Category: Hunting

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Webinar On Why Britain Should Ban Hunting Trophies – 11/1/22 at 11.00AM GMT. See Below for Details.

Hello Mark!

I know it’s short notice, but TUESDAY, January 11th at 11:00AM GMT is Ban Trophy Hunting’s webinar…  Jane Goodall and the former Pres. of Botswana (who banned trophy hunting) are both listed as speakers)

(20+) Why Britain should Ban Hunting Trophies ASAP | Facebook

Event by All-Party Parliamentary Group on Banning Trophy Hunting

Public  · Anyone on or off Facebook

The UK Government has pledged to ban hunting trophies – but isn’t able to say when.

A new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Banning Trophy Hunting (APPG) reveals that British imports of hunting trophies from protected species may be going up – and that official figures may be just the tip of the iceberg.

The APPG is calling on the government to name a date for the introduction of its bill, or to instead adopt the Hunting Trophy Import (Prohibition) Bill promoted by backbencher John Spellar MP which has won cross-party support and is scheduled for debate on Friday, 14 January.

On Tuesday 11 January, the APPG launches its new report ‘Shooting up – Are Britain’s Trophy Imports & Hunting Companies Booming?’ in a webinar open to the public, and challenges the government to bring a swift end to imports of hunting trophies into Britain.

Panelists include world-famous conservationist Dr Jane Goodall; Lt Gen Serestse Khama, former President of Botswana; Professor Phyllis Lee of the Amboseli Trust; Sir Roger Gale MP (Con); Baroness Sue Hayman (Lab); Dave Doogan MP (SNP); Lord Chris Rennard (Lib Dems); Hywel Williams MP.

Join us on:

Zoom –
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87432433558

Facebook Live – Link to be posted on the day of the event.
YouTube – Link to be posted on the day of the event. 

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Trophy Hunters – Exposed, and A Psychological Perspective – Books.

TROPHY HUNTERS EXPOSED – Inside the Big Game Industry by Eduardo Goncalves

Thousands of animals threatened with extinction were shot by trophy hunters last year. Attempts to protect dwindling lion and elephant populations have been thwarted by hunters. They are now allowed to shoot twice as many critically endangered black rhinos. How has this happened?‘

Inside the Big Game Industry’ is an explosive investigation into the trophy hunting industry, its key players and donors, and how it is stripping endangered animals of the protections they need.  It reveals how a top fundraiser for Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man, the head of a paramilitary death-squad and a former WWF Director have shot record-breaking lions, elephants, rhinos and leopards.  It exposes the identities of over 500 hunters who have won industry awards for shooting all the ‘African Big Five’; the leading figures in the UK industry including a salesman who helps hunters shoot juvenile lions in enclosures; and the extraordinary kill tallies and trophy collections of hunters around the world.  It also lifts the lid on how household brands – and our taxes – are funding lobbyists, how the Boy Scouts and Salvation Army in the US are helping the industry recruit a new generation of child hunters, how lobbyists are posing as ‘conservation’ groups … and how the industry boasts it ploughs more money into US elections than some of the world’s biggest corporations.  Read how psychologists and criminologists fear trophy hunting could be fuelling violent crime, and how the industry could spark devastating outbreaks of diseases in local communities …The author, Eduardo Goncalves, is an award-winning campaigner, journalist and conservationist. He has been a consultant to WWF and CEO of a national animal welfare charity. In 2018, he founded the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH) which is today supported by some of the world’s biggest names in music, sport, film and TV. In 2019, CBTH persuaded the UK government to support a ban on imports of hunting trophies. 

Proceeds from the sale of ‘TROPHY HUNTERS EXPOSED – Inside the Big Game Industry’ will be donated to the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting http://www.bantrophyhunting.org

Trophy Hunting: A Psychological Perspective by Geoffrey Beattie

Explores the psychology of trophy hunting from a critical perspective and considers the reasons why some people engage in the controversial activity of killing often endangered animals for (so called) sport.

This book explores the psychology of trophy hunting from a critical perspective and considers the reasons why some people engage in the controversial activity of killing often endangered animals for sport.

