Written by
Matt on 02 September 2010
Like many other people I have read with interest the excerpts on hunting from Tony’s book (first name terms for those of us here at the League of course) and I was left with the feeling that we should all have tried a little harder a few years back.
Notwithstanding the eighty plus years campaigning, the mass of evidence submitted to the Burns Inquiry, the testimony from those affected by hunt havoc and the hours of video footage...you know the ones, the deer being drowned during a hunt, the terrierwork in Wales etc etc...it is clear we missed a fundamental stage in our campaign.
To put it quite simply we could have made more of an effort to talk to Tony. In hindsight it clearly wasn't good enough for us to think that government was more than one man and that ministers and their advisers understood the objections to hunting with dogs – no, we should have talked more with Tony back then.
In light of this, and adhering to the maxim ‘better ...
Written by
Liam on 02 September 2010
Each year in September, the town of Tordesillas (in Valladolid, Spain) is host to a horrific fiesta known as “El Toro de la Vega.”
The festival begins with the release of a bull into the countryside surrounding the town, whereupon dozens of people then pursue the bull on foot and on horseback, stabbing it with daggers and spears until it collapses exhausted on the ground. The bull’s tail and testicles are then cut off and held aloft as trophies, and the bull is paraded through the town amidst the cheers of bystanders.
In recent years this brutal spectacle has been attended by increasingly large numbers of international tourists, with event organisers trying to ‘sell’ the event as an example of traditional Spanish culture. Needless to say, this is utter rubbish. Spain has an incredibly rich history and culture, and events such as this are nothing more than a dirty stain on its international reputation.
Please help us to fight this cruelty by following this...
Written by
Katy on 01 September 2010
The grouse shooting season is now underway, but for many in rural England that familiar sound of cracking gunshots will permeate our skies in some areas today, marking the start of the partridge shooting season and across the rest of the country on October 1st when the popular pheasant shooting season begins. It is sad but not surprising that while the shooting fraternity will joyfully protest that their ‘sport’ is vital for conservation and that they are concerned about animal welfare but will conveniently forget to mention that tens of thousands of other animals will be wiped out each day in order to protect these valuable bird stocks.
Primitive predator control methods such as the wire snare continue to be the gamekeepers favourite, not because they are effective but more likely because they are cheap. Consequently, due to the indiscriminate nature of these traps all species that can freely roam within their vicinity are at serious risk. Reports come into the League eac...
Written by
Louise on 30 August 2010
If the rumours are to be believed it would appear a certain notorious estate manager in Scotland is up to his old tricks again offering canned and trophy hunting on the Dumfries-shire sporting estate he manages.
No stranger to controversy, this delightful character has made the headlines in the past for charging up to £2,000 a day for hunters to shoot bisen, wild boar, elk and even ostriches on the estate. Just a couple of years ago the estate was slammed when allegations of hunting wild boar with dogs surfaced.
Mr Trophy Hunting himself has never been very popular with the locals but he seems to have ruffled a few feathers yet again and if our sources are correct efforts are being made to prevent him having his license to keep dangerous wild animals renewed. Apparently this expires in December this year and it may not just be us having a quiet word with the council...
Written by
Christina on 27 August 2010
...We need to know where hunts are hunting, where they are meeting and when they’re going out. If you have any of this information please call our Hunt Crimewatch team on 01483 524250 or email us at campaigns@league.org.uk.
The hunting season has just begun and in an ideal world this would mean hunts are preparing for a season of trail and drag hunting. However, we know that in many cases the reality is very different.
Wild animals will suffer in their masses as some hunts take to the field hunting as they traditionally did before the Hunting Act came into force. Sadly a number of hunts believe they are above the law and will continue to chase and kill wild mammals purely for sport.
However, those who put two fingers up to the law will be brought to justice, as the figures testify. There is an average of one conviction under the Hunting Act every fortnight and with around 140 pr...
Written by
Steve on 27 August 2010
This week's note from Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive.
I suppose pre-season pheasant theft is bound to happen, but I couldn’t help a wry smile about the story regarding the hundreds of stolen pheasant poults, when the aggrieved party was reported as being a Mr Partridge.
As far as the majority of poor partridges are concerned their shooting season starts next Wednesday, 1St September. Millions of the poor birds will have been bred, reared and released into the wild to be live targets for sport. Unlike the bull that apparently decided it was safer to be a member of the audience than it was to be in the bull ring, the partridges don’t have any realistic option to being shot at for sport.
The whole shooting bloodsport would be very different if the pheasants and partridges could shoot back. Imagine how ...
