As a Land Rover screeches to a halt in front of us, the back doors are flung open. Quickly scrabbling aboard, we’re confronted with a scene that could have come straight from a war film. Dressed from head to toe in camouflage gear, four men sit facing each other, clutching maps and compasses.

Nodding a stoical hello towards myself and a Daily Echo photographer, we hold on tight as we depart across the New Forest.

We have no idea what to expect. We’ve been given very little information about what the morning will involve.

The mood is charged, hushed even – well, as much as it can be above the drone of the engine – as the men focus on the task ahead.

But they’re not soldiers, they’re hunt saboteurs and their mission is simple.

It’s a Saturday morning in early November, the main hunt season is just getting into full swing, and the “sabs” are determined to monitor proceedings.

While fox-hunting may have been banned back in 2005, they claim it is still being practised intentionally in the New Forest.

So the sabs have gone covert – skulking in bushes and hiding behind trees – in a bid to gather enough video evidence to prove it.

Braving all weathers, their staunch beliefs in animal rights spur them from their Southampton homes every weekend to shadow their local hunt.

It must be stressed that the said hunt – the New Forest Hounds (NFH) – categorically deny any wrongdoing.

They may not like it, but for the last four years they say they have followed the letter of the law.

While they may be hopeful that the ban will be overturned if the Conservatives win the next election, for now they have resorted to trail hunting – chasing an artificial scent laid by a runner or rider.

But the sabs don’t believe them. When the hunt thunders deep into the New Forest – far away from prying eyes – they claim that foxes are still being killed.

And if it weren’t for their presence, they continue, the law would be completely ignored.

The hunt usually stops chasing an animal if they think they are at risk of being seen, according to the sabs.

Since September, they say they know of three occasions when foxes have definitely been pursued and they had to employ preban sabbing tactics, using sprays and cracking whips, to throw the hounds off the scent.

In the dense cover of the New Forest, the sabs say that, while they know these breaches have happened, they can’t get close enough to get adequate video footage to present as evidence to the police.

Back in the Land Rover, we’ve reached our destination. We’re near Lyndhurst, close to where the hunt is shortly due to depart.

Camouflage jackets are thrown our way as we shout a hurried goodbye to the driver – someone always has to stay with the vehicle after three of its tyres were slashed last year.

It’s time to make a dash for cover as the sabs suddenly start sprinting for the trees.

Realising that we’ve got our jackets mixed up – mine is three sizes too big, while the photographer’s is skintight – there’s no time to stop. It would be funnier if I wasn’t trying so desperately to keep up.

Before I know it, we’re jumping waterlogged ditches, running through bogs and clambering over fallen branches.

It’s not until we reach dense woodland that we stop to regroup, each of us hiding behind a tree.

Aside from the gentle twitter of birdsong, the only sound to be heard is me trying to get my breath back.

Holding his radio to his mouth, one of the sabs – 38-year-old professional Steve* – quickly looks around before whispering urgently into it: “Sabs in the field.”

Try as he might though, he can’t establish contact with the Land Rover. The signal is just too patchy.

With no guidance as to whether the hunt has left yet or in what direction, the men gather round a map to decide a plan of action.

Compasses set to a south-westerly direction, we set off towards where they think the hounds will be.

We push our way through trees and tramp through the undergrowth; anything to reduce our chances of being seen.

Whereas many men his age are in bed nursing a hangover on a Saturday morning, 20-year-old Sam is in his fourth season of sabbing.

“I just don’t believe that you should go out and take the life of an animal for fun,” he says. “It’s completely unnecessary.

They say it’s for pest control, but it’s not in the slightest.”

Another of the sabs – who is wearing a long military mesh scarf, which he can whip over his face at a moment’s notice – has 30 years of experience.

“I had a break for six years after coming home with four broken ribs.

My wife got worried,” says 45-yearold Bobby. “I got a good kicking. That was a different hunt, but there are still flare-ups at different parts of the country just like that.”

Just last week, they tell me, hunt supporters in Sussex allegedly attacked two saboteurs monitoring a hunt in the South Downs. One needed hospital treatment for severe facial cuts, bruising and a suspected broken nose.

Believing in non-violent direct action themselves, the sabs say they have not been on the receiving end of such treatment in the New Forest.

“There have been sporadic incidents, though,” says Steve, who has been sabbing since 1993. “Last season we were ridden at and chased by people on horses when we started to film them hunting.

