Enabled by the generous support of people like you who care passionately about animals, the team at the League has been busy this past month.
You helped raise awareness about the Guga hunt
Not familiar with the Guga hunt? Many aren’t, which is why getting the word out about this cruel tradition - in which young gannets are targeted on a remote Scottish island – is so important. Thanks to the effort of our donor-funded PR team, hundreds of media articles have recently raised the issue. Below are two examples from national media outlets, so you can learn more about this outdated tradition.
Daily Mail article
Independent article
Peaceful protest outside Towcester Racecourse
Protesters including League staff were outside the Greyhound Derby at Towcester Racecourse calling for a ban on greyhound racing in England because of the hazardous nature of the ‘sport’. Attendees may not have been aware of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s own statistics that show 1,518 greyhounds have died at the trackside from racing between 2017 and 2024 in England and Wales - and another 35,168 have sustained injuries. Your support is directly helping to raise awareness about this ongoing tragedy.
You are helping to save wildlife in our parks
Your support is enabling the League’s Head of Intelligence (and national chair and lead of Operation Lakeshot) to attend the Home Office roundtable on catapult crime hosted by the Justice and Crime minister and attended by Police Crime Commissioners, MP's, charities and DEFRA. Also in attendance was a representative from the target practice use of catapults and a seller of catapults.
There was a collective agreement something needs to be done to help stop the killing of innocent birds and other wildlife in our parks, including consideration of making catapults an offensive weapon.
Russ is passionate about ending this emerging trend before it spreads further.
You help nature recover
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the League’s wildlife reserves provide safe refuges where deer can live in peace.
There’s something magical about seeing the first red deer calf of the year lay curled up in the long grass on the League Against Cruel Sports’ Baronsdown wildlife reserve. Their russet coat splattered with creamy-white spots makes them remarkably difficult to see, and only their oversized ears, constantly listening for danger, give their presence away.
The League’s wildlife reserves, which donors help to maintain, provide some of the few places where red deer hinds can give birth in peace, without fear of being disturbed by people, dogs and farm machinery. The calves need to grow up fast, because August sees the start of deer hunting on Exmoor. Once again people on horseback and in 4x4 vehicles will be charging around the countryside with their dogs baying for blood – but thanks to you, animals on our reserves are safe from the hunts.
You funded an effective roadshow
Donors’ generous support made it possible for the League to take a striking display of fake dead foxes across the country during the government’s consultation on trail hunting. This dramatic stunt helped to keep top-of-mind the awful toll hunting takes. Without donors’ support the public may not have been faced with the uncomfortable truth that foxes are still being illegally killed in our countryside.
Between February and June, your support enabled League staff and volunteers to engage directly with hundreds of members of the public in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Reading, and Cardiff.