Recent highly charged debate, reaching a peak with the killing of Cecil the lion in 2015, has brought trophy hunting under unprecedented public scrutiny, and yet the psychology of trophy hunting crucially remains under-explored. Considering all related issues from the evolutionary perspective and ‘inclusive fitness’, to personality and individual factors like narcissism, empathy, and the Duchenne smiles of hunters posing with their prey, Professor Beattie makes connections between a variety of indicators of prestige and dominance, showing how trophy hunting is inherently linked to a desire for status. He argues that we need to identify, analyse and deconstruct the factors that hold the behaviour of trophy hunting in place if we are to understand why it continues, and indeed why it flourishes, in an age of collapsing ecosystems and dwindling species populations.

The first book of its kind to examine current research critically to determine whether there really is an evolutionary argument for trophy hunting, and what range of motivations and personality traits may be linked to this activity. This is essential reading for students and academics in psychology, geography, business, environmental studies, animal welfare as well as policy makers and charities in these and related areas. It is of major relevance for anyone who cares about the future of our planet and the species that inhabit it.

Additional Links –

Safari Club International

About Us – Safari Club

Dallas Safari Club

Home – Dallas Safari Club (biggame.org)

National Rifle Association

Home of the NRA | National Rifle Association

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Trophy Hunting – Time For Global Action To Stop It NOW !

The photos and many of the words are taken directly from the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting site which can be visited at:

About – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

WHAT IS TROPHY HUNTING?

The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Banning Trophy Hunting defines it as “as a ‘sport’ by those who practice it. It consists of killing an animal for recreation, and then displaying its body as an expression of a hunter’s ‘prowess’. It is distinct from the control or management of wildlife populations, which should be carried out humanely by trained professionals.”

WHAT ARE ‘HUNTING TROPHIES’?

Trophies include whole bodies of animals, their heads or skulls, skins, tails, feet and even genitalia.

In the case of elephants they can include trunks and ears too.

‘CANNED’ LIONS

There are over 300 Lion ‘Factory Farms’ breeding thousands of lion cubs for trophy hunters to shoot in enclosures.

They are also killed for their bones to make ‘lion wine’ and ‘lion cake’ for wealthy Asian businessmen.

SICK PRIZES

In recent years, over 800 Trophy Hunters have won prizes for having shot lions, elephants, leopards AND rhinos.

The hunting industry hands out special awards every year to hunters who kill over 125 different species of animal.

HUNTING HOLIDAYS

There are thousands of hunting companies, mainly in South Africa and the US.

Some make millions of dollars a year.

Some offer Black Friday deals and even ‘free’ animals for hunters to shoot, such as monkeys.

EXOTIC CREATURES

Many Trophy hunters like to shoot kangaroos, camels, seals, beavers, wild cats, reindeer, and sheep.

In the US, there are estates which import and breed animals such as zebras – so hunters don’t have to fly to Africa to shoot their favourite animal.

In some places, hunters can drive around in tanks, take young children hunting, and even shoot animals from helicopters using a machine gun.

SUFFERING

Studies suggest at least 50% of animals shot by Trophy Hunters are not killed instantly and instead die slow, painful deaths.

Evidence presented to the UK Parliament

Witness(es): Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy, Born Free Foundation; Eduardo Goncalves, Founder, Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting; Dr Audrey Delsink, Wildlife Director, Humane Society International UK

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Tuesday 2 November 2021 

Watch the committee presented with evidence from the above by clicking on the following link:

Parliamentlive.tv – Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Visit the (UK) campaign to ban trophy hunting working to expose and end trophy hunting all over the world; see lots more at:

Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

KILLING ANIMALS FOR PLEASURE IS CRUEL, UNNECESSARY, AND HAS NO PLACE IN A CIVILISED SOCIETY.

Humans have no right to take the life of an animal for recreation. Animals experience suffering and pain when they are hunted for trophies. Killing endangered wildlife for pleasure only helps push them even further towards extinction.