Written by
Louise on 26 August 2010
It's not just the UK party conferences the League will be attending, we will also be out and about at the main conferences in Scotland, Northern Ireland and for the first time Wales.
We're all booked up for SNP in Perth and Scottish Labour in Oban, both in October where we have a stand at each. At SNP we are also hosting a joint fringe with Advocates for Animals on snaring, chaired by SNP MSP Christine Grahame it's sure to be a lively debate. The meeting is on Saturday 16 October at 12.30 so if you're at the conference why don't you come along?
We've also just received the dates for the Northern Irish conferences this year so we'll be booking our stands at DUP, UUP, Sinn Fein, Alliance and SDLP conferences. With our new Wales campaigner in post we'll be making an appearance at Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru as well. So it looks like a busy few months ahead for the regional campaigners...
Written by
Robin on 24 August 2010
I have just finished reading Linda Colley’s Britons. In the book, Colley make a number of interesting points about the history of fox hunting.
Colley notes that during the eighteenth century, fox hunting had been the “casual and disorganised” pursuit of backwoods squires and farmers. It was during the latter half of the century that the ‘sport’ began to change to a more recognisably modern form. Colley describes the devastating impact of the sport on the rural environment. “Hedges were torn down, ditches filled, gates and bridges built”. Worse still, the privacy of tenants was invaded, “all in pursuit of the unfortunate, uneatable fox”. Colley believes this was the important point, describing the “inedibility of the quarry” as “the great giveaway”.
Colley goes on to point out the importance of fox hunting to local landowners in reaffirming their archaic domin...
Written by
Steve on 23 August 2010
The latest issue of
Campaign Update, the League's quarterly magazine, is now
available for download. Members and supporters will receive their copy by post in the next few days.
August's issue includes features on:
- the Fighting Dogs Conference in July
- our Hunting Annual Report
- the conviction of the Ullswater Foxhounds' terrierman
- a ban on hare coursing in Northern Ireland
- our new campaigner in Wales
- the 'Glorious' Twelfth
- Cubhunting
- Keep Cruelty History wins an award
- local groups update
- Catalonian vote on bullfighting
- World anti-bullfighting summit in Barcelona
If you'd like to receive a printed copy in future, why not consider
joining the League?
Written by
Steve on 20 August 2010
This week's note from Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive.
Take a step back and ask yourself these two questions: Why do we allow people to hold firearms at home and why do we allow them to use them to shoot and kill animals for sport?
There are an estimated seven million airguns in the hands of an estimated four million owners. There were at least 1.4m licensed shotguns and 435,000 certificated firearms licenses granted in the last ten years to over half a million people.
By any measure there are a heck of a lot of guns in the hands of the general public and it is equally clear that the vast majority of those guns are not held as a working day requirement of the gun holders’ job. The rational question to ask, is do the public really need the guns that they hold?
Gun laws have a long history and to understand some of where we have ended up with guns, it is important to remember that the right to bear arms was fought over between king an...
Written by
Liam on 19 August 2010
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said in a number of speeches that the new government has a ‘progressive’ agenda, and has even tried to make comparisons with the progressive Whig/Liberal governments of the 1830s.
Considering that Liberal politicians of the 1830s were the architects of the 1835 Cruelty to Animals Act - which banned badger baiting, bear baiting and cockfighting amongst a raft of new animal welfare measures - this seems an intriguing angle for Mr Clegg to take.
If he wants to emulate his progressive forefathers, Mr Clegg and his government need to show a little more respect to the Hunting Act, which took on the mantle of its predecessors and banned the last vestiges of ‘animal upon animal’ bloodsports.
Come on Nick – embrace your heritage and tell the world that the Hunting Act should stay right where it is!
Written by
Sarah on 19 August 2010
An aspect of bullfighting that not many people may know about is ‘Recortes’ or bull-leaping, a form of bullfighting far less popular than the commonly seen corridas. This is where a bull is released into a ring, and various ‘acrobats’ known as Recortadores provoke the bull to charge them and they then compete by leaping, jumping and somersaulting over the bull while the animal gets more and more agitated.
Perhaps it is not surprising that this week a bull suffering this stressful experience and frantically trying to escape from a ring in the town of Tafalla in Navarre, northern Spain, leapt over the barrier and into the crowd. Panicked spectators tried to avoid the bull which was obviously in distress, but around 40 people were injured. The bull was then cornered, tied up with rope so it could not move, winched out of the stands by a crane and then destroyed. Traditionally, bulls are not killed at the end of Recortes, but this one stood no chance.
