one deals with injustice and the search for what really did happen. Colter Shaw has high ideals and they are displayed here. There are seriously nasty people out there and Deaver takes us into the cult world. 

No plot spoilers allowed in my reviews but the endings are worth reading. I never read the blurb as I don’t want to spoil what I can find out for myself. Generally speaking this series is in the crime genre, can be termed thrillers and even travel into fantasy. Any reader should have some idea what they will get from this writer. Why bother with the marketing spiel when the real thing is to read and to be entertained. 

Third in the series is The Final Twist, published in 2021 and lastly, Hunting Time, in 2022. I have these two to get stuck into. Jeffery Deaver will again be at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writers Festival in Harrogate in July. Listening to him is worth an hour of my time.