The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting calls for:

-Governments to ban trophy hunting and the import and export of hunting trophies

-Effective enforcement of existing national and international laws against trophy hunting, with tough penalties for offenders

-An immediate halt to the trade in trophies of vulnerable, threatened or endangered species

-Trophy hunting exemptions to be removed from existing international conservation agreements

-Negotiations to commence on a comprehensive global agreement banning trophy hunting

News – News – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

View the huge range of well known supporters calling for a ban – Supporters – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Actions – Including Petitions:  Action – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Donations to help the fighting fund – Donate – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Investigations – Investigations – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Why its time to ban trophy hunting – Opinion – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Shop for merchandise – SHOP – Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting

Regards Mark

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Finland proceeds with plans to kill wolves.
Photo – Act

6 January 2022

Susiryhmä

In December, the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced a proposal to kill 20 wolves from 4 packs outside the reindeer herding area this winter, with the supposed purpose of “regulating the growth of the wolf population, preventing damage and promoting the acceptability of the wolf”.

This proposal goes against Finland’s legal obligation to prohibit the deliberate killing of wolves as specimens of a strictly protected species listed under the Annex IV(a) of the Habitats Directive.

Members of the European Parliament from the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals recently sent a letter to Minister Jari Leppä, calling for withdrawal of the Ministry’s proposal.

File

Letter from the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals RE: Call to withdraw the proposal to kill twenty wolves698.84 KB

Our member organisation Luonto-Liiton Susiryhmä also took action to stand against the plans, highlighting the fragility of Finland’s endangered wolf population, and the public’s support for the protection of wolves.

Despite these efforts, the Finnish Ministry has not withdrawn the plans.

The actions from the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry under Minister Jari Leppä are promoting wolf persecution and conflict. The decision from the Ministry to kill 20 wolves next winter goes against EU legislation which Finland has the legal obligation to comply with. The wolf is a highly endangered and strictly protected species in Finland and according to the rulings of the CJEU, this protection applies not only in its natural habitat but also near human settlements. In this time of crisis for nature, Finland should be a role model for protecting it´s endangered species according to the law instead of focusing on finding the legal “loopholes” to make it easier to kill these animals. Quota-based wolf hunting is not a measure that promotes tolerance or coexistence with wolves, but quite the opposite. Preventing conflicts with large carnivores is possible – as shown in many European countries with much bigger wolf populations – by the effective use of preventive measures. Killing a wolf should always be an exceptional and last resort, used when no other option exists and after all other alternative means have been exhausted.

Francisco Sánchez Molina, Luonto-Liiton Susiryhmä

Eurogroup for Animals, along with Luonto-Liiton Susiryhmä, strongly condemns this action and encourages humane alternatives to be employed in order to encourage successful coexistence with large carnivores, and to protect this highly endangered species. 

Read more at source

http://www.luontoliitto.fi/susiryhma/in-english

Luonto-Liiton lausunto maa- ja metsätalousministeriön luonnokseen koskien suden…

Regards Mark

Hunting

It’s your land, your money, right? So, why is hunting allowed?

Much of what we consider ‘our’ land is in fact either privately owned or controlled by other bodies.
Many of these landowners still license ‘trail hunting’, despite the recent revelations that trail hunting is ‘a sham and a fiction’ as demonstrated in the Hunting Office webinar exposé, subsequent court case and conviction.

Indeed, trail hunting is so toxic that the National Trust has permanently banned it, despite protestations from the hunting community.

Some of these organisations are partly funded by the public purse, such as The Forestry Commission, some of which has now been re-branded as ‘Forestry England’.
Currently Forestry England have suspended trail hunting licenses pending the outcome of any investigations or appeals, but state that they won’t ban a ‘legal activity’.

“We control trail hunting with permissions and licenses according to an agreement with the Masters of Fox Hounds Association (MFHA).”

What’s going on in here, then?

We wonder how they will continue to issue and monitor licenses in the future now the MFHA and its leadership have been completely discredited.

Surely, with added public pressure, it would be simpler to ban this illegal activity and find more sustainable and cruelty free ways to ‘‘increase the value of woodlands to society and the environment’ as their mission statement suggests.

Hmm…was a trail really laid through the dense undergrowth of this public land?

Other large landowners have adopted a similar temporary position.

United Utilities for example, one of the largest water companies serving over 7 million customers and with one of the largest pay-outs to shareholders in the industry, has a temporary suspension of licenses pending further information.
How happy are you if you are one of their customers?