This i...
Written by
Liam on 19 August 2010
Picture the scene: you're tired and disorientated, and a huge crowd of people is swarming all around you. The crowd reaches a point of hysteria and begins to stab you repeatedly with spears, draining your body of blood and slowly killing you. You have no chance of escape, and death is a certainty. When the inevitable happens, your tail will be cut off and kept as a gruesome souvenir.
This is the scene every year in Castilla y Léon, Spain, at the Toro de la Vega festival, where a bull is tortured in the name of "entertainment". If you want to take action against this then please write to Juan Vicente Herrera, the Mayor of Castilla y Leon, and express your concerns.
You can write to Mr Herrera at ayto.tordesillas@dip-valladolid.es. Please be sure to deliver your comments in a polite tone.
Written by
Liam on 19 August 2010
This week’s edition of Shooting Times and Country Magazine contains some very strongly-worded criticisms of the Countryside Alliance – and all from their own supporter base! Well, guys, you said it! Here are a few choice quotes for your reading pleasure...
“I am not alone in being cynical about the CA’s tactics when, as soon as the hunting ban came in, shooting became its pet subject and it was suddenly our “best friend”… At the CLA Game Fair, the CA was trying to woo members from other organisations with cut-price membership deals – this suggests to me a hint of desperation” – W. Cole
“Its (the CA’s) full-page advertisement… merely highlights its use of emotive and misleading tactics in its desperate attempts to revitalise its rapidly declining membership, and more importantly its bankrupt coffers.” – P. Robbins
“When will the CA admit that it was unable to get it right over hunting…? (and) when will Shooting Times stop allying itself with such a bunch o...
Written by
Steve on 19 August 2010
Spend a day in our campaigns team, monitoring the guff published by our opponents, and you wonder how they ever have time to do anything else but spread their malicious lies and rumour.
Take yesterday, for example. We had an email bulletin from the Countryside Alliance's south west region which claimed that the story about our £1m campaign to protect the Hunting Act began in the Western Daily Press after a disgruntled League member phoned that paper.
That's a lie; plain and simple. What actually happened is that we offered the story exclusively to the WDP for 11th August, six days later than planned to accommodate a journalist's holiday. That's precisely why the CA didn't get their dirty mitts on the story until it broke.
That same email - titled 'grass e-route' because, we suspect, one has to smoke a great deal of grass for any of it to be believable - claimed we have less than 3,000 members (another lie) and that...
Written by
Louise on 18 August 2010
The controversial subject of tail docking of dogs has reared its head again in the form of a recent study by the University of Bristol and the Royal Veterinary College. Among the findings of the study is the conclusion that 500 dogs would have to have their tails docked to prevent one injury. That's 500 puppies being subjected to a painful operation just in case...
The report also concluded that the risk of a dog injuring its tail is as small as 0.23%, with the risk increased slightly for working dogs at 0.29%. In our view the study gives no justification for prophylactic tail docking.
In Scotland the docking of all dogs is banned and in Northern Ireland, politicians have the opportunity to follow suit under the new Welfare of Animals Bill. In England and Wales although tail docking is banned there is an exemption for working dogs but a survey of Scottish vets found that 82% had not seen an increase in tail injuries since the blanket ban on docking was in...
Written by
Steve on 17 August 2010
The autumn Party Conferences are just around the corner, and preparations here at League HQ are well underway. We have a stand at all three main conferences, and a fringe event at which we'll be discussing our hunting campaign.
We need volunteers to help us to promote our fringe events at the conference. If you are in - or near - any of the following cities on the dates shown, please contact us. This is not a demonstration; we are asking volunteers to hand out a leaflet encouraging people to attend the events.
Liverpool - Liberal Democrat Conference
Volunteers needed 10am-7pm, Sunday 19th September
Manchester - Labour Conference
Volunteers needed 9am-7pm, Tuesday 28th September
Birmingham - Conservative Conference
Volunteers needed 1pm-9pm, Tuesday 5th October
Volunteers don't need to commit to the f...
Written by
Matt on 13 August 2010
Sometimes you really couldn’t make this stuff up, and when I refer to ‘this stuff’ I mean the complete disregard certain elements of the hunting community have for the rest of us.
The subject of hunt havoc where out of control hounds (and staff!) wreak chaos in the countryside is a case in point and sadly something we at the League know an awful lot about. This can include anything from traffic disruption to pet and livestock fatality – just imagine that for a moment... your loving companion animal torn to pieces by a pack of marauding hounds and if you’re lucky someone in a red jacket offering the consolation, “You’re in the country now”.
