February 2007

(*)- added since last update

Western Daily Press 28.2.07 BIGOTED LAW HAS NOT SAVED FOXES - Peter Hain considers the hunting ban "to be one of our proudest achievements since the party came to power in 1997". Little wonder when one considers the other "achievements" of New Labour after 10 years in Government…. J H Rushton, Chippenham (letter)

Western Daily Press 28.2.07 CAMERON IN THE POCKETS OF 'THUGS' - David Cameron, in making the repeal of the ban on hunting with dogs the priority of any Government he forms, has shown himself to be in the pockets of the cruel and law-breakers in society.How can voters trust a party so clearly aligned with thugs who terrorise and kill wildlife for fun?... Chris Gale Chippenham Wiltshire (letter)

Western Daily Press 28.2.07 TURNING BLIND EYE TO HUNTING - Giles Bradshaw, stop being so irresponsible. You should no more allow your dogs to chase a deer than you should let them chase a sheep.Both of these species are mammals and very susceptible to stress-related disorders…. Gill Purser Cheltenham (letter)

Daily Post 28.2.07 Rural crisis - I COULD not let the highlighted letter in Monday’s Daily Post go without comment. I have never met the Rev Thompson who is based near to where I live but he and two others in North Wales run a constant letter campaign about attitudes to hunting and rural matters… We have had 10 years of card carrying religion in Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street. We don't need any more…. Perhaps instead of haranguing us on his fanatical views he could assist those in the rural community who have seen their livelihoods destroyed by this government and its absurd attitudes to the countryside. David SoutterMilwr, Flintshire (letters)
Daily Post 26.2.07 DAVID Cameron's recent confirmation that he would immediately repeal the ban on the hunting of live animals with dogs for "sport" tells us more about the real him – and his supportive colleagues – than all his highly skilled self-promotion ever could…. Rev James Thompson, Holywell (story)

Scotsman 28.2.07 SNH shooting its own foot - You report (21 February) that Scottish Natural Heritage is to withhold grant funding for the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate because of fears it will be used to promote grouse shooting and deer stalking. Scotland faces intense competition from other European countries in attracting country sports tourists, so investing in these great economic assets is nationally beneficial… TONY ANDREWS, Scottish Countryside Alliance, Ingliston, Midlothian (letter)

BBC News Online 28.2.07 Poll backs complete snaring ban - Hundreds of people in Scotland have backed a complete ban on the use of snares, according to a study. Three quarters of people surveyed by the League Against Cruel Sports said they wanted the traps outlawed…. (story)

ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CONVICTED OF ILLEGAL STREET COLLECTIONS
Hendon Times 28.2.07 Bogus collectors stopped By Marcus Dysch - A Barnet High Street stall which operated under the guise of collecting money for animal rights charities has been closed as part of an operation targeting unlicensed money collectors across London…. The street collectors lured unsuspecting animal lovers to their stalls with fake petitions that were not sent anywhere. Officers found a number of petitions at the suspects' houses, according to a Met spokesman. He said the money collected often goes straight in the collectors' pocket'…. (story)
Cambridge Evening News 27.2.07 Stalls shut to thwart protesters - ANIMAL rights protesters who target Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) have had fundraising stalls shut down by police. Lucrative street stalls, believed to have raised as much as £40,000 each a year, have been closed down in an operation targeting what police say is illegal fundraising to pay for criminal activities…. (story)
Hounslow Guardian 22.2.07 Clampdown on illegal cash collectors By Helen Husbands - South-west London shopping districts were targeted by people who illegally collected thousands of pounds under the guise of animal rights activists…. Among the 21 arrested in London were Terence Russell and Kim Webster, both of Carshalton in Surrey, who will appear in court on April 11 over a collection in Wimbledon…. (story)
Sutton/Croydon Advertiser 22.2.07 Police close animal rights stalls - Street stalls collecting tens of thousands of pounds a year have been closed in what police say is a clampdown on the funding of the criminal actions of animal rights extremists… (story)
ThisIsLocalLondon 22.2.07 21 'illegally' collected for animal rights terror By Martina Smit - TWENTY-ONE people have been charged with illegally collecting thousands of pounds for animal rights "charities" - many with links to activist terrorism…. Rebecca Garrity, 19, of Seaton in Devon, and Alice Barton of Clapton in east London, pleaded guilty to illegally collecting money in Sloane Square. Daniel Amos of Swindon, Wiltshire, and Selby Gerrah of Yately, Hampshire, admitted collecting without a license in Oxford Street. Emma Speed of Leigh on Sea, Essex, Fran Cornwall of Milton Keynes and Pauline Broughton of Northampton have been charged with another illegal collection in Oxford Street. They are due at Westminster magistrates' court on 26 April. Terence Russell and Kim Webster, both of Carshalton in Surrey, will appear in court on 11 April over a collection in Wimbledon. … (story)
Ananova 22.2.07 Police close animal rights stalls - Street stalls collecting tens of thousands of pounds a year have been closed in what police say is a clampdown on the funding of the criminal actions of animal rights extremists… (story)
Times 22.2.07 Animal rights funds ‘spent on criminality’ - NICOLA WOOLCOCK - Animal rights activists are illegally collecting thousands of pounds at street stalls to fund criminality, police said yesterday. Twenty-one people have been charged in the past six months after a campaign by the Metropolitan Police. Detectives estimate that £80,000 each year has been brought in by two stalls alone, which operate frequently on Oxford Street, Central London….(story)
Guardian 22.2.07 Police crack down on animal rights fundraising stalls - Sandra Laville, crime correspondent - Lucrative street stalls run by animal rights activists have been closed down by Scotland Yard in an operation targeting what police say is illegal fundraising to pay for the criminal actions of extremists…. But leading figures within the animal liberation movement accused the police of "dirty tricks" yesterday…. A source within the National Extremist Crime Unit… highlighted the case of Sarah Gisborne, 39, from Cranleigh, Surrey, who was jailed for six years in 2005 by Peterborough crown court for conspiracy to cause criminal damage… She drove to her targets in a car hired in Cambridgeshire, which was paid for, police say, by money from the Shac stalls…. Greg Avery, a Shac activist, regularly manned the Oxford Street stall… He denied Gisborne had used money from a Shac stall to fund her campaign… (story)
Mirror 22.2.07 TOUTS OFF THE STREET - ANIMAL rights activists illegally touting for donations are facing a police crackdown. So far 21 people have been charged over taking cash from the public…. (story)
BBC News Online 22.2.07 Illegal money collectors targeted - A clampdown on illegal money collectors in public places has resulted in 21 people being charged. They are accused of collecting money without a licence on stalls around London under the guise of animal rights activists. But the Metropolitan Police said much of the money funded groups linked to criminal behaviour…. Those charged during the clampdown worked on stalls which invited members of the public to sign petitions supporting animal rights, before encouraging them to make donations…. (story)
Life Style Extra 22.2.07 Animal rights activists collecting illegally - Animal rights extremists posing as charity collectors are illegally fleecing tens of thousands of pounds from unsuspecting members of the public, Scotland Yard said today. Detectives from the Public Order Crime Unit (POCU) believe that the money could be being used to fund criminal activity and the lifestyles of extreme activists… On January 16 and 17 four people, including two teenage girls, pleaded guilty at West London Magistrates Court to unlicensed street collection in September last year. Alice Barton, 18, of Clapton and Rebecca Garrity, 19 of Seaton, Devon had been collecting in Sloane Square, while Daniel Amos, of Swindon, and Selby Gerrah, of Yately, Hampshire, admitted illegal collection and highway obstruction at the junction of Marylebone Lane and Oxford Street…. (story)

Times 28.2.07 MP attacks websites - Extremists based abroad who use animal rights websites to incite attacks in Britain could be extradited. The activists were called terrorists by Phil Willis, the Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology… (story)

York Press 28.2.07 Stop animal tests - IT is beyond any dispute that a cure must be found for the HIV/AIDS pandemic. According to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, animal-based research over 25 years has "resulted in 30 vaccines which protect monkeys from contracting the primate equivalent of HIV (SIV), but has failed to find a cure for humans"… Aled Jones, Mount Crescent, Bridlington. (story)

The Shields Gazette 28.2.07 We don't want halal meat - Schools have had halal meat forced on them with no consultation with parents, surely this is illegal? These animals die a horrific death and no one was asked if it is what we wanted at the school… G Harrison, via e-mail. (letter)
The Shields Gazette 21.2.07 Caring about animal welfare - IS being concerned about animal welfare racist?... In case you did not know, halal preparation involves the suspension of animals upside-down, the ceremonial slitting of their throats by a knife, and a drawn-out death for the animal through loss of blood. Switzerland has banned all forms of ritual slaughter altogether. Kathleen Winship, South Shields. (letter)
The Shields Gazette 21.2.07 Meat is simply cruel - I AM a long-time vegetarian who reads or hears about animal cruelty almost every week. As such, I would like to say how disgusted I am with South Tyneside Council and its change of policy towards serving school meals which include Halal meat… Mark Heslop, County Mews, South Shields. (letter)

Western Daily Press 27.2.07 LABOUR TRIES TO MASK FAILURES (FEBRUARY 22) - Peter Hain would condemn the ridiculous Hunting Act and praise hunters for being hunters if he thought it would help him win the deputy leadership election… He is just a cynical, self-centred, power- seeking politician. E Saunders, Hampshire (letter)

Western Daily Press 27.2.07 HUNT BAN WILL BE A LASTING LEGACY (FEBRUARY 19) Since the Hunting Act came into force more livestock is being killed.You stop us from doing a sport which has been around for years but you won't stop Tony Blair from sending soldiers to Iraq.Amy Haines, Wiltshire
Mr Hain said that his party has supported the countryside. He backed up this declaration saying that Labour defends rural post offices and schools. Why has our village school and our post office both closed within Labour's term in office?... The Hunting Act will be a great legacy for Labour - as a total waste of Parliament- ary time. Michael Llewellen Palmer, Biddestone (letters)

Western Morning News 27.2.07 IF HUNTING'S STILL THRIVING, WHY REPEAL THE HUNTING ACT? - Regarding the wish of the hunting mob to have the Hunting Act repealed, why would they want to do this when, according to them, they are so enjoying galloping around and having a jolly good time without killing anything?... F Cleaves Par (letter)

DAVID CAMERON & DEER STALKING
Guardian 27.2.07 Cameron: natural born stag killer - Patrick Barkham - The image of last week? Hooded teenager Ryan Florence aiming an imaginary gun at David Cameron. The image of this week? The wax-jacketed Tory leader lustily blasting two stags to bits… Comments on the Daily Mail's website already show "Dave the deerstalker" playing particularly badly among the country's women voters. "Cameron is the epitome of an upper-class twit," wrote one. That "right-left knack" however, may boost Cameron's credibility among gun-toting teens. At least no hoodie will dare hug him now. (story)
Telegraph 26.2.07 Revealed: Cameron the deer hunter By Laura Clout - David Cameron has a hidden talent for stag shooting, it emerged yesterday, one of the most controversial field sports… (story)
Mirror 26.2.07 CAMERON IS BLOOD SPORT FANATIC - By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent - DAVID Cameron loves blood sports and is a crack shot capable of hitting two stags seconds apart, a friend revealed yesterday… (story)
Mail on Sunday 25.2.07 Deerstalker Dave can fell two stags with one shot By SIMON WALTERS - David Cameron risks offending animal rights campaigners after details of his secret passion for stag shooting, one of the bloodiest field sports, were revealed. The Conservative leader regularly goes deerstalking and is one of the few marksmen skilled enough to shoot two stags in one go…. (story)
Independent on Sunday 25.2.07 Now it's Dave the deadly deer stalker By Marie Woolf, Political Editor - David Cameron has a secret love of stag shooting it emerged last night, and is considered an expert at one of the most controversial blood sports. The Conservative leader is said by those who have hunted with him to be a keen shot who can fell two deer at once…. (story)

Western Mail 27.2.07 Dai's argument is shot down - I write with reference to Dai Johnson's letter in Country & Farming on February 5. So he has solved the mystery of the dumped carcasses at Beulah Shoot, Llanwrtyd Wells. According to him, 'the word' is that vegans did it. He has not even bothered to name a source or offer up any evidence. Are we really so stupid that we believe this nonsense?... PAUL NELSON, Croydon (story)
Western Mail 6.2.07 Hypocritical vegans dumped carcasses - What an absurd comment from Mr Kit Davidson, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, (Country & Farming, Jan 30) about the dumping of carcasses. Every time the animal rights campaign opens its mouth it shows itself up for what it is. The word is that a bunch of vegans planted the carcasses to manufacture this story - not for the first time such a vile stunt has been played… DAI JOHNSON, Ynysbwl, Pontypridd (letter)

Guardian 27.2.07 Brave academics - I fully agree with Michelle Thew in her call for an open debate on the use of animals in medical research (Letters, February 20), but I dispute her argument that such debate is stifled by the cowardice of the scientific community…. Jo Tanner, Chief executive, Coalition for Medical Progress, London SE1 (letter)
Guardian 20.2.07 Time for open debate - As the UK's leading organisation campaigning peacefully for a world where no one wants - or believes we need - to test on animals, we think it's high time researchers were willing to have a full and open debate about the efficacy of animal experimentation… Michelle Thew , chief executive, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection London
I can see why people don't like experiments on animals. There is always the suspicion that some of it is more about profit than medical advancement. Nevertheless, I support the need for such experiments and am concerned at the irrational views of a hard core who seem far more concerned about this than, for example, the war in Iraq… Keith Flett, London (letters)

RESPECT FOR ANIMALS SEAL HUNTING LETTER
Southern Daily Echo 27.2.07 Boycott Canadian fish products - MANDY CARTER, Respect for Animals, Nottingham (letter)
Leicester Mercury 22.2.07 BOYCOTT COULD END BRUTALITY TO SEALS - The Canadian seal hunt is about to begin again on the ice floes off the east coast of Canada. It is the largest, most brutal slaughter of marine mammals on the planet… Respect for Animals warmly welcomes the Government's statement that the UK would be pressing the European Commission to propose EU-wide measures to ban the import of harp and hooded seal products… Mandy Carter, Respect for Animals, PO Box 6500, Nottingham NG4 3GB (story)

Gloucestershire Echo 27.2.07 POLICE KEPT AN EYE ON PROTEST - I am writing on behalf of Gloucestershire Animal Action about our protest (Echo, February 16).Our protest was monitored by police for the entire evening. If we had stormed into this restaurant we would (and should) have been arrested on site. After a phone call with Inspector Karen Ellis regarding our protest an incident number was set up (391 for February 14, 7pm) and no offences were committed by any of our activists…. Chris,Gloucestershire Animal Action. (story)
Gloucestershire Echo 16.2.07 PROTESTERS STORM INTO BRASSERIE - Animal rights activists caused mayhem when they stormed into Le Petit Brasserie in Cheltenham.Campaigners screamed and shouted and knocked over plant pots…. Deputy manager Steve Ashley said: "Some of the pro-testers came in screaming. "I told them we'd call the police and they left. "In a way it benefited us. People inquired about foie gras and sales were up."… (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 27.2.07 THE TRUTH ABOUT CAT AND DOG FUR... Rumours that domestic animals could be being snatched for their fur are nothing new. Cat and dog fur from the Far East is known to have made it into designer garments sold in Europe…. The European Commission is now looking at a European-wide ban on any trade in dog and cat fur. But the British Fur and Trade Association has said that there is no need because its members have already signed up to a voluntary ban. (story)

Exeter Express & Echo 27.2.07 VEGGIE EVENT FOR FAIRTRADE - An Exeter animal society is staging a special vegetarian event to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight.Exeter Friends For Animals will be holding a coffee and cake day to celebrate the event and Animal Aid's Veggie Month…. (story)

Leicester Mercury 26.2.07 'HUNTS USING BIRDS OF PREY BREAKING THE LAW' BY GARY MITCHELL - Hunt leaders today dismissed claims by animal rights campaigners that hounds were still being used illegally to kill foxes. Top barrister Anthony Scrivener, QC, has spoken out on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports, which says some hunts are pretending to use birds of prey so they can carry on hunting with dogs…. Jane Knight, joint master of the Cottesmore Hunt, which takes a golden eagle out on hunts, said: "We happen to use a golden eagle because they are powerful hunting machines, but the law does not specify which birds of prey can be used…. Joe Cowen, of the Fernie Hunt, which uses a hawk, said: "Quite a lot of hunts use birds of prey…. The Quorn, Belvoir and Atherstone hunts have also turned to birds of prey…. (story)

SURVEY INTO FOX AND DEER NUMBERS
Bristol Evening Post 26.2.07 FALL IN FOX NUMBERS REPORTED AFTER BAN - Hunts have reported a fall in fox numbers in some areas since hunting with hounds was banned two years ago… More than a third of the 184 hunts registered with the Masters of Foxhounds Association were asked to take part in the study, including the South Gloucestershire-based Duke of Beaufort's Hunt…. (story)
Daily Post 22.2.07 Huntsmen claim hill foxes on increase by Andrew Forgrave, Daily Post - FOX numbers are rising in upland areas despite a boom in the popularity of hunting, according to hunt supporters. A survey by the Masters of Foxhounds Association found that, overall, fox and deer numbers have fallen since hunting with hounds was banned two years ago. But a fifth of the hunts surveyed reported rising fox numbers, mostly in hill areas…. (story)
Western Mail 20.2.07 'Deer numbers down' since ban on hunting Steve Dube, Western Mail - THERE are fewer deer and more disease in some areas of the British countryside since the ban on hunting, according to new research. A survey by more than one third of the 184 hunts registered with the Masters of Foxhounds Association of hunt members, farmers and gamekeepers showed more foxes in upland areas but fewer in the south and south-west of England…. (story)
Western Daily Press 19.2.07 HUNTS: FOXES NOW THINNER ON THE GROUND - A row has broken out after claims by hunt supporters that fox and deer numbers have fallen since hunting with hounds was banned. Hunts, especially those in the West and the south of England, claimed that fox numbers have plummeted by more than a third since hunting was outlawed, according to a new survey. But the figures were rubbished by the League Against Cruel Sports… (story)
Northampton Chronicle & Echo 19.2.07 Hunting ban leads to a fall in fox numbers By Mark Waffel - FOX numbers have fallen in parts of Northamptonshire since hunting with hounds was banned, according to hunt supporters. The Masters of Foxhounds Association carried out a national survey which discovered that in most areas fox numbers had remained the same or fallen since the Hunting Act came into force two years ago. Among the hunts taking part in the survey was the Northamptonshire Pytchley, whose master David Reynolds, said: "I thought the fox population was lower than it was in this part of the world. In fact it might be considerably lower."… Charles Smith-Osbourne, master of the Grafton Hunt, said fox numbers in Northamptonshire had changed little in the past two years… "All that is happening now is that more foxes are being shot. Our argument always was that foxes were always going to be controlled and that hunting was no more cruel than shooting." (story)
Daelnet 19.2.07 Hunting ban hits fox population - AS MANY country folk forecast, the ban on fox hunting has turned out to be bad news for foxes - because their numbers are in decline in many areas…. (story)
Western Morning News 19.2.07 FOX AND DEER NUMBERS DOWN SINCE BAN - New research published on the second anniversary of the Hunting Act suggests that fox and deer numbers have fallen since the hunt ban came into force. The greatest decrease in foxes was found in the South West and South of England…. Mike Hobday, of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), said: "I am delighted that the fox hunts have been spending their time counting foxes." Mr Hobday pointed out that a poll conducted for LACS showed that public opinion was more than three to one in favour of the hunting ban remaining… (story)
Observer 18.2.07 Fox and deer numbers falling, survey shows - Fox and deer numbers have fallen since hunting with hounds was banned, according to figures published today by hunt supporters. A survey was carried out among more than a third of the 184 hunts registered with the Masters of Fox Hounds Association, and it recorded the observations of the hunts as well as farmers and gamekeepers…. (story)
Observer 18.2.07 Now we know - bullets are far crueller than dogs - More foxes, deer and hares are dying now - and more inhumanely - than before the ill-conceived Hunting Act - John Dodd - Two years ago today, after a series of free votes in the House of Commons, the Hunting Act became law…. can I be alone in thinking that the act, like so many others passed by this government, has achieved the exact reverse of what it was intended to do? More foxes, more deer and more hares are dying now than ever before and in ways that are very much more cruel….(story)

Western Daily Press 26.2.07 NOW WE'RE HUMPSMEN! BY TRISTAN CORK T.CORK@BEPP.CO.UK - They have had the hump since the ban on foxhunting two years ago, but yesterday some of the West's top hunt masters swapped their trusty steeds for temperamental camels. The masters of six hunts rounded off a charity countryside day with the unusual race, to raise money for a children's hospice as well as their own campaign…. in the end, after more stops and starts than a busy lift, the six masters from the South Dorset, Blackmore and Sparkford Vale, Wilton, South and West Wilts, Cattistock and Portman hunts all completed the course successfully in two races… It also rounded off a big day for the Countryside Alliance in Dorset, with point-to-point racing in the afternoon and a countryside show in the morning at the Badbury Rings ground, near Wimborne…. (story)
Western Daily Press 22.2.07 COMPETITORS LIKELY TO GET THE HUMP - Hunt masters could get the hump, literally, on Sunday when they take part in a camel race on Sunday at Badbury Rings.Entertainment begins at 10am, including a children's mini beagle meet and a parade of all of Dorset hounds before the camels take to the field. Racing proper gets underway at noon with the Club Members' race. Entries include dual 2007 Larkhill winner Who Else Knew, recent United Services winner Tin Trader, and The Granby, winner of a similar event at Higham. Charlie Fox's Espresso Forte may challenge stablemates Swift Wood and Maxou Des Brosses…. (story)