They claim ‘We also monitor the hunts – our employees attend meets to ensure they are acting in accordance with the license. We will take action if the hunts operate outside the conditions of the license’ – Sabs have never seen any such monitoring!

They state that ‘trail-hunting is currently a legal activity and does not impact water quality, then we do not consider it our role to ban a legal activity.’

Other landowners need to follow the National Trust’s example.

In 2004 – the Hunting Act made it illegal for hunts to chase and kill foxes.
It’s time to challenge these big land owners, make the temporary bans permanent and put an end to the cruelty and lies.
So what can you do?

Contact Forestry England
Chief Executive Mike Seddon at enquiries@forestryengland.uk
0300 067 4000
Twitter – @ForestryEngland

Contact United Utilities
Facebook – United Utilities
0345 6723723
Twitter – @unitedutilities

https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/its-your-land-your-money-right-so-why-is-hunting-allowed/

And I mean…There are no concrete reasons for the annual murder of 600,000 foxes in Germany by hunters.
The fur of the fox has long ceased to be a coveted fur.

Many hunters now justify their actions differently.
In this way, hunting would balance the fox population. So they mean that the fox would reproduce infinitely without the hunt because there is no longer a natural enemy.
Contrary to what hunters often claim, unhunted fox populations by no means get out of hand.

Complex social structures, in which significantly fewer puppies are born with a high population density and low hunting pressure, limit the rate of reproduction.
The renowned biologist and fox researcher Dr. Erik Zimen boldly commented on this phenomenon with the words “birth restrictions instead of mass misery”.

Usually a vixen gives birth to three to five cubs.
However, in areas where foxes are heavily tracked, it can be twice as many.
In this way, losses can be quickly compensated for.

Foxes also play an important role as “health police”: They mainly catch mice – for the benefit of agriculture -, devour carrion and mostly prey on sick or injured animals, thus helping to keep animal populations healthy.

But the fox is not only the “health police” of the fields and meadows, it also contributes to the protection of the forest, as it eats forest voles.

Foxes are not just carnivores, foxes eat everything.
In this respect, foxes cannot exterminate any species.
But from the extinction threatened animal species in nature (lynx, wolf, badger …) for which only the hunters are responsible, nobody speaks.

In Germany the hunters consist of fairly high strata.
Lawyers, doctors, judges, city government officials are hunters.
No wonder if lawsuits against hunters always turn out to be in favor of the hunters.
In Germany there is a saying: “Whoever is rich or a hunter is always right”!

So our opponents in the fight against the hunt are rich, influential people who are under the protection of politics.
Finally, I would like to say something that many may not know:
48% of the German forest is privately owned.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatwald

For a democratic and otherwise progressive country in terms of animal welfare, I find it an absolute shame.

My best regards to all, Venus

Hunting

U.S: 8 wolves were poisoned in Oregon.

Gray wolves are smart, charismatic animals, with massive ranges in the wild and devoted relationships with members of their pack.
But beginning in February of 2021, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division Troopers began finding the bodies of wolves poisoned – one after another — until their last discovery of a dead female in July.

A gray wolf in Oregon’s northern Wallowa County in February 2017. Officials in Oregon are asking for help locating the person or persons responsible for poisoning an entire wolf pack in the eastern part of the state earlier this year – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

A total of 8 of these majestic wild animals were killed, and the killer is still on the loose.

Poisoning wildlife is a serious crime, but like so many violent acts committed against animals, cases with non-human victims tend to receive much less attention.
We cannot allow that to happen in this case!

Ex-president Trump stripped gray wolves of their Endangered Species Act protections, meaning that they are already less protected than they were just a few years ago.
Every single loss of animal life is devastating, especially species whose populations are no longer federally managed or protected.

A number of amazing organizations have stepped up to offer a combined $40,000 reward for anyone who provides information which leads to the conviction of the perpetrator.

