Campaign to protect wildlife comes to the South West as Vinny the Fox brings his election message to town!

PHOTO CALL

Date: Friday, 02 June 2017

Time: 9 – 9.30am

Content: Vinny the Fox Cub Ad Van embarking on three day tour of the South West. Interview opportunity with League Against Cruel Sports Head of Campaigns Chris Luffingham.

Location: Hoe Road, in front of West Hoe Park, Plymouth

Contact on the day: Chris Luffingham - 07817 579331

The Votes for Vinny tour, backed by the League Against Cruel Sports, will involve a mobile billboard featuring the face of seven-week old fox cub Vinny. The billboard will carry the message that 84%¹ of people in England and Wales want fox hunting to remain illegal.

Vinny’s campaign has already toured Great Britain, and his VotesforVinny website has led to thousands of emails being sent to election candidates asking them to support the ban on hunting and support higher sentences for animal cruelty.

Chris Luffingham, Director of Campaigns for the League Against Cruel Sports said:

“There will be some who will question why we’re bringing an anti-fox hunting message to the South West. But we’re doing so because we know that the majority of people in every constituency in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset want fox hunting to remain banned. We need every candidate in this area to know that their constituents are against killing animals for sport.

“The Ipsos Mori polling showed that 82% of people in rural areas alone are opposed to fox hunting. These are the people who live among hunting, and understand what it truly is – a cruel sport, nothing more. 88% are against deer hunting, most of which happens in the South West. And 91% oppose hare hunting and hare coursing. All these things will be made legal again if the Hunting Act is scrapped.

“If that’s not enough, new polling² released this week showed that 46% of the public said they were less likely to vote for a candidate who wanted hunting legalised, compared to just 7% who are more likely to vote for a pro-hunt candidate. The stats are adding up – candidates who want fox hunting legalised are not representing their constituents.”

Vinny the Fox Cub’s mobile billboard is travelling through Plymouth, St Ives, Truro, Torbay, Exeter, Bath and South Gloucestershire between the 2nd and 4th of June.

Supporters are encouraged to tweet @votesforvinny if they spot Vinny’s Van on the road. Anyone wishing to contact their candidates to let them know how they feel about hunting and animal cruelty can do so easily at www.votesforvinny.org.uk.  

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

Please contact the League’s Press Office on 01483 524250 (24hrs) or email pressoffice@league.org.uk for any image, comment or interview requests

1. Ipsos MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 1,986 adults in Great Britain aged 15+. Interviews were carried out face-to-face, in home, using CAPI (Computer Aided Personal Interviewing Laptops), as part of the Ipsos MORI Omnibus (Capibus). Fieldwork was conducted between 2nd and 11th August 2016. The results have been weighted to reflect the known profile of the adult population.

Participants were asked the following questions:

• Question 1. Now a question about sports where animals are set on other animals to fight or kill them. These activities are currently illegal in Great Britain. For each one I read out, please tell me whether you think it should or should not be made legal again. Just read out the letter that applies in each case. (The order respondents were asked about each activity was rotated)
  • Fox Hunting; Deer Hunting; Hare Hunting and Coursing; Dog fighting; Badger baiting.
    
    • Yes, should be made legal again
    • No, should not be made legal again
    • Don’t Know

2. Survation interviewed 1,009 UK adults aged 18+ via telephone between 26th-27th May 2017. Survation is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.