Irish Independent 26.2.07 Raw reality of the hunt - After standing in glorious sunshine, soaking up the hospitality of the Kildare Hunt and documenting the colours of hounds and hunt attire, Kevin Myers turned around, walked away and sacrificed the true story of this loathsome blood sport… If he had hung around with a pair of binoculars, perhaps he might have managed to witness the suffering which underlines a day's hunting…. PHILIP KIERNAN, IRISH COUNCIL AGAINST BLOOD SPORTS (letter)
Irish Independent 20.2.07 Hunting horn heralded a giddy slice of springter before gales and swirling downpours resumed - Kevin Myers - LAST Saturday was one of those winter-spring days, springter, when a slice of May arrived in the middle of February like a visitor from Mars, casting its brief benedictions about the countryside. But only a fool is deluded by springter. For remember, April, in all its melancholy horrors, stands waiting to ambush us, usually a gauntlet of Arctic storms… But there was no sense of this at all as the Kildare hunt gathered once again at Charlie and Nikki O'Reilly's… (story)

Western Daily Press 26.2.07 CA HAS ONLY SELFISH MOTIVES - Simon Hart and Kate Hoey of the Countryside Alliance claim to be concerned about post offices… Now that their bloodlust for killing for so-called "sport" has been banned, they suddenly decide they are the guardians of local communities…. Chris Gale, Chippenham (letter)

Western Daily Press 26.2.07 HUNT BAN WILL BE A LASTING LEGACY (FEBRUARY 19) - Peter Hain is totally right and to be thanked for be a stalwart defender of a very welcome Act of Parliament.At the next election the choice will between a Tory Party led by a hunter or a Labour Party pledged to keep the hunt ban in place… Chris Gale Chippenham
Indeed, so called "animal welfare" does seem to be "at the heart of the (Labour) Government's objectives", leaving little else for the neglected matters such as the NHS and increasing violence in the streets… Anna Dumas Bath (letter)

Lincolnshire Echo 26.2.07 SAMUEL'S HARE SHOOTING CAMPAIGN STEPS UP - A SCHOOLBOY who organised a petition calling for a close season on hare shooting has been asked to carry out another survey. Samuel Barbour (12), from Dunston, near Lincoln, collected more than 600 signatures on his petition, which he presented to Sleaford and North Hykeham MP Douglas Hogg last month. Now the young wildlife lover has been asked by the British Brown Hare Preservation Society to ask farmers what they think of a close season…. (story)

Guardian 26.2.07 One year on from schoolboy's fightback, animal rights activists are forced to rethink tactics - Sandra Laville - Behind 12-ft high fences workmen in balaclavas are making swift progress as a vast new animal research laboratory nears completion. It is a year today since a 16-year-old schoolboy, Laurie Pycroft, formed Pro Test, an organisation to speak out in favour of animal testing at Oxford University, and the pendulum appears to have swung away from those who oppose vivisection, towards the right of scientists to carry out what they say is important research work…. (story)

Western Morning News 26.2.07 SUPPORT GROUP SAVES MOON BEAR FROM LIFE ON BILE FARM - Fundraisers in Devon have rescued a Chinese moon bear which could have ended up on a "bile farm".The male bear, named Devon, has arrived at the Animals Asia Moon Bear sanctuary in Chengdu, Southern China. The Exmouth Moon Bear support group said it has worked tirelessly for more than three years to raise the funds for its rescue and care at British Charity, the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) sanctuary in China…. (story)

York Press 26.2.07 Council urged to ban animal acts from city By Gavin Aitchison - ANIMAL rights campaigners have called on York council chiefs to ban circus shows involving animals from the authority's land…. The council currently does not allow animal circuses except those containing dogs and horses, but the Northern Animal Rights Network (NARN) has called on the authority to amend its policy NARN spokesperson Luke Steele said: "The current policy was adopted due to the controversy and cruelty associated with animals used in performing acts, but horses and dogs suffer just as much as any other creature in circuses…. (