We only escaped because we found a group of ramblers to join. It was very scary but normally when we film them, they stop.”

The sabs reported it to the police but say that, while someone was arrested, no charges were laid.

It’s time to pick the speed up again, but as we start running, one of the sabs spots a couple of walkers in the distance. Presuming they’re part of the hunt, we’re commanded to “Get down!”

Crouching down behind some bushes, you could almost hear a pin drop.

Armed with binoculars, someone whispers: “There’s people on horses!” They assume they’re field riders – supporters who ride close to the hunt.

Without saying a word, suddenly all the men have scrambled towards a wire fence, which they jump with ease, and quickly duck down.

Knowing I’ll never make it over without being seen, I drop to the floor more or less where I’m standing and lie face down in the mud, clutching my notebook.

I’m right next to the track where the two riders are headed, with just a few spindly trees and some patchy grass for cover.

As they come directly past, they must have a brilliant view of me from up there.

What they must think, I have no idea. All I know is that I’m pretty sure I’ve blown our cover. A horn sounds in the distance and before I can mutter an apology, the sabs are darting off again. The hunt must nearly be upon us.

The horn blows again – louder this time.

A “godawful sound”, says one of the men.

“Unfortunately they’ll know we’re here as we’ve been seen by the riders,” says one of the sabs quietly, as I stare guiltily at the floor.

Suddenly more field riders are spotted ahead and it’s time to start running again. As we scrabble through the forest, desperate to remain out of sight, we come to a track.

The sabs let out a groan. We’ve been intercepted by a man wearing a “NFH Trail Layer”

jacket. “Your mush down the South Downs got a proper kicking,” he says to them in a celebratory tone.

But as soon as the sabs point a camera in his direction, the taunting stops.

The sabs have already told me there was a good chance we would run into this man.

Officially a trail layer, they believe he actually spends his time tracking them on foot so he can report their position to the hunt. It’s a huge game of cat and mouse.

“They are pretending to trail hunt but they don’t,” claims Steve. “They are hunting and they need to know where we are all the time to be safe.”

The sabs remain convinced that the trail layer is deliberately verbally abusive towards them to try to provoke a reaction, which he can then capture on video.

As the trail layer walks off, the men say he will be going to inform the hunt that they’re in the area. “Why would they stop the hounds when they know we are nearby if they weren’t hunting a live quarry [fox]?” adds Steve. “Our sole intention in monitoring the hunt is to enforce the Hunting Act, which no one else is doing.”

There have been just three successful prosecutions against hunts since the act came into force, the last in January 2007.

“All we are trying to do is stop cruelty,”

he adds. “It’s all about saving foxes.”

■ For more information on hunt saboteuring, visit www.huntsabs.org.uk

* Not their real names.

The Hunt’s response to allegations

“WE ARE confident that we are doing everything by the book and we have nothing to worry about,”

says Mike Squibb, chairman of the New Forest Hounds (NFH). “As far as we are aware none of the allegations have been put to the police.

“It’s easy to make these allegations but it’s another thing proving them. If they can, why haven’t the police been informed?

“I find it difficult to understand, particularly in the New Forest, where we are in a goldfish bowl – with the police, the Forestry Commission, the general public and the saboteurs watching us – why the saboteurs come out and interfere with a lawful pursuit being conducted in a lawful manner.”

While the NFH don’t dispute the fact that they do sometimes chase foxes, they say it is never intentional.

“It should be fairly obvious to the saboteurs that we do lay trails every time we go out, but accidents do happen. We do accidentally hunt a fox now and again [as a result of the hounds picking up on a fox’s scent], and we stop them as soon as possible, but our intention is to hunt trails.

“I would dispute that the saboteurs know when we are hunting a fox rather than a trail. I know on occasion they have stepped in when they thought we were hunting a fox and we haven’t been.

“If it takes a while to stop the hounds – which sometimes it does – we let the police know what’s happening, and they are happy with that situation.

“We are monitored by the police every day we go out hunting. They are the people we need to tell, not the saboteurs.”

According to Mr Squibb, one fox was accidentally killed by the NFH shortly after the hunting ban was introduced, which they also reported to the relevant authorities.

In response to the allegation that the saboteurs were deliberately ridden at and chased last season, Mr Squibb accepts that it did happen.

“Shortly after the incident we made it absolutely clear to everyone that follows the NFH that any aggression or antagonism towards the saboteurs isn’t acceptable, and if people do it, they won’t be hunting with us. It certainly is not behaviour we will tolerate. We are strict on that. The incident was investigated by the police and, as far as I am aware, no further action was taken.”