With this in mind I came across what has to be one of the most staggering and reckless incidents of hunt havoc we’ve had reported to us in recent years. It was sent to us by the driver of an Inter-City express train that was on the run up from Bristol to Paddington. I’ll let the driver take up the story from here:
Written by
Steve on 13 August 2010
This week's note from Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive.
Sometimes it is more instructive to look closely at what some people are actually doing than it is to listen to what they are saying. The bloodsports industry likes to make a great deal of the so called glorious twelfth, but the reality on the ground is somewhat different.
Grouse shooting, red deer shooting, salmon fishing and pheasant and partridge shooting have never been poor men’s sports. As the royal family progress from grouse and red deer shooting at Balmoral to pheasant shooting at Sandringham, over the late summer and early autumn we are all reminded by the pro hunting and shooting press that bloodsports have supporters in the upper echelons of our society.
The interesting question to ask is: what are the smart money men doing? No doubt the usual sad trail of wannabes, parvenus and those with more money that they know what to do with will flash their wads but they are not the...
Written by
Steve on 12 August 2010
BBC Complaints
PO Box 1922
DARLINGTON
DL3 0UR
Dear Sir or Madam
Coast, series 5 episode 5, Galway to Arranmore Island
A report on the ‘thriving’ population of Irish hares on Oyster Island featured at approximately 39 minutes into the above programme. In the voiceover, the reporter says that, in hare coursing “…the dogs are muzzled to minimise injuries, and after competitions, the hares are released back to where they came from.”
We believe this to be inaccurate and misleading and would like to see an urgent correction on a future edition of the programme.
Hare coursing was banned in England and Wales in 2004 and in Northern Ireland a ban was agreed by the Assembly earlier this year.
Before major hare coursing events hares are captured from other areas and held in the area of the ...
Written by
Steve on 11 August 2010
One expects very little of the Daily Telegraph, and their fawning sycophantic coverage of bloodsports never disappoints. In the run up to the 'Glorious' Twelfth tomorrow, the DT website carried a piece by Robin Page (yes, he's still around) gushing over some female gamekeeper on the basis that she's ... erm ... female.
Of course, the editorial line in the DT often owes much to the days when females belonged below stairs, but you'd think someone there would put the kybosh on such claptrap.
The article is worth a read, if only for one reason. At one point, Page asks his subject if what she does for a living is cruel. Her answer is priceless: “No. I dispatch the foxes humanely, once they are snared, with a .22 rifle. The snares do not hurt them. I have accidentally caught my dog in...
Written by
Matt on 10 August 2010
Things just got very serious for two ‘countrymen’ at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Messrs Paul Billington and Gerard Monk were both convicted of attempting to kill a badger, digging for badgers, three charges of interfering with a badger’s sett and hunting a wild mammal with dogs on May 11, 2008.
Anyone who thinks the courts can be too lenient might like to ponder the next bit: both were given four-month suspended prison sentences and banned from keeping dogs for five years. They were also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £12,376.25 in costs.
According to a news report the original defence of the convicted men rested on the fact that they were not aware (surprise, surprise!) that the hole they were digging was a badger’s sett. The courts were however satisfied with the evidence of James Ashley, chairman of the Shropshire Badger Group who stated that it was obvious to him that the hole was a badger’s sett.
How’s that for an expen...
Written by
Christina on 10 August 2010
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Stanley Fox at the grand old age of 12.5 years.
After suffering a traumatic experience as a cub Stanley Fox went to a wildlife rescue centre run by two League supporters, before moving to the League’s Baronsdown sanctuary in 1999 with Rosie Fox.
Over the years Stanley has given many hours of enjoyment to countless League supporters, as well as visiting school, college and other groups. Stanley has also appeared in numerous League publications.
Stanley Fox will be sadly missed by all those who had the privilege to know him.
Paul Tillsley
Head of Operations
Find out more about the League's sanctuaries
Written by
Matt on 10 August 2010
One thing is for certain if you are a dog owner - there will always be people who think they know better than you when it comes to dogs and their welfare. I remember an incident where a friend was widely abused by a group of dog owners for ‘pinning’ his dog on its back in Greenwich park. However if the chorus of disapproval had just taken the time to speak sensibly to him they would have discovered that he was trying to secure a torn dew claw before carrying his dog to the car and then on to the vets where he was working as a locum!