It is more important than ever that local police keep putting pressure on this case to find the perpetrator and hold them responsible.
This cannot just be another instance of animal abuse where the criminals are never found.
Non-human victims deserve justice, too!
Sign now to tell the Oregon State Police to dedicate all their efforts towards finding whoever committed such a terrible crime!
Sign now if you agree!

https://www.thepetitionsite.com/de/109/704/292/gray-wolves-in-oregon-were-brutally-poisoned-and-authorities-still-haven%E2%80%99t-found-the-perpetrator/

And I mean: Oregon has only about 170 wolves within its borders, and the murder of eight is a serious loss

Wolves once ranged most of the U.S. but were wiped out in most places by the 1930s under government-sponsored poisoning and trapping campaigns.

Today more than 2,000 wolves occupy six states in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest after animals from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park starting in 1995.
However, wolves remain absent across most of their historical range.
Hundreds of wolves are now killed annually by hunters and trappers in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

(We had reported about it: https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2021/05/03/usa-bill-aimed-at-killing-90-of-idahos-wolves-headed-to-governors-desk-major-action-required -now /)

Wolves were also in Germany hunted, exterminated, poisoned, everything you can imagine. They were pretty much trapped out of existence.
The (still) valid legislation prohibits the killing of wolves, the state only speaks of “wolf management”.
A euphemism for being killed by hunters or farmers.

Well… and a few are of the opinion that they don’t have to comply with nonsensical laws – see 64 illegally shot wolves that have been confirmed since 2001 – in 2018 alone eight wolves were found dead with gunshot wounds.

The number of unreported cases is higher, because even entire packs just disappear from the scene.

It is basically the hunters who want to get the wolf free to shoot.
The wild animals is all for the hunter only!
Just not for the wolf, who could eat one deer too much and the hunters would shoot one less.

And then there are the “animal-loving” farmers.
Quite a few farmers defend the shooting of wild animals just to protect their profitable “useful” capital, and preach the wolf danger on alert level 1, because this would only reduce profits, and that’s what the “animal-loving farmers” are about.

98% of the meat that is consumed in Germany comes from factory farming.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, an average of more than two million animals are slaughtered in this country every day.
Per day!
So … not even whole wild animal stocks around the world would be able to do that in a hundred years !!
Wolves do not keep harmful factory farming-they either eat what is there or starve to death.

The knitting pattern of the hunters and farmers is always the same: dissemination of incorrect or incomplete information, coupled with targeted scaremongering.
This is the only way they can justify the illegal executions of these useful and intelligent animals.

My best regards to all, Venus

Environmental, General News, Hunting

Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting (W.R.A.T.H.) – January Protests; Washington D.C., New York, Las Vegas and London. The Protests Coincide with the Safari Club Int’l Annual Conference in Las Vegas (Jan. 19th – 22nd).

Comment: Hi Mark! Hi Venus!

Happy New Year!

I am wondering if your readers know of the anti-trophy hunting protests in Washington D.C., New York, Las Vegas and London. The protests coincide with the Safari Club Int’l annual conference in Las Vegas (Jan. 19th – 22nd).

The Organizer is Worldwide Rally Against Trophy Hunting (W.R.A.T.H.) on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/endtrophyhunting

Details on the London Rally– scheduled Jan. 19th– Noon to 3:00, before Statue of George V, Westminster. Or click this link: https://fb.me/e/3J0sg1VM4

Tamara Bedic, Esq.

Animal Rights Committee, Chair

National Lawyers Guild, NYC

Home

https://www.facebook.com/NLGNYC.Animal.Rights/

Regards Mark

Hunting

A trail of Lies- a great animation

If you’re reading this and you support what we stand for then please consider subscribing to our channel. We seek to educate the public about what really goes on in the British countryside.
Keep The Ban

And I mean…Every year in Germany around half a million foxes die a senseless death by the hunter’s hand.

Now this is usually not great science, but rather common knowledge:
The hunt is impossible without intentional killing.
Hunting without murder of defenseless animals is a term that cancels itself.
Everything that hunters do, no matter what they say and what they actually do, serves only ONE goal: to keep the hunt alive!

The hunters in Germany justify fox hunting with four main arguments:

a) The fox also transmits diseases that are dangerous for humans, such as rabies and fox tapeworm,

b) the fox is by no means endangered because of its high population and

c) would have to be hunted because otherwise – at least regionally – it threatens to exterminate ground-nesting birds that have become rare.

d) The evil fox should be hunted to protect the lovely brown hare!

But science speaks a different language:
-The rabies is eradicated,
-The probability of being infected by the fox tapeworm is far lower than a 6 in the lottery and
– Hunting favors high fox populations and has no or only a marginal influence on the population of ground breeders.
-The evil fox should be hunted to protect the lovely brown hare! Serious? Is that why 400,000 brown hares are hunted in Germany every year?

A hunt with – as usual – 181 hunters, 100 drivers and 60 dogs is a perverse outgrowth of the hunt that can no longer be called hunting but massacre.
Then what are the real reasons for fox hunting?

The relevant hunting magazines and hunter forums on the Internet provide quick information here: They talk about “lust for stalking and capturing”,
of the “hunter’s joy in letting a fox roll in a shotgun”,
from the “charm of winter fox hunting”,
about the “hunting instinct”,
the “hunting fever” and the “kick” that the hunter experiences with a fatal shot.

The daily reports about alleged band fox danger and rabies control are pure hunter’s invention!
They are cheap and dirty hunter propaganda!
Hunters do not regulate … Hunters like to slaughter …… Hunters are slope perpetrators … Consciously and deliberately crue.
Everything else is propaganda.

My best regards to all, Venus

General News, Hunting

England: Hidden Camera Shows Man Stab Fox With Pitchfork In ‘Torture’ Attack.
The man holds up the fox by its tail; just off screen the woman holds up a terrier (North London Hunt Sabs)
© Provided by The Independent The man holds up the fox by its tail; just off screen the woman holds up a terrier (North London Hunt Sabs)

WAV Comment: They parade themselves through the villages trying to look squeaky clean; but this above is the other side reality of what hunts and its associates do.

England: Boxing Day Hunts Met With Protests, With At Least One Erupting Into Violence.

Hidden camera shows man stab fox with pitchfork in ‘torture’ attack

Hidden camera video reveals a man repeatedly stabbing a fox with a pitchfork, leaving it writhing in agony.

The attack, which took place in east Essex, was described by a campaign group as “torture” and “some of the worst abuse” they had ever witnessed.

A man was later reported to have been arrested.

The man and a woman seen in the video visited Great Monks Wood near Braintree, according to the Hunt Saboteurs Association.

Hunts build artificial earths – an underground network of pipes and chambers – to encourage foxes into an area. The wild animals are then trapped, only to be released just before a hunt so they can be chased, it’s claimed.Activists say the artificial earth in the video was rebuilt last year, and they have been monitoring it since then with concealed cameras.

The North London Hunt Sabs said they filmed the man earlier this month arriving armed with a terrier, rods, a net and pitchfork.

The group reported the couple placed the net over one end of the earth then used the rods and terrier to force the trapped fox into the net.

The man then held the fox by its tail and repeatedly tried to stab it against a tree, including aiming at its head, before carrying it away by the tail.

The footage did not reveal whether the animal survived, but it would at least have been suffering acutely, the activists said.

A spokesperson for North London Hunt Sabs said hunting was “steeped in animal abuse” and that lawful “trail hunting” did not necessitate building artificial earths or capturing foxes.

Lee Moon, of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said: “This is some of the worst abuse we have ever witnessed, and the wanton cruelty is hard to fathom.

“Whilst most people who watch the video will be horrified, the calm and methodical manner in which the two individuals go about catching and torturing this poor fox show how commonplace their actions are.”

He said people who carry out such violence would have been indoctrinated into such behaviour since birth.

“Cruel and psychopathic individuals who see wild animals as their playthings to be tortured for their own sick ends.

“Acts like this are sickeningly commonplace within the hunting community.”

Essex Police told ITV News it had arrested a 48-year-old man from the Bures area after receiving reports of animal cruelty, adding: “He was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Hunting Act 2004, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Wild Mammal Protection Act 1996. He remains in custody at this time.”

The Independent has asked the Countryside Alliance, which supports hunting, to comment.