While the NFH admit that one of their trail layers does normally monitor the saboteurs’ position, Mr Squibb says it is purely a damage limitation exercise.

“It’s not that we’re running away from them so that we can go hunting.

It’s because we don’t want confrontation.

“It’s not easy trail hunting, and anything that happens to mess up our hounds is obviously going to cause upset.

“Most of us can control our tempers but we don’t want to be in a situation where a bunch of saboteurs are stopping the trail – obviously people will get annoyed and tempers will flare.” The NFH say this tactic has police approval.

With regards to the accusation that the trail layer is deliberately confrontational towards the saboteurs, Mr Squibb added: “If there are any incidents where there has been potential for confrontation, I will deal with it.”

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/features/newsreview/4741064.Hunting_the_hunters/

TWO Blackburn men involved in an organised dog fight have been warned they may face prison.

Blackburn magistrates heard one of the dog handlers filmed the fight on his mobile phone But the footage was eventually presented to police and the RSPCA by an ex-girlfriend who had blue-toothed it to her own phone when Aftab Razzaq was out of the room.

Razzaq, 25, of Whalley New Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to causing an animal fight to take place on September 8 2008 and causing unnecessary suffering to a pit bull terrier. A charge of causing a dog fight to take place in March was withdrawn.

Ussman Hussain, 22, of St James Road, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to taking part in a dog fight. Charges of causing an animal fight to take place and being present at a dog fight were withdrawn.

The magistrates ordered the preparation of pre-sentence reports with all options including custody open to the sentencing bench on November 27.

An allegation that Rizwan Khalid, 20, of Boland Street, Blackburn, caused suffering to a dog was adjourned to the same date and two similar charges against Mehjabeen Ashraf, 23, of Clinton Street, were withdrawn.

Chris Wyatt, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said the evidence came from video footage from a mobile phone belonging to Razzaq.

Mr Wyatt said a number of people had gathered on the land in Troy Street on the day of the incident.

“The dog fight which subsequently took place has been filmed by someone who knew it was going to happen which suggests to me there was some pre-planning,” said Mr Wyatt.

The magistrates watched the video footage which showed a Staffordshire bull terrier and a pit bull terrier fighting although still on their leads. There was also footage of the two dogs either side of a fence snarling and barking at each other.

“The owners are effectively goading the dogs to fight and we say that was in preparation for the later incident,” said Mr Wyatt.

Peter King, defending Hussain, claimed his client was only out walking the family dog and had not gone to Troy Street for a pre-arranged fight.

Mr King said the Staffordshire bull terrier was a family pet.

Roger Pickles, defending Razzaq, said the incident was more of a “test fight”.

“The dogs fight with each other for about 40 seconds and are then pulled apart,” said Mr Pickles. “He accepts you will be looking at all options including custody.”

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/4727096.Blackburn_men_admit_dog_fighting/

At 10am tomorrow morning about 40 foxhounds and 20 foxhunters will be gathering in the autumn mists near Blencathra.

And a smaller, equally dedicated band of their opponents will also be there.

Although hunting with dogs has been banned for almost five years now, it hasn’t stopped the hunting fraternity in Cumbria – or the hunt saboteurs.

Since the ban, introduced in February 2005, huntsmen are supposed to engage in drag hunting, in which they follow a specially laid fox scent rather than pursuing and killing a real fox.

But the saboteurs believe many hunts are breaking the law by carrying on killing foxes regardless.

And the huntsmen are hoping that by this time next year they will be able to do so legally again.

David Cameron has promised that if the Conservatives win the next election he will make parliamentary time for a free vote among MPs to reverse the Hunting Act. So if Mr Cameron – a huntsman himself – moves into Downing Street next year, then this could be the last hunting season under the ban.

It will not necessarily be an easy issue for an incoming Cameron government to get through, any more than it was easy for Tony Blair’s government.

The ban was highly controversial when it was introduced – and reversing it will inevitably prove equally controversial.

ANTI-HUNTING: Elaine Milbourn has lived all her life in the Cumbrian countryside and has been an ardent anti-hunting campaigner for the past 25 years.Hunt saboteurs have been keeping tabs on the huntsmen at Blencathra for many years. For they are convinced foxes are still being killed there.

So she rejects the argument that the ban is an attack by the city on the countryside.