I was reminded of this reading the latest dispute in the world of dog training. Perhaps it is the media ramping up the rhetoric but essentially the battle lines have been drawn between the celebrity dog trainers Victoria Stillwell and Cesar Milan.
At the heart of the dispute appears to be the latter’s claim that dogs require firm leadership including physical intervention whilst, according to the Daily Mail, Stillwell advoca...
Written by
Katy on 09 August 2010
The League is concerned to hear that Cobble Hey Farm, near Lancaster, is refusing to back down on its decision to stage a Pig Racing event.
Pig racing is a very distressing experience for the piglets involved, as the animals are not at all suited to running distances. Pigs are unable to sweat when running in heat and their sensitive nature means that they become extremely frightened when faced with the hustle and bustle of a crowd.
Cobble Hey’s first pig race was intended to raise money for North West Air Ambulance. However, they have now written to Cobble Hey saying that they do not want any animals to suffer during the course of fu...
Written by
Christina on 06 August 2010
Our local group in Durham is going to be out and about tomorrow (despite forecasts of rain) collecting donations and talking to members of the public about our campaigns.
They are one of our smaller local groups but this doesn’t stop them from campaigning almost every weekend. Tomorrow they will have an information stall at Millburngate bridge and I would encourage everyone to go along and show your support. I am constantly blown away by the dedication displayed by our local groups and everyone at the League would like to say a massive thank you.
If you would like to get a bit more involved in local campaigning; from letter writing to street collections, fundraising to lobbying your local politicians, then please get in touch.
You can check to see if there’s a local group in your area and conta...
Written by
Steve on 06 August 2010
This week's note from Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive.
The League Against Cruel Sports is aptly named. As a charitable organisation we seek to provide human benefit by promoting and facilitating change for the better. In our case the focus of our work is on doing things that will reduce or eliminate acts of cruelty to animals by people.
Ever since the League was founded in 1924 it has faced determined opposition from the bloodsports lobby who have wanted to retain and to promote a freedom to be cruel to animals for sport.
In many ways the struggle to improve animal welfare has been a totemic one. On the one hand are people wanting to be free to do as they liked with animals regardless of the animal welfare issues involved, and on the other hand are those who see cruelty to animals for sport as unacceptable and morally wrong.
Over the years it has become legally and generally accepted that there is not and should not be a freedom ...
Written by
Liam on 05 August 2010
…but there’s still an awfully long way to go. Catalonia may have banned the brutality of the bullfight last week, but other cruel fiesta events such as the infamous “Toro de Fuego” remain legal in many areas of Spain.
The Toro de Fuego, known in English as the “Fire Bull”, is still common across Spain and involves enormous cruelty. At the beginning of the event a metal device containing flammable material is fixed onto the horns of the bull and is set alight. Transformed into a state of terror, the bull panics and starts running, and this stirs up the fire even more.
Eventually, after the fire has burned for hours, the bull’s horns have disintegrated and the fire starts to burn its body alive. In desperation, the bull will often hurl itself against walls to try and end its own life. After the bull has endured enormous levels of pain and suffering from the flames – as well as taunts and abuse from the crowds – it is eventually stabbed to death.
Amidst the hy...
Written by
Steve on 05 August 2010
Turn to page three of this week's Countryman's Weekly and it's very clear that silly season is upon us.
In an article headed 'League chief seeks advice from the Countryside Alliance', they say:
Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, is pictured outside the Countryside Alliance stand at the CLA Game Fair where he is clearly debating an issue of significant importance with, amongst others, Tim Bonner, the Alliance's head of media.
As the League have been subscribers to The Countryman's Weekly for a number of years but have declined the offer of a free gift - which includes a cartridge belt, a game bag, or a knife - we wondered whether he was seeking advice over what might be the most use to him or his organisation.
Well, sorry to disappoint chaps, but he was being recorded for Radio 4's Farming Today. And we won't be renewing our subscription to CW; our media monitoring ...
Written by
Steve on 05 August 2010
It has been another remarkable week in the media life of the fox. In rather the same way that the apparent fox attacks on the Koupparis girls led to hysteria against foxes, this week's story of the Urban Fox Hunters blog has led to something approaching hysteria - but on both sides of the fence. Most of the national newspapers have reported the story, but most have refrained from intonation.
The first interesting thing about this story has been the way in which some in the pro-bloodsports lobby (such as Baily's Hunting) have condemned the Urban Foxhunters, whilst others have offered their support. The Countryside Alliance have been characteristically quiet, hoping the public don't notice the bloodsports for which they stand.