Hidden camera shows man stab fox with pitchfork in ‘torture’ attack (msn.com)

Regards Mark

From Venus:

A trail of Lies- a great animation – World Animals Voice

General News, Hunting

England: Boxing Day Hunts Met With Protests, With At Least One Erupting Into Violence.

WAV Comment: England – Boxing Day (26/12) has always been a bit of a battleground every year. Hunts parade themselves through local towns or villages; and the anti’s (those against hunting) also turnout to try and give them a bad time. It can often erupt into violent scenes; especially as we know the hunt Terrier men like to try and give anti hunt campaigners a good kicking if they possibly can – after all; they dig out and torture foxes, so why also not abuse the anti hunt brigade also ? The following is a newspaper article on some events this year.

From Venus:

A trail of Lies- a great animation – World Animals Voice

Bloodbath
The result of the fox hunt – Mark (WAV) / East Kent Hunt Sabs.

Boxing Day hunts met with protests, with at least one erupting into violence

Boxing Day hunts were met with protests yesterday, with at least one erupting into violence and another bringing in external security.

Violence broke out between the dozens of anti-hunt protesters and supporters who attended the Avon Vale hunt in Lacock.

Footage from the event shows punches being thrown by apparent hunt supporters on foot and protesters carrying placards as the event began.

A member of the local hunt saboteur group who asked to be named as Dave, said the police presence at the event was “appalling”, with only two officers there to maintain peace between the two sides.

A local photographer told the Swindon Advertiser that the event had turned into a “nasty scene”.

“There must have been around 50 protesters and twice that number of hunt supporters and it all turned sour.”

Huntsmen and Huntswomen from the Middleton Hunt meet in Malton Town Centre on December 27 - Charlotte Graham/Charlotte Graham
© Provided by The Telegraph Huntsmen and Huntswomen from the Middleton Hunt meet in Malton Town Centre on December 27 – Charlotte Graham/Charlotte Graham

A spokesperson for the Avon Vale Hunt said: “The hunt has been made aware of an incident that occurred just after the hounds had left the meet in Lacock today.

“We do not know the circumstances but we do not condone violence even in the case of extreme provocation by anti-hunting protestors whose sole purpose is to antagonise those supporting a lawful activity.

“We do not know if any hunt supporters were involved but we would like to thank the many hundreds of people who peacefully attended today in support of our hounds.”

In Buckinghamshire, the Kimblewick Hunt was met with cries of “Shame on you! Shame on you!” as it set off from the village of Cholesbury.

And in Hereford, security guards were brought in to protect Ledbury Hunt as it set off in Herefordshire.

The majority of Boxing Day hunts in England went ahead on Monday because Sunday is traditionally not a hunting day.

Hunt attendees were this year encouraged to take lateral flow tests, staying at home if positive, and wearing masks when in enclosed spaces.

Punches thrown as violence erupts at annual Boxing Day Hunt in rural Wiltshire
© Provided by The Telegraph Punches thrown as violence erupts at annual Boxing Day Hunt in rural Wiltshire

Most hunts in Wales were cancelled because of restrictions limiting gatherings to 50, while meets in Scotland were restricted to no more than 500 participants and attendees.

It has been illegal to hunt foxes with a pack of dogs since 2004 but the practice has been replaced with trail hunting, in which hounds follow a scent to replicate the traditional hunt without killing a fox.

But critics say it is a “smokescreen” for illegal hunting and calls have grown for it to be banned on public land, which were joined this week by Labour.

The National Trust, which owns most of Lacock and Natural Resources Wales, both announced an end to trail hunting on their land earlier this year.

But groups that back the traditional hunt, including the Countryside Alliance, argue that it plays an irreplaceable role in British rural life.

Polly Portwin, director of the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance said: “Festive meets are hugely popular and well attended by both hunt followers and local communities, for whom the event has become a cherished family tradition.

“While many meets have been smaller scale this year due to the restrictions, they have still provided a big boost both socially and economically across the countryside, as does trail hunting throughout the season.”

Boxing Day hunts met with protests, with at least one erupting into violence (msn.com)

Regards Mark

Mark Hankinson found guilty of telling others how to hunt illegally!
UK (England): Secret Filming Shows (Hunting) Hounds Being Shot Dead At Hunt Kennels.