“I was born and brought up in the Eden valley and I now live in Torpenhow, so to say it is anti-countryside is nonsense,” Elaine says. “Most people in the countryside are opposed to hunting.”

Elaine is a local volunteer with animal welfare group Protect Our Wild Animals (POWA) and sees the 2005 hunting ban as only one measure needed to prevent the killing of animals for sport.

She accepts that it has led to few convictions but believes that is no reason to scrap it.

“There are laws against theft, murder and rape but these crimes still go on,” she says. “You don’t repeal a law just because people are getting away with it.

“It’s not that it’s not working. It’s that people are not allowing it to work.”

However Elaine does believes the law would be more effective if it was stricter, and wants to see it strengthened by adding a “recklessness clause”.

“The clause should be added to prevent hunts searching in areas where they know they will find foxes, such as hedges, woods and bracken.

“If a trail has been laid for drag hunting, then they don’t have to go near these places.”

And she adds: “Major landowners should also be taking a firmer stance. It is no good having rules that say hunts are only allowed to drag hunt if they do nothing about it when reports of illegal hunting are made.”

Some farmers argue that foxes kill poultry and lambs and so need to be controlled, but Elaine rejects this.

“Fewer than five per cent of the lambs who die are killed by foxes. Far more are killed by dogs.

“I had poultry for many years and none of them were ever killed by foxes.”

Moreover foxes are natural pest controllers themselves.

“They kill rats and rabbits and mice that farmers don’t want.”

And she says that, for her, the social class of foxhunters doesn’t enter the argument.

“I don’t care whether they are princes or paupers.

“If they can’t see anything wrong with ripping a wild animal to shreds with a pack of dogs for fun, then there is something wrong with them.”

“I saw one killed the day after the ban,” said one sab, who asked not to be named. “When they see us they often move on.

“If they had laid a trail for drag hunting they wouldn’t move, would they?”

Techniques the sabs use include calling out to the foxhounds, so that they believe they are being alerted to a fox, and disguising fox scents with sprays.

“A high-pitched yell often attracts them,” he says. “We always use non-harmful sprays. Garlic works a treat.”

Now the bullshit

PRO HUNTING: The Countryside Alliance was set up in 1997 to fight the proposals for a hunting ban. Since the introduction of the ban it has been focusing its efforts on getting it reversed.

According to Steve Clark, its director in the north of England, many people living in rural areas did not see the ban as an animal welfare issue.

Foxhunting is a traditional activity that has gone on for centuries – so country dwellers regarded it more as an assault on the countryside by the city.

“One of the problems is that we have a very urban parliament – most Labour MPs represent urban constituencies,” he says.

“People in the countryside, whether they were pro-hunting or indifferent to it, felt their whole way of life was under attack.”

The depth of feeling was something that took Steve by surprise.

“I know of one landowner who never used to want the huntsmen on his land.

“But after the ban he said: ‘You can come any time you want. These people aren’t going to tell me what I can or can’t do on my property.’”

The ban on hunting, he adds, has not just opened up divisions between town and country, but has created suspicion and division within the countryside itself.

“All of a sudden the village copper may not be your friend any more.

“A decisive move by an incoming Tory government to repeal the Hunting Act would go a long way to healing those divisions.”

The Hunting Act allows drag hunting and also allows hounds to flush out a fox so it can be shot, and so for many the precise legal position can be highly confusing.

“Before the ban a lot of people were thinking: ‘How on earth are we going to carry on under a ban? But it is a very badly drafted and very confusing piece of legislation.”

And though it has brought many people before the courts, it has led to very few successful prosecutions.

“The stress of having a court case hanging over your head is a horrifying experience for a right-thinking individual.

“But there have only been three successful prosecutions under the Hunting Act, and they were all among people who pleaded guilty.

“The legislation has been so confusing that it gives the hunting community a sense of hope that it will one day be repealed. It is inevitable.”

Foxhunting is seen, whether rightly or not, as an upper-class pursuit and Steve says this was at the root of much Labour opposition to it.

“Parliament spent 780 hours on banning hunting. It only spent seven hours debating whether we should go to war with Iraq.

“For a lot of Labour MPs it was a class issue. One of them even admitted: ‘This is going to get you back for the miners.’”

And if the Conservatives do win next year’s general election – and David Cameron keeps his promise – then Steve is hopeful that the ban could be reversed within the first six months.

“We hope any incoming Tory government will provide parliamentary time to get rid of a bad law. We hope this will be the last season of the ban.”

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/features/hunting_could_this_be_the_last_season_under_a_ban_1_631137?referrerPath=features

They call us a nation of animal lovers, yet attacks on creatures in their natural habitats have more than doubled in a year

Crimes against wildlife, including badger baiting with dogs, hare coursing, poisoning of protected birds and even trapping them to sell as caged pets have soared to unprecedented heights. New figures from the police show that the number of wildlife crimes more than doubled in the last year, from 2,177 to 5,854.

Incidents are now being recorded at a rate of 120 a week. They cover not only the slaughtering of badgers and rare birds of prey, but also egg thefts, bird trapping, deer poaching and habitat destruction. Rural areas are where most incidents occur, with Northumbria a conspicuous target for wildlife criminals. More than 500 incidents have been recorded there, with Grampian (244), Humberside (195), and North Wales (188) also wildlife crime hotspots.

What make the statistics even more remarkable is that they do not include crimes against domestic and farm animals. In 2008, the RSPCA investigated 140,000 cases of animal cruelty in England and Wales, a steep rise from the 2003 figure of 105,000. The charity has seen dog fighting rise tenfold since 2004, with nearly 300 incidents last year. Airgun attacks on animals and rustling of sheep and cattle also appear to be on the rise.

One of the sharpest rises has been in what police call “badger persecution”, a term that includes badgers being dug out of their setts, pitted against terrier dogs in fights, and being shot by farmers, landowners or their agents. Between February and July this year, the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) recorded 241 incidents of badger persecution – a total that in just six months almost exceeded the 280 reported incidents in 2008.

Criminals are travelling hundreds of miles to baiting “events”, according to Ian Hutchison, a species protection officer for Scottish Badgers. “Badger baiting is taking place throughout the country. It used to be an urban myth that badger baiters would travel all over the countryside. Well, it’s not an urban myth any more – they are travelling far and wide to commit offences,” he said.

People are betting on the outcomes of fights, he added, and live badgers can fetch a high price. “We have been told that in the Liverpool area, a live badger is worth £1,000 so that it can be fought with a dog.”

Mike Butcher, chief inspector of the RSPCA special operations unit, said: “Digging badgers out is very common, and there is a rise in the calls about badgers that we are getting.”

Police now plan a major crackdown, Operation Meles, against the resurgence in badger persecution that they say is being driven, in part, by the perceived threat to livestock from bovine tuberculosis. Another police project, Operation Galileo, against hare coursing, was launched by police in Lincolnshire last month. Between September 2008 and March 2009 there were more than 900 reports of hare coursing to the local force.

The rural crimewave is threatening the very survival of some species. Crimes against bats have increased by 10 per cent a year since 2007, and the loss of one roost can be a severe blow to populations that are already vulnerable, according to the Bat Conservation Trust. Last year, the RSPB received 1,206 reports of shooting, poisoning, trapping and disturbance of birds and their eggs – the second highest they have ever recorded.

The theft of wild flowers is also taking its toll on Britain’s biodiversity. In May this year, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust had to issue a warning to visitors to its nature reserve near Sapperton after a spate of bluebell thefts.

Detective Inspector Brian Stuart, head of the NWCU, said: “There is an increase in wildlife crime in general. We are seeking to use wider policing powers, such as the Proceeds of Crime Act, to target criminals where it hurts them most – in their pocket.”

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director, said: “There is far too much wildlife crime going on in the countryside. The scale of it is unacceptable in the modern age.”

He added: “The hen harrier is pretty close to being extinct in England, in large part down to wildlife crime.”

But conservationists, including the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, are calling for a radical shake-up of wildlife policing, and claim that an inconsistent response to crime by police means criminals are able to break the law with little fear of being caught. The NWCU has seen its staff slashed from 14 to nine since it was set up three years ago, and there were just 51 convictions in 2008-09 – accounting for just 3 per cent of the cases dealt with.

Huw Irranca-Davies, a Defra minister, said that a government review into the way wildlife crime is being tackled is currently under way and will report in spring 2010.

A breakdown of the latest figures from the NWCU shows that Northumbria is Britain’s wildlife crime capital, with 525 incidents, including the highest number of shootings of wildlife, according to the statistics from the latest tactical assessment for the period between February and July 2009. Humberside came top for poaching – with 119 incidents – and the Grampian region had the highest number of reports of wildlife being trapped or snared, as well as being a centre, along with Tayside and Lancashire, for crimes against birds of prey.

North Wales had the most cases of badger persecution and habitat destruction. In terms of bats being killed or their roosts destroyed, Gwent had the highest number of incidents. Hare coursing was greatest in Lincolnshire, and fox-hunting incidents were most commonly reported in Devon and Cornwall. The greatest concentration of birds’ nests being destroyed was in Northern Ireland.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/wildlife-crime-britains-killing-fields-1812915.html

On Saturday 31st October, two Hunt saboteurs were the victim of a premeditated and unprovoked attack resulting in one needing hospital treatment for severe facial cuts and bruising and a suspected broken nose, during the attack the saboteurs were also threatened with a clasp knife.

The attack took place at a public car park on the South Downs Way slightly south of Firle, East Sussex, the car park is usually the haunt of members of the public using the footpaths to enjoy the countryside or for hang gliding off the step hillside.

On this Saturday members of the South Down and Eridge Fox hunt met at Firle Place and proceeded onto the downs. As is usual members of the Hunt Saboteurs were present to monitor the hunt to ensure there were no breaches of the Hunting Act which has made the hunting of foxes illegal. No false scent drags were in evidence but Hunt saboteurs became suspicious as an official of the hunt started to act in a strange manner and seemed to be trying to keep them in one location.

While this was taking place the driver of the group’s vehicle and his passenger noticed that other hunt supporters had suddenly left the car park they were waiting in. Within minutes two land rovers and a quad bike arrived, containing about ten hunt supporters some known to the saboteurs, blocking the movement of the group’s vehicle and an unprovoked attack was launched on the two saboteurs.

The driver while attempting to regain access to his vehicle had the door slammed on his head and was then repeatedly punched in the face causing the severe facial cuts and bruising and a suspected broken nose. He was then threatened with a clasp knife and was told repeatedly that he would be stabbed. His female companion was knocked to the ground and attempts were made to steal her mobile phone.

Managing to break free the two regained their vehicle and were chased by the three vehicles for a distance. The police were informed of the violent attack and later that day one man was arrested.

Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association stated:  “David Cameron is happy to sing the praises of the hunting community and has promised to repeal the Hunting Act if the Tories win the General Election.  We would like to know if he approves of this callous, unprovoked and vicious attack by ten hunt supporters on two innocent people which could easily have resulted in serious and permanent injury.  Violence is a way of life for these people whether it is directed towards animals or people.”

http://hsa.enviroweb.org/index.php/news/latest/198-hsa-news-release-31st-october-2009

The ban on fox-hunting – that Labour Party members from across the country worked so hard to achieve – is under threat.

Yesterday, at a time when our Labour Government is focused on tackling the recession and securing our economic recovery, the Tory spokesman on Animal Welfare re-affirmed that the Tory Party, if elected, would set aside Government time for a vote to repeal the ban.

And make no mistake – David Cameron and members of his top team have made it very clear that their intention is to see the return of the cruel spectacle of foxes being torn to pieces in Britain’s countryside.

So I need your help. Please sign up now to Back the Ban.

We need to make sure that as many people as possible know that a consequence of voting for the Conservatives at the next election will be an end to the ban on fox-hunting with dogs.

I’m going to be campaigning alongside animal welfare organisations on this in the coming weeks and months and it will help a lot to know if you’ll support our campaign.

Sign up now to pledge your support for my campaign.

Once you’ve signed up I’ll be in touch by email next week to let you know exactly how you can help.

Together we can make sure that as many people as possible know that a Conservative Government would mean an end to the ban so many people worked so hard to introduce.

Thank you

Hilary Benn

So, the hunting fraternity are incensed by the cruelty-free chain Lush lending their support to the Hunt Saboteurs Association.

And how do the hunting fraternity respond? As always with intimidation. Some of the shops throughout the UK had displays of anti-hunting posters and leaflets knocked down, members of staff verbally abused and front of shop windows smashed. This comes as no surprise to those of us go out week-in and week-out against the hunts.

Before the season started the Countryside Alliance warned their supporters to remain calm in the face of provocation, as they think the Conservatives are going to gain power, and they are in sniffing distance of the Hunting Act being repealed.

Well, it seems they are well off message. Up here in Cumbria more people are wanting to come out and join us up in the hills, as they feel the democratic system as let them down, by allowing the hunts to flout the law.

So as long as they try to make the act unworkable, we will be out with video cameras, and also ready to intervene on behalf of the hunted animal, if need be.

ANDREW
Cumbrian Hunt Saboteurs

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/opinion/letters/hunting_s_reply_no_surprise_1_628095?referrerPath=/1.96082

A jobless woman bred illegal fighting dogs in her Wolverhampton home and sold them for up to £300 each, a court heard.

The pitbull terrier dogs were found when police swooped on the house in a drugs raid.

Katie Hill has now been warned that she could face time behind bars for breeding litters in what was described by a district judge as being a “commercial operation”. Twelve dogs have been kept in kennels ever since the raid at a cost of more than £38,000 and face being put down.

Hill, aged 24, of Filey Road, Bushbury, pleaded guilty to breeding a litter of 10 puppies from two adult dogs at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court yesterday.

Miss Pushpa Sheemar, prosecuting, said: “On January 9, a drugs warrant was executed at her home address and some drugs were found, along with the pitbull-type dogs which were seized.

“There was a large adult male, a heavily pregnant female and five puppies. The pregnant female later gave birth to a litter of 12 puppies but only five survived.

“In interview, the defendant admitted they were pitbull dogs and she had sold them for between £200 and £300 per dog from previous litters.”

Hill, who is on jobseekers allowance and looking after her boyfriend’s two children while he is in prison, was fined £500 for possession of cocaine, Miss Sheemar added.

After initially pleading not guilty to breeding from fighting dogs, she changed her plea to guilty yesterday before her trial started. She has been bailed pending sentencing on October 28.

District Judge Michael Wheeler warned Hill she was facing prison, saying: “This is a very serious offence and I am not prepared to rule out custody at this stage. This was for commercial gain – this was a commercial operation.”

Mrs Hina Paw, defending, said Hill was not aware at the time the animals were fighting dogs.

http://www.expressandstar.com/2009/10/22/woman-bred-illegal-fighting-dogs-in-home/

Animal welfare officers have seized seven birds they suspected were being kept for cock fighting.

The Scottish SPCA with the help of Lothian and Borders Police recovered the birds during raids on on a number of Edinburgh addresses on Tuesday.

The birds are now in the Scottish SPCA’s care and will be examined for evidence of being prepared for fighting.

As yet, no-one has been charged with an offence.

Scottish SPCA Ch Supt Mike Flynn said cock fight was illegal.

He added: “Cock fighting is big business for some very small sections of society. Prize birds can be worth hundreds of pounds to their owners and significant sums of money changes hands at the fights.

“This ancient blood sport is a very clandestine, underground activity that is shrouded in secrecy so we are very pleased to have removed these birds today in what was a successful operation.

“Any ’sport’ that involves pitting one animal against another and encouraging them to fight each other to extreme injury and often death is, in our view, abhorrent and has no place in modern society.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8319250.stm

A DUMBARTON man has been fined £500 for fox hunting.

Martin Johnstone was spotted digging holes and sending a dog down to hunt foxes on wasteland near to Southdeen Avenue, Drumchapel, in June this year.

The 32-year-old forklift driver was arrested after police arrived and saw him and a fox running from a hole he had dug.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Johnstone, of Fraser Avenue, Dumbarton, admitted deliberately hunting the animals on June 31 this year.

His co-accused Alexander McCafferty, 25, of Boghead Avenue, Dumbarton, had his not guilty plea accepted.

Prosecutor Wendy Hay told the court that a witness living in nearby flats saw Johnstone digging between 9.30am and 10am.

Miss Hay said: “The witness knew that the accused was digging in a place where foxes lived and telephoned police.

“The police attended and saw the accused emerge from the hole he had been digging and start to run away from the area.

“As he ran off, a fox was also seen to run from the hole.

“The officers managed to catch up with the accused who told them that he had been digging to try and find a lost dog.

“But CCTV footage showed the accused placing a dog down the hole a number of times after adjusting a tracking device on its collar.

“The accused was taken to the police office where he was interviewed but did not make any admissions to the offence.”

Defence lawyer Andrew Gallen told the court that Johnstone had instructed him not to tell the court about the circumstances of the offence or why he did it.

Mr Gallen simply added that the dog had been taken into police custody but was now back with Johnstone.

Sheriff Norman Ritchie reduced Johnstone’s fine from £600 to £500 because of his early plea of guilty.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2532748.0.urban_fox_hunter_to_pay_500_fine.php