It should be a season of rest - for all of us.
In the stillness of winter, the countryside seems to pause. The branches bare, the fields silvered with frost, the hedgerows tucked under snow.
Out there in the cold woods, a fox might curl up beneath a thicket, her breath rising in the chilly air. A deer might shelter beneath holly and ivy, instinctively wary, but momentarily at peace.
They deserve that peace. Especially now.
But even at Christmas, when kindness should reign and no creature should be made to suffer, animals like these are still pursued for so-called ‘sport’. While the rest of the country prepares to celebrate warmth and family, animals are left to run. To hide. To fear.
Each step they take through frostbitten fields could be their last.
Each crack of a twig might signal danger. There is no stillness in their world. No fireplace to warm them, no comfort to return to. Only the relentless threat of being hunted for someone else’s enjoyment.
Every year, more than 17,000 hunts are carried out by more than 260 hunting groups across the UK. Behind these numbers are countless terrified foxes, deer, hares and mink - pursued through woods and fields, even in the depths of winter, all in the name of so-called ‘sport’.
And the cruel irony?
The people who chase them will return to their own warm homes. They’ll sit by the fire, pass gifts across tables, raise glasses in comfort while the animals they persecute are left to face a world without safety. Without sanctuary. Without peace.
But you can change that.
Your support can be a light in the darkness. Your generosity this Christmas will mean watchful eyes on hunts trying to break the law, strong voices in Parliament demanding better protections, and tireless pressure to ensure those who harm animals are held to account.
You can make this possible. Every time you choose to act, you bring us closer to a future where animals are not terrorised for so-called entertainment, but respected as living beings who belong in our countryside.
Without the support of people like you, hunters will continue to flout the law - brazen in their belief that no one is watching. That no one will stop them. The cruelty will continue behind hedgerows and over hillsides, with frightened animals running for their lives while their pursuers return home untouched, unchallenged.
Your gift is more than generous - it's powerful.
While hunters toast by the fire, you can take important action for the voiceless. Your Christmas gift this season will bring dignity and peace to the most vulnerable at a time when it’s needed most.
Because this season should mean peace for all, and not just for some.
