Cumbrian pair deny badger baiting charges

Two Cumbrian men have denied badger baiting in southern Scotland.

Stephen Rumney, 30, from Harriston, Aspatria and Darren Williams, 38, from Brook Street, Maryport have pleaded not guilty to offences under the Protection of Badgers Act, the Animal Health and Welfare Act and the Protection of Wild Mammals Act.

The offences are alleged to have taken place at Darlawhill Farm, Middlebie, near Lockerbie, between January and March last year.

Both were accused at Dumfries Sheriff Court of using dogs to flush out, attack and kill a badger, interfere with a badger sett by allowing a dog with a locating collar to enter the sett.

Both also deny separate charges of failing to obtain adequate veterinary treatment for dogs and Rumney pleaded not guilty to abandoning a dog.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/pair_deny_badger_baiting_charges_1_664714?referrerPath=/news_round-up_1_50001

Birkenhead greyhound trainer Ian Street admits animal cruelty charges

A GREYHOUND racing trainer faces jail after inflicting “terrible suffering” on nearly 30 dogs.

Ian Street, 49, had 29 greyhounds confiscated when his premises were raided last April.

Of those, eleven were in such a state that animal welfare charges were brought against him by Wirral Council.

Street, of Bedford Avenue, Birkenhead, leant on the dock at Wirral Magistrate’s Court as the animals’ misery was detailed yesterday.

Kenneth Abraham, prosecuting, described the scene at Hillcroft Farm, Frankby Road, Frankby, where the dogs were kept.

He told the court: “A greyhound called Dancer had gingivitis and scabs on her feet.

“Tex had complete hair loss on his back half and scabs on his ears.

“Sal had thinning hair and redness to her skin.

“The vet who examined the dogs confirmed these were all illnesses that would have been spotted by a responsible dog owner who would have sought appropriate advice.”

After Street admitted failing to protect the animals from pain, suffering, injury and disease, chairwoman of the bench Linda Tragen warned him: “It is up to you to co-operate with the probation service on a pre-sentence report which may include a community penalty or indeed custody.”

He was also ordered not to give away any animals he was keeping at other properties and to make them available for inspection.

Ann Downey, enforcement officer with Wirral Council environmental health team, said: “This was a particularly difficult case to investigate because of the number of animals involved and the level of suffering we witnessed.

“We are pleased that the hard work that had gone into preparing and presenting the evidence has paid off with the guilty plea.

“The conditions in which these greyhounds were kept were simply not acceptable and it’s clear that a number of them suffered terribly as a result of his neglect.

“Mercifully all of the dogs have now fully recovered and have all found new homes as a result of the efforts of Greyhound Rescue West of England, whose hard work and assistance has been invaluable throughout.”

Street’s sentencing was adjourned until February 15.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/01/22/birkenhead-greyhound-trainer-ian-street-admits-animal-cruelty-charges-100252-25657708/

Pusuit of game leads to fine

A HAILSHAM man has been ordered to pay £450 and been banned from driving for six months after admitting trespassing in pursuit of game in Cambridgeshire.

Aaron Gardener, 28, was one of three men who were found with two dogs and a dead hare in a car near Sterling Farm in Swaffham Prior, east of Cambridge, on November 22 last year, a court heard.

Gardener, George Stevens, 21, from Romford and Gordon Thompson, 56, of Croydon, all pleaded guilty. They were each fined £350 with a £15 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

A member of the public had alerted police after seeing three men hare coursing between Swaffham and Burwell, prosecutor Sally Rose told magistrates in Ely.

They were seen driving away from a car park and were stopped by officers. A search of the vehicle revealed two lurcher-type dogs hidden in the boot and a dead hare under the passenger seat. Police seized the vehicle.

Gardener had told police he was a rabbiting man and would never intentionally kill a hare.

http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/hailsham-news/Pursuit-of-game-leads-to.5997697.jp

Ask your MP to help ban battery cages for game birds

Please write to your MP and ask him or her to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 507, which calls for a ban on the use of all battery cages for ‘game birds’. A decision on their future will soon be taken, so please write as soon as possible.

The EDM has been tabled following the recent publication of a draft Code of Practice on the Welfare of Game Birds Reared for Sporting Purposes, which was drawn up by a Working Group established under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act. The Draft Code left open the issue of the cages, by offering three options: to allow their continued use; to allow only ‘enriched’ cages; or to ban the cages, enriched or otherwise. DEFRA Minister Jim Fitzpatrick will soon make a final decision on the future of the cages – and we are calling on all MPs to support the campaign for an outright ban. The RSPCA and even the pro-shoot British Association for Shooting and Conservation also support a ban on the cages.

Made of wire mesh and metal sheeting, the cages expose the birds to the elements all year round. Pheasants are typically confined in groups of eight females and one male. Partridges are held in breeding pairs in metal boxes that are correspondingly smaller and just as bleak as the pheasant units. Covert filming undertaken by Animal Aid demonstrates that the birds suffer a high incidence of emaciation, feather-loss and back and head wounds. Many of the pheasants lunge repeatedly at their cage roofs in a forlorn attempt to escape. The resulting damage to their heads is known as ‘scalping’.

Animal Aid, which first exposed the existence of the cages in 2004, has gathered filmed evidence of ‘enriched’ cages which demonstrates that they are essentially as bleak and wretched for the birds as the un-enriched version.

Please ask your MP to sign EDM 507 and, if possible, ask him or her to write to Mr Fitzpatrick stating why they support the EDM.

More information on the issue of battery cages can be read in our report entitled Assault and Battery. A film of our investigation, under the same name, is available on Animal Aid’s website or via our office on DVD.

• See if your MP has already signed EDM 507
• Ask your MP to sign EDM 507
• Read Animal Aid’s Assault & Battery report
• Watch Animal Aid’s Assault & Battery film

Hunting is neither ‘prompt nor humane’

COLIN Richey Letters, January 7, says in his letter that he hopes the Hunting Act will be repealed “not because I agree with cruelty to animals, because I don’t…” Well make up your mind Colin, because you can’t have it both ways — if you did not condone cruelty to animals, you certainly wouldn’t approve of hunting.

I am fascinated to know how, as a journalist covering hunts in Mid Devon, Colin Richey can testify, with a straight face, that most animals were “dispatched promptly and humanely”.

It’s strange what some people can consider to be “prompt and humane”. Make no mistake, the hunted animal’s death begins when the chase begins and, as hunters fondly relate (in their favourite magazines), hunts of seven, eight, and even 11 miles in pursuit of foxes, and much longer in the case of deer, no word could be less appropriate than “prompt” to describe the hideous and gruelling chase.

And that is just the chase; in the case of a fox, the animal’s abdomen and thorax is ripped open by the dogs. In the case of a deer, it has to stand, beaten, exhausted and trembling, before the pack, and watch in utter fear as a hunter approaches with a gun and shoots it dead.

Hunters go out, specifically to entertain themselves, and wreak utter misery and suffering upon beautiful, healthy wild animals. They consider it a fine day when they have torn the life from at least one of their chosen quarry, and better still, two or three. In fact, during the cub-hunting part of the fox-hunting season, a morning’s carnage can involve six or more young foxes.

Colin Richey may consider this matter to be of little importance, but to all decent people it is a matter of serious moral gravity, as are all issues concerning the infliction of pain and suffering upon a victim for the gratification of the humans inflicting the misery.

Penny Little

Great Haseley, Oxfordshhire

http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/features/Hunting-prompt-humane/article-1719487-detail/article.html

‘Badger shoot’ protest over cull

A mock shooting of a badger has been staged outside the Welsh assembly, to protest against a cull of the animals.

Ministers have announced plans for a cull in a pilot area, mainly north Pembrokeshire, to combat bovine TB.

Around 30 Pembrokeshire Against the Cull (PAC) supporters dressed up as badgers enacted the mock killing on the steps of the Senedd building.

Cliff Benson from Pembrokeshire Against the Cull said there was no moral or scientific justification for the cull.

A protester in a badger costume crawled around around the steps of the Senedd building before becoming trapped in a cage and ‘shot’ by another protester brandishing a banana.

Mr Benson said he did not believe assembly members had asked people in west Wales for their views on the eradication plans.

“They’ve taken what we consider to be the advice of the best scientists in the country and they’ve ignored that and they’ve decided to go on with the cull.

“Morally we’re against it, we know it doesn’t make any sense scientifically, and we think that if these people expect to be elected in the future then they’d better not kill our badgers because we don’t want them to.”

The Welsh Assembly Government’s controversial extermination programme is backed by opposition parties but is facing opposition from some animal welfare campaigners.

The Badger Trust is also seeking legal action over the matter.

Announcing the pilot cull last week, Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said: “Bovine TB is out of control and unsustainable and last year cost the taxpayer nearly £24m in compensating farmers.

“We know that cattle and badgers are the main sources of the disease and that, if we want to achieve our aim of eradicating bovine TB, we have to tackle the disease in both species.

The cull area covers 288km² (111 sq-mile) of north Pembrokeshire, and a small part of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

Ministers said there would also be stricter cattle control measures in the cull area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/wales/wales_politics/8466269.stm

Sheffield, Nottingham & Leeds Saboteurs End Of Year Report

Summary of hunt saboteurs’ activity in the region from August – December 2009.

Nottingham, Sheffield & Leeds sabs started this seasons sabbing in September, when the hunts were training their young hounds to hunt by sending them after fox cubs. In the first few months of fox cub hunting, or“cubbing”, we sabbed the Burton, the Meynall & South Staffs, the South Notts and the High Peak hunts. As usual all were found to be quite blatantly flouting the Hunting Act and no longer even making a pretence of hunting within the law. Hardly surprising given how the police refuse to investigate illegal hunting – even when they attend hunts! The award for the most biased policing once again goes to the Lincolnshire force for turning up in large numbers when we sabbed the Burton. Watch out for us on “Cops On Camera” as they had someone filming for the show that day.

The South Notts hunt also decided to call the police, most likely as they haven’t seen sabs for 15 years or so. The police were delayed slightly as the bumpkin in charge of police relations couldn’t remember the number to call, and due to the incompetence of the call didn’t arrive for an hour and a half. Great news for us as the sun came up and burnt off the foxes’ scent. In disgust at the police’s incompetence, the hunt then galloped off and packed up – job done.

We also had several successful days sabbing the Badsworth and Bramham Moor hunt during cubbing. They probably didn’t expect us the first time as we popped up next to a wood they were hunting. They were onto a fox from the start, which eventually took shelter in a badger sett. This wasn’t quite safe enough as we then heard the sound of shovels, as the terrier men started digging out the fox. Luckily as we approached, the hunt members had a rethink and left the fox in peace. Shortly afterwards the hunt got onto another fox in a field of high crops and chased it into the same wood, and again we intervened, this time calling the hounds away and letting the fox escape. We returned to the hunt again a few weeks later and had a similar day, with the hunt immediately hunting foxes and us intervening to ensure a kill free day, saving two more hunted foxes.

We visited the Badsworth and Bramham Moor hunt again in October only to find the police pouring into the area at an alarming rate – with the intention of arresting sabs, for no particular reason. So we decided to head for the York & Ainsty hunt, who were hunting nearby. With some police following us all the way, we made a break for it down a footpath, heading towards the sound a huntsman’s horn. We found the tail end of the hunt leaving a large wood, were some men were staying behind to dig out and kill a fox that had hid in a badger sett. As we approached the terrier men stopped and walked back to their vehicle. So, another good day, and with no arrests.

We started the main season with an afternoon visit to the Rockwood harriers. Although this gave us a lie in after all our early morning cubbing exploits it was a difficult day as the hunt had spent a few hours in the pub and were well tanked up! Drunken driving and general aggression were the order of the day and this combined with the usual biased policing in the area made it difficult for sabs to get near the hunt.

The following week we paid a trip to the lesser spotted Colne Valley Beagles on the Yorkshire moors. It was hard going and we lost them for a time but sab perseverance paid off and we found them again and packed them up a few hours early.

Two weeks after our first visit there, twenty or so sabs returned to the Rockwood harriers, but the cowards smashed up one of our vans that two sabs were in and then the police held some sabs for around three hours and stopped us getting anywhere near the perpetrators. Complaints have been made to the police about the officers on the scene but we won’t hold our breath!

Sick of Yorkshire police, the following week we headed to Derbyshire to check out the Meynall and South Staffs. Derbyshire police are keeping a low profile at the moment after recently paying out £38,000 after wrongfully arresting members of our group last year. The weather was atrocious and it was depressing at 2pm when we thought the hunt were packing up due to the driving rain to find that they were actually just changing horses! Despite this, and despite constant aggro from hunt bumpkins, we had a pretty good day. Staying with the hunt for long periods and constantly popping up where they least expected it.

We’ve made several visits to Lincolnshire to sab the traditionally fast and aggressive Blankney hunt this season. The last week of November saw us there, and what an excellent day we had. Sabs were in exactly the right place at the right time to take hounds off a fox that was only 10 feet in front of the lead hounds and would definitely have been killed if we weren’t there. We stayed on the hunt all day and were always in the right place to sab them if necessary. At the end of December as the cold snap began we had another trip to the Blankney. They weren’t out due to the hard frost so with a bit of luck and skill we managed to find the elusive Per Ardua beagles who took one look at sabs, boxed up and headed back to kennels.

We visited the South Notts again during the main season, on one of their rare Saturday meets and packed them up at 2 o’clock.

Sabs from the group also had successful mid-week trips to the Badsworth & Bramham Moor and to Cumbria to support the local sabs with one of their hunts.

We have also had two successful benefit gigs, one in Nottigham and one in Sheffield, raising a good chunk of money to keep our vans running. Thanks to all who helped with these. Thanks also to sabs from other regions who have come over to give us a hand on occasion.

Anyone who is interested in coming sabbing in future, from Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds, or anywhere else in the North or Midlands should contact  sheffieldsaboteurs@live.co.uk. We’d also like to hear from people who could help with fundraising, vehicle mechanics and looking after saboteurs’ animals (when needed).

Anyone interested in sabbing from other areas should contact the Hunt Saboteurs Association  http://hsa.enviroweb.org/

Sheffield Saboteurs e-mail: sheffieldsaboteurs@live.co.uk

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/01/444666.html

Badger cull to go ahead in Wales to counter ‘dramatic rise’ in bovine TB

Minister claims disease is out of control, but animal welfare groups cite evidence that culling does more harm than good.

Thousands of protected badgers will be culled later this year in an attempt to limit the cattle disease bovine tuberculosis (TB) spreading further in Wales.

The decision to go ahead with a £9m pilot cull, expected to take place mainly in Pembrokeshire, was made today by Welsh rural affairs minister Elin Jonesplan was first put forward. nearly two years after the

“Bovine TB is out of control and unsustainable and last year cost the taxpayer nearly £24m in compensating farmers,” Jones said. “This is a dramatic rise since 2000 when the compensation bill was just over £1m. In 1997 around 700 cattle were culled because of bovine TB. This increased to 12,000 by 2008. We know that cattle and badgers are the main sources of the disease and that, if we want to achieve our aim of eradicating bovine TB, we have to tackle the disease in both species.”

Five culls, along with other attempts to limit the spread of the disease, will take place over a limited period for several years within a 288 sq km pilot area where the Welsh assembly government says 42% of cattle owners have had at least one case of TB in their herd since 2003. The first cull will take place after the badger breeding season ends in May.

The cull was welcomed by vets and farmers but condemned by animal welfare groups. “It’s not legal”, said Jack Reedy, a director of the Badger Trust. “There is no justification for it because it would not be effective. The Bern Convention requires that [culling can take place only] to eradicate diseases. All the scientific evidence demonstrates that culling does not eradicate disease. The cull is not supported by the the science,” he said.

The Trust challenged the Welsh assembly in the courts before Christmas but the application for a judicial review is not expected to be heard for some time.

“We’re well aware of the costs of bovine TB but this decision to eliminate badgers from a large area of the Welsh countryside is wrong. The way in which this area has been chosen will mean that any lessons learned, if there are any, will not be applicable to the rest of the country. It will also make it impossible to know which parts of the control strategy may have worked,” said RSPCA senior wildlife scientist, Colin Booty.

He added that a 10-year study by the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on TB in cattle, which cost £50m and killed 11,000 badgers, found that culling them carried the risk of actually increasing the spread of the disease. “The conclusion was that badger culling could make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. It is important to realise that most badgers are not infected with TB. A study of badgers found dead in Wales conducted by the Welsh assembly government published in January 2007 found that seven out of eight badgers tested negative for the disease.”

Nicky Paull, past president of the British veterinary association, welcomed the decision: “We are delighted that the pilot cull and stricter cattle measures have been announced. There is no single solution to tackling this devastating disease. Farmers will also have to understand the huge importance of implementing the stricter cattle measures. The rest of the UK will be watching the pilot cull with interest.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/13/badger-cull-wales-bovine-tb

Help get snares banned

What is a snare?

A snare is a primitive means of ‘pest’ control consisting of a thin wire noose used to trap wild animals. The snare is positioned in such a way that one end is attached to the ground or a heavy object while the other end forms a loop, which traps the animal and tightens as the animal struggles.

Free-running snares are supposed to work in such a way that if the animal stops struggling the wire will slacken off. However this is not always the case.

What are snares used for?
Snares are used to trap animals such as rabbits and foxes that are perceived by some to be pests. Snares are used by some farmers to try to catch rabbits, and by gamekeepers on sporting estates to try to catch foxes in an attempt to protect game birds reared for shooting. The purpose of a snare is to immobilise its target but they can cause serious injury and often death.

Are snares cruel?
Yes, snares are cruel. They have the potential to inflict extreme injuries on animals and can often be responsible for painful and lingering deaths. Not only this, once an animal is trapped in a snare it can suffer from dehydration, starvation and distress as well as being at a higher risk from other predators.

An Independent Working Group on Snares, reporting to DEFRA in 2005, identified a long list of harm caused to animals caught in snares. Adverse impacts included:

• the stress of restraint, which could include frustration, anxiety and rage
• fear of predation or capture whilst held by the snare
• friction, penetration and self-inflicted skin injuries whilst struggling against or fighting the tether
• pain, thirst, hunger and exposure when restrained for long periods
• pain, injury and reduced ability to survive that could persist following escape
• stress of capture and handling before despatch by the snare operator
• pain and injury associated with killing by the snare operator if unconsciousness is not immediate.

In December 2007, the Scottish SPCA released a report on snaring compiled from the evidence of Scottish SPCA inspectors, wildlife crime police officers and vets. The Report revealed that, although snares are meant to be restraining devices, more than half the animals reported were either found dead in the snare or had to be put down.

What animals are caught in snares?
Ban Snares Snares are indiscriminate. They may be set to trap rabbits or foxes but in reality any animal is at risk as it is impossible to set a snare that will only catch the intended species. Protected species such as otters and badgers, as well as livestock, hare, deer and even domestic cats and dogs are just some of the animals, which can be caught in a snare.

The proportion of non-target species caught and held in snares set for foxes has been calculated as ranging from 21-69%: the report of the UK government’s Independent Working Group on Snaring estimated that it might be difficult, in some environments, to reduce the overall proportion of non-target animals caught in fox snares to below about 40%.

In December 2007, the Scottish SPCA released a report on snaring compiled from the evidence of Scottish SPCA inspectors, Ban Snareswildlife crime police officers and vets.

It showed that of the animals caught in snares – ranging from badgers and deer to pet cats and dogs – only 23 per cent of the animals reported were the intended foxes or rabbits. Therefore a massive 77% of animals caught were of other non-target species.

What is the current law on snaring?
It is currently legal to set a free-running snare, which consists of a piece of wire threaded through a simple eyelet at one end, allowing, in theory, free movement of the wire in both directions. The noose should relax when a caught animal struggles, reducing the chance of strangulation, although this is not always the case and the noose can tighten when the trapped animal struggles. Snares designed to be free-running can act as self-locking snares if they become rusty, kinked or matted with the hair of captured animals.

What is the current law on Snaring?
It is already against the law to set a self-locking snare, which is a snare with a small metal device at one end allowing the wire to only run freely in one direction. When an animal is caught in a self-locking snare, the noose tightens, but does not slacken off when the animal stops struggling. It is also illegal to possess a self locking snare without a reasonable excuse.

The Nature Conservation Act (Scotland) 2004 tightened up regulations on free running snares making it illegal to set a snare on land where permission has not been given by the landowner. The Act also states that snares must be checked every 24 hours and trapped animals must be released or humanely dispatched if they are not already dead. In November 2006, the then Scottish Executive issued a consultation seeking views on a number of options on the future of snares. The results of the consultation were released in August 2007 and showed 70 per cent of a total of 247 responses favoured a total ban.

How does this compare with the rest of the UK and Europe?
The UK is one of only a small number of countries in the EU, which still permit the use of snares. Other European countries that still allow snares are France, Ireland, Spain and Belgium.

What can I do to help the campaign?
Sign our petition on the Advocates for Animals ‘Take Action’ page.

http://www.advocatesforanimals.org/campaigns/bansnares

Opposition to snare ban continues

The Scottish government has maintained its opposition to a complete ban on animal snares.

The move came as MSPs quizzed Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham about calls from welfare groups to outlaw the wire traps.

Ministers have said an effective method to control predators, such as foxes, was vital.

The Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee is considering a banning call on behalf of several groups.

League Against Cruel Sports, Advocates for Animals, the International Otter Survival Fund and Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue have all called for Holyrood to urge ministers to bring in new legislation which would prohibit the manufacture, sale, possession and use of all snares.

Supporters of a ban said animals such as badgers and mountain hares were suffering horrible injures and death after being caught in snares.

Despite rejecting a ban, measures have been introduced to strictly limit the use of snares and ban those capable of inflicting unnecessary suffering.

Ministers said the control of predators through snares, helped to maintain Scotland’s world-famous shooting industry, boost conservation and help farmers in protect their animals.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/8452610.stm