But the second interesting thing is the way in which it's beco...
Written by
Steve on 05 August 2010
We have been contacted by a Channel 4 television programme who've asked us if any of our supporters would like to win ... a house.
Here's the email:
We are looking for people to take part in filming who would like the chance to win a home in the British countryside (Yorkshire) and start a new life mortgage free.
The reason I am contacting you is that we are trying to spread the word to people across the UK who might benefit from this opportunity and are particularly interested in hearing from those who might have a real vested interest in living in a rural village, so animal and nature lovers seem an obvious choice.
I am hoping your members that would like to live closer to nature and could really gain from living mortgage free might be interested in finding out a bit more about the series.
Is this something that you would consider informing your members/mailing list about on our behalf? It would be g...
Written by
Steve on 04 August 2010
We were booked to do an interview on talkSPORT on Wednesday evening at 10.15pm, to talk about the Urban Fox Hunters story.
They called our interviewee at 10.05pm to say that they had rearranged their schedule and wouldn't be running the story. We accepted that; these things happen in radio.
They then ran the story, together with an interview with Jim (yawn) Barrington, the man who was once a hunt sab, then director of the League in the 1980s, and now works for the Countryside Alliance and the Middle Way Group and the Masters of Foxhounds Association. He's probably the only vegetarian in the world who thinks hunting and shooting aren't cruel.
We've had a fair few messages from supporters via email, twitter and Facebook, asking about Barrington. The above should make things quite clear. He worked for us - once. Hardly interesting. After all...
Written by
Liam on 04 August 2010
An opinion poll commissioned by the Wall Street Journal has revealed that 90% of Americans support Catalonia’s recent decision to ban bullfighting. Over one thousand people took part in the poll, and the result indicates that there is a high level of international support for the ban.
Previous polling by the League Against Cruel Sports has revealed that 89% of British people are opposed to bullfighting, whilst polling in Spain consistently shows that over 60% of Spaniards want to see an end to the bullfight.
It is becoming increasingly clear that people from all nations and from all walks of life have had enough of this cruel sport. Here’s to the future!
Written by
Matt on 04 August 2010
I know this kind of thing isn't usually the preserve of a blog but I thought it might prove useful to those of you who follow and support the work we do at the League.
Many of you might be scratching your heads thinking, 'Cubhunting?? You mean this has a season!!?' and believe me you wouldn't be alone. In fact all of the species typically hunted in a calendar year have a season, some of which are more rigidly adhered to than others.
Because of this you might like to look at the little cheat sheet below just to get a feel for how the hunting calendar breaks down. Of course in an ideal world this would be little more than a blast from the past but as the 138 convictions under the Hunting Act demonstrate there are some determined and quite ruthless people out there.
Fox: Historically 1st November through to March or April depending on hunt
Fox cub hunting (Autumn hound training): Historically between August and October
Brown h...
Written by
Steve on 03 August 2010
The idea that the League's eighty year campaign to ban hunting was based on class prejudice is probably the most common pro-hunt argument we hear.
Interestingly, it's also one of the easiest to debunk. For a start, if the Hunting Act was brought in out of class prejudice, by people who dislike the 'upper classes', why would we be rejoicing at the number of convictions under the Hunting Act when many of the convicts are working class? On this measure alone, if it was borne of class warfare, we have failed miserably!
The argument also relies on the notion that the League is made up of working class warriors who hold something against the upper classes. What bunkum. The League's staff, supporters and membership come from all walks of life. Nor are they townies; staff in the League's campaigns team live in Kent, Surrey, Cornwall, Powys, Fife, and Lincolnshire as well as Belfast and London.
In his blogpost last week, our chief exec Douglas made r...
Written by
Steve on 02 August 2010
Over the last few days we have been inundated by calls and emails from supporters concerned with the internet birth of a group calling themselves 'Urban Fox Hunters'.
On the group's blog and Facebook page, they claim to be feeding dog food laced with Xanax to foxes, in order to sedate them. They then chase after them and beat them to death with a cricket bat. All of this takes place while the group members wear masks to conceal their identity, and use military style heat-seeking cameras to find their quarry.
Film of the group in action have been posted on the blog via YouTube and Vimeo, but both sites have removed the films for terms of service violations. It remains live on Facebook.
Right now, several people in various teams at the League are looking into this case. We'll keep you posted, but we can't say...
Written by
Matt on 30 July 2010
This week's note from Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive.
My visit to the CLA Game Fair last week was a profoundly depressing experience. It was like stepping into a time warp where change was not the order of the day. The fair was situated in the grounds of a Palladian mansion and was a show case for cruel sports. Guests who couldn’t be bothered to wait in the traffic queues flew in by helicopter while mere mortals queued to be allowed into the grounds of a country estate, home for a few days to the hunt, shoot and kill for sport brigade.
The first thing that struck me was the other worldliness of it all. Dress code varied from gamekeeper tweed through to sweat shirts better not seen on most people. Accents varied from the cut glass through to the determined ‘effing’ and ‘blinding’ more usually heard on building sites. The crowds were walking around below a huge and presumably helium filled flying green welly. Somehow it made the whole show look ...
Written by
Katy on 28 July 2010
Historic judgement was passed earlier today to ban bullfighting in the Catalan region. The Bill will come into force on January 1st 2012 which marks a huge victory for the many anti bullfighting organisations that have spent years campaigning to end this bloody and outdated sport.
League Chief Executive Douglas Batchelor said “The League is thrilled that Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting and hopes that this will influence other Spanish regions to follow suit. We look forward to working towards all remaining bullfighting regions putting ‘cruel sports firmly in the past as Catalonia has done”
Written by
Matt on 28 July 2010
From time to time the League is contacted by people who utter the familiar words, ‘I used to go out with the hunt...’. What follows is usually a description of how the caller came to see a different and ‘unsporting’ side to hunting with dogs.
No exception to this was a man who contacted us last week. This chap had worked at various hunts in his early years and was rightly convinced that hunting belonged to another less enlightened age. He spoke at length about his experiences and then said something that I think bears repeating here: “In the old days the terrier shows used to have a category for most injured dog.”
I think, or at least hope, that most reasonable people who own dogs would be appalled if their dog was injured and not seek to glorify the animal’s misfortune.
However this is where the people who hunt seem to differ from the rest of us and in fact find common cause with those who choose to fight dogs. Both groups seemingly take p...
Written by
Robin on 27 July 2010
The League Against Cruel Sports is increasingly focusing more of its time and attention on the sadistic practice of urban dog fighting. Dog fighting was the focus of a special meeting the League held last month, and of the annual lecture delivered at the AGM. But dog fighting is not new. Similarly, it is a crime that can seemingly be hidden within plain sight.
As the newly-appointed Wales Campaigner, the news that someone involved in dog fighting from the Caerphilly-area was sentenced to prison earlier this month, and banned from keeping dogs for ten years, filled me with mixed emotions. I am glad that the individual has been imprisoned. But I also feel shame that this is happening somewhere only a short distance from where I grew up.
I guess that’s the point. Urban dog fighting, while perhaps most clo...
Written by
Katy on 26 July 2010
We’re just days away from a historic decision in the Catalan Parliament which could see an end to bullfighting in the region. Politicians will vote on Wednesday, for the third and final time, on whether or not to ban the cruel spectacle.
The first two votes were passed in favour of a ban and if this one succeeds it will make Catalonia only the second region in Spain to prevent bullfighting from continuing. The Canary Islands were the first to do so back in 1991.
The vote was previously postponed after calls from the centre-right Popular Party to clarify legal issues surrounding the Spanish constitution.
A vote to end bullfighting will be a vote for common sense and testament to all the hard work from our fellow anti-bullfighting organisations in Europe. It could even lead to other Spanish regions following suit with Madrid’s regional Parliament already committing to discuss whether to include the issue on its agenda.
The League is urging Politi...
Written by
Katy on 26 July 2010
It is that time of year again, when the hunters and shooters really hope that members of the public are not looking too closely at what they are doing to animals for sport.
The fox hunters, or at least the ones determined to break the law, are setting about training their new entry of hounds to find and kill foxes, and are not training them to follow artificial scents. Instead of laying a false trail and rewarding the new entry who find the end of the trail with dog biscuits, they are trooping off to the woods where they know young fox cubs will be at play. If you see a pack acting suspiciously please let us know by calling our hunt Crime watch line on 01483 524250.
During a traditional cub hunt the followers surround a wood and make noises so that any fox or cub hearing or seeing them turns back into the woodland where the hounds will find it. The young hounds are taught by the older hounds to chase and to kill and the cubs are no match for the much bigg...
Written by
Matt on 23 July 2010
Just in case some of you haven’t heard, MPs are about to go on their summer hols – or more accurately Parliament is about to go into summer recess. This means we’d like you to take part in our latest action.
At the moment the League has two very important Early Day Motions (EDM) supporting the Hunting Act and condemning the cruelty of the Rodeo events. Both of our EDMs have gained lots of signatures already but we’d like to see if we can get even more before the recess.
Check and see if your MP has signed the EDMs and if they haven’t then please urge them to do so. Help us say no to the
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Written by
Liam on 22 July 2010
From Robin Lewis, Wales Campaigner
It is an enormous privilege to be joining the League Against Cruel Sports as their Wales Campaigner. The creation of the post is an exciting development for the League, as it is the first time that the charity has had a dedicated campaigner based in Wales.
Campaigners in Scotland and Northern Ireland have achieved some remarkable results. I look forward to working towards achieving similar outcomes with supporters, politicians and others throughout Wales.
Written by
Liam on 21 July 2010
Evidence provided by the League Against Cruel Sports has lead to another successful conviction under the Hunting Act.
Alistair Robinson, a terrierman with the Ullswater Foxhounds, Cumbria, has today been found guilty of breaching the Hunting Act by illegally hunting a wild mammal in October last year.
Video evidence captured by League observers shows Robinson digging out the fox from underground and then beating it to death on 26 October 2009. He then tried to hide the carcass in a dry stone wall where it was later retrieved and found to have suffered horrific injuries.
The Judge, Mr Chalk, said he was “fully satisfied that Robinson was hunting a wild mammal illegally”. Robinson was fined £250 and ordered to pay £900 in costs.
The League regularly monitors the activities of hunts across the UK, and today's guilty verdict is yet another example of how vital the League’s work is in assisting the police with ensuring the Hunting Act is effecti...
Written by
Liam on 20 July 2010
We’ve just received news that upcoming film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara will feature a scene which glorifies the Running of the Bulls. Bull Running is often perceived as a bit of harmless fun, but behind the image of an exciting and ‘macho’ holiday lies a reality of animal cruelty.
At the start of the run the bulls are chased out of the pens by force, with iron bars and electric prods commonly used to scare the animals and make them run. The bulls are soon surrounded by thousands of drunken and inexperienced tourists, many of whom will pull their sensitive tails and hit and kick them.
The bulls also frequently slip on the wet and uneven streets, which results in broken bones and damaged muscles and tendons. When the bulls eventually arrive in the bullring, they are locked up in dark cages and will be tortured and killed in a bullfight the same evening.
And it is not only the bulls who suffer. Injury and death to human beings is becoming more com...
Written by
Katy on 19 July 2010
The number of MPs who have signed our Early Day Motion on the Calgary Stampede Rodeo has now raced up to an impressive sixty-six, which is great news! Thanks to all for helping us put the Rodeo issue into the minds of many of our MPs. Our condemnation of the Calgary Stampede has made sufficient noise in Westminster to gain us considerable press attention in Canada.
Although the stampede has finished we will keep campaigning against this unnecessary and barbaric cruelty. If you have not yet contacted your MP asking them to sign the Early Day Motion then please do so at
www.league.org.uk/rodeo
Written by
Matt on 19 July 2010
Looking through the League’s archive can be a revelatory experience.
It can also lead to a feeling of deja vu particularly when one considers the hunting community’s bizarre insistence that hunting with dogs is not, in fact, cruel.
Perhaps more than any other this has been the fall back position of the hunting community when all other justifications for the activity have been found wanting.
When considering the following quotations one can imagine the familiar refrain of 'If you just came out with us on a hunt you’d see that it isn’t cruel' or 'What do you townies know about country ways?'. How odd then to note exactly who was making these statements.
“In every hunt there are one or two people, particularly the terrier men, who get a sadistic pleasure from tormenting foxes” – Paul Woodhouse, Professional Huntsman to the Derwent Fox Hounds, ‘News of the World’, 24.10.1982
“Pain and suffering is inflicted on animals in the course...
Written by
Steve on 18 July 2010
From Joshua Kaile, the League's Parliamentary & Political Officer.
We know that the vote on repeal of the Hunting Act probably won't be before October. But there is so much work to do between now and when the vote does come, and I am appealing for your help.
Three weeks ago, I had a conversation with a supporter of the League who’d just got back from meeting her MP. Her MP had always been in favour of repeal. But she told me that she had changed his mind – and that’s now been confirmed. It just goes to show that your actions do change opinions.
MPs are heading off on their summer holidays in the next two weeks, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. There are three things you can do to help me and my colleagues protect the future of the Hunting Act.
1. You can write a letter to your local newspaper, highlighting the fact that the government are allowing time for a free vote on the hunting issue. Use the letters page to tell ...
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