THIS IS THE INTENTION OF PROTECT THE WILD TO DO

 This year we have more planned than ever before!

In 2024 we will:

• Release 12 hard-hitting animations exposing everything from hare coursing to the badger cull
• Run a General Election campaign to ensure wildlife protection is firmly on the agenda
• Produce a comprehensive and ground-breaking report on hunting
• Continue daily journalism to keep the public informed on key issues
• Push our campaign for a proper ban on hunting even harder 
• Give even more equipment and grants to activists in the field 
• Support more animal rescues across the UK
• Launch new campaigns against hunt-supporting landowners and businesses
• Produce even more content for 'Protectors of the Wild' - a groundbreaking resource helping members of the public to recognise, record and report wildlife crime 
• Educate literally millions of people across the UK about issues affecting wildlife 
• Establish a national support network to better assist those taking direct action protecting wildlife

We can only continue to do this vital work with your support.

So as we head into a new month please may I ask you to consider donating £1 today or setting up a recurring donation with us.

FROM PROTECT THE WILD

 

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Take action: Help us ban the BSV Hunt from 'World's Best Boutique Hotel' Sign the petition today PROTECT THE WILD MAY 2   READ IN APP   Last week it came to our attention (thanks to Action Against Foxhunting) that prestigious hotel ‘The Newt’ allows the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt to meet on its land. We immediately contacted The Newt to ask them why they allow one of the most violent and criminal fox hunts in the UK use their land.  They are yet to reply and have ignored several emails from us. And interestingly they have also deleted any record of the hunt ever meeting at their hotel despite us having images of the hunt being there.  So today we launch our campaign with AAF in asking The Newt to sever ties with the BSV. SIGN THE PETITION As an establishment that prides itself on being the ‘World’s Best Boutique Hotel’, The Newt surely wouldn't want to be associated with such unsavoury characters.  The BSV not only has a reputation locally but indeed nationally for continued illegal activity. Just a few months ago, this hunt was exposed by Channel 4 News for a brutal fox killing (pictured above) resulting in suspension by their own governing body, the British Hound Sports Association. Moreover, members of the BSV have been in court twice in the last 12 months, with both resulting in convictions. One notable case is that of Charlie Mayo, son of the master of the BSV, convicted of Actual Bodily Harm, and the other being Steve Paul, terrier man for the BSV, who pleaded guilty to assault after throwing urine in the face of a young woman. Both these incidents happened during a hunt. A study conducted by Protect the Wild of the entirety of the 2022/23 hunting season found that nearly a third of the BSV’s observed/monitored meets are known to have led to the pursuit and killing of a fox.  Most, if not all, of which would have been under criminal circumstances too. We can only imagine what they get up to when they know nobody is watching. The Newt has a clear choice. It can continue to knowingly allow the criminal BSV Hunt to use its land, stand alongside bloodsports enthusiasts, tarnish its reputation, and risk prosecution as a complicit landowner, or it can set an example and sever all ties with immediate effect. Please take action today and sign our petition calling on The Newt to publicly cut ties with this shameful gang of wildlife abusers.  SIGN THE PETITION It is quite simply disgusting that this establishment would think it be appropriate to play host to one of the worst offending fox hunts in the country. Please politely let them know your thoughts and ask them to publicly ban the BSV Hunt from using their land with immediate effect. Below are the contact details for The Newt: enquiries@thenewtinsomerset.com reservations@thenewtinsomerset.com +44 (0)1963 577750 +44 (0)1963 577777   LIKE COMMENT RESTACK   © 2024 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ  Unsubscribe

FROM PROTECT THE WILD

 

View this email in your browser Hi,  You can help end hunting for good As you may know, there’s a general election on the way, and with it an opportunity to make the ban on fox and hare hunting fit for purpose and to protect wildlife from hunters. Labour have recently indicated that they would strengthen the Hunting Act. But it’s far from a done deal, and the pro-hunting lobby are turning up the smokescreen in an attempt to salvage their cruel pastime.   That’s why we’re asking YOU to contact the candidates who will stand to be the next MP in your constituency, to tell them the desperate need for strengthening the Hunting Act. Please copy and paste the template email below, adding in any local incidents, news stories and personal experience to help support your arguments, and send this to your local candidates. We’re particularly interested in reaching Labour candidates as they are most likely to form the next Government, but depending on where you are you may wish to contact the Lib Dem and Plaid Cymru candidates as well. Find your local Labour candidate >> Find your local Lib Dem candidate >> Find your Plaid Cymru candidate >> By taking action together, we can end hunting for good. Thank you, Hunt Saboteurs Association For more information on the Hunt Saboteurs Association’s campaign for a real ban on hunting, visit our campaign webpage here Template email Dear Name, The Hunting Act 2004 is an extremely popular piece of legislation, enjoying the support of more than 80% of the public. But it isn’t working as intended. Police chiefs know it, the hunters know it, and the rural communities plagued by illegal hunting know it. Nearly 20 years after hunting was supposedly banned, up and down the country hunts are exploiting loopholes in the law and continue to chase and kill foxes, hare and deer for fun. In a recent Channel 4 News exclusive which showed present day footage of hunts flouting the law and committing gross acts of animal cruelty, National Police Chiefs' Council Lead on Hunting Crime, Matt Longman said, "What we've got is a law that has a high level of ambiguity within it, and it is without doubt, at times being used by some as a smokescreen to allow them to continue hunting as they said they would 20 years ago. Everybody knows this." In a follow up piece, he went on to state that in order to work, “the Hunting Act is going to need reform, to close some of the loopholes that are continually being exploited.” That’s why I’m writing to you today to ask that if re/elected, you publicly commit to support the strengthening of the Hunting Act, to close the loopholes and to make sure that the law will finally protect British wildlife from the cruelty of hunting with hounds as originally intended. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, Name Return address Get involved! Find out how you can be part of our campaign to strengthen the Hunting Act Take Action Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Copyright (C) 2024 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

FROM PROTECT THE WILD

 

View this email in your browser Buy a pin badge Help us support those taking direct action to protect British wildlife!  Here at Protect the Wild we are doing absolutely everything we legally can to protect British wildlife.  We recognise that only through a combination of stratetgies and approaches can we fulfill our objectives and end the persecution of wildlife at the hands of those intent on destroying it.  And since our inception in 2015 we have supported those on the frontline standing up to wildlife abusers and putting themselves in harms way to protect animals.  It's why just a couple of months ago we launched the 'Protect the Wild Support Network'. And we made a vow that 'If you’re fighting animal cruelty, we’ve got your back!’.  We see the Support Network as giving longer-term help, more predictable funding, and more of a commitment from us to the remarkable individuals who give up so much of their lives to protect wildlife from hunts, shoots, and culls. So whether it's a new drone to a monitor group up north, new trail cameras for a badger protection group or new camcorders for a hunt saboteur group. Through our Support Network we are helping courageous people on the ground to protect British wildlife.  By picking up a pin badge today you can help top up our funds before we head into the new hunting season which will be with us before we know it.  Buy a pin badge Thank you for your continued support for the work that we do to protect British wildlife. We really are making a huge impact and together we will see the day that cruel pastimes such as fox hunting are consigned to the history books.  Rob Pownall, Founder of Protect the Wild PS Would you consider becoming a small monthly donor to help us continue our vital work?  Copyright © 2024 PROTECT THE WILD LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: PROTECT THE WILD LTD Covent Garden, London 71-75 Shelton Street WC2H 9JQ Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

FROM THE HUNT SABOTEURS

 

View this email in your browser Hi,  Batchelor Party As Northern Counties Mink Hounds Get Sabbed! Image: Staffordshire Hunt Sabs A barn full of old folks in bright waistcoats? A verge full of Sabs in their new black spring outfits? Mink hunt sabbing must be underway! Hunt Saboteurs from Sheffield, Manchester, Staffordshire, Hull and West Yorkshire found themselves at a familiar meet, Eastfield Farm in Arram. Where the highland cattle sit cooped up in the barn next to the table full of sandwiches and shortbread, laid out for a handful of would be midweek riverbank hunters. The Northern Counties Mink Hounds are having a little social, building up their energy for a long afternoon of terrorising the banks of the River Hull. Little did they know, jogging around the corner were two dozen jolly folks in black, prepped with radios and camcorders, ready to spoil their day, and save some lives. Sabs were in good spirits, it's been a while since fox hunting season ended up in the north of England, so a good rest, combined with a lazy start for a 1pm meet and the mood was high as friends gathered in sab vans for the first time in a while. Image: Sheffield Hunt Sabs Part way through the twenty minute standoff which ensued over the farm yard, sabs noticed a new, much younger, face among the large handful of Northern Counties followers. None other than ex Stour Valley and Eastern Counties Mink Hounds huntsman, James Batchelor, clearly looking for a break from kennel duties at the Ampleforth Beagles. It seems the Northern Counties may be trying to shake things up a little. When we arrived James was trying to ingratiate himself with NC support with two tins of shortbread! Best save them for the next meet eh, James? Arram is a familiar meet. Back in lockdown 'outdoor sports' were banned for a big part of the fox hunting season (the one-and-only time sabs will accept hunting as a sport). The ban was lifted just about when mink hunting season started in the spring, when covid rates dropped, and the weather warmed. Image: Sheffield Hunt Sabs Arram was one of the first meets we sabbed in recent years, if you can call filming oddballs in colourful trousers with well groomed mustaches eating sandwiches 'sabbing'. That meet was the start of a glorious summer, where sabs from across the north frequently descended on Northern Counties meets, and saw the hunt crumble, diminishing in numbers week by week. East Yorkshire Coast hit the Northern Counties at Arram again last season,and other groups have hit them there in previous years. Image: Sheffield Hunt Sabs Today there was a lucky new huntsman driving the old LDV houndvan to meet us in Arram. We think we've given him a suitable welcome, and a taste of the summer ahead of him. He packed up his tin of biscuits before even unloading his hounds, and drove off back to Helmsley; where the NC are kenneled with the Bilsdale Hunt - Thoroughly Sabbed. Images Sheffield Hunt Sabs The Northern Counties, named after the old Northern Counties Otter Hounds, moved to the Bilsdale Kennels from the Hurworth in summer 2023. They were previously kennelled with the York and Ainsty South and before that the Grove and Rufford. The locations of these kennels roughly outline the Hunt's country, though they have mostly been found in the North Yorkshire area. Technically, their northern boundary is the River Tees, if the Tynedale Mink hounds are still active! In previous years, they have been sabbed not far south of Darlington. Image: Sheffield Hunt Sabs If anyone has any news on the Northern Counties Mink Hounds, or any other hunts please do get in touch. Look out for packs of hounds on the riverbanks, and groups of old people looking like they are dressed up for a Harry Potter convention. Sabs are ready. This is the beginning of another summer of sabbing. You can support Staffordshire & Sheffield Sabs at ko-fi.com/staffssabs and www.paypal.me/sheffhuntsaboteurs Get involved! Find out how you can be part of our campaign to strengthen the Hunting Act Take Action Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Copyright (C) 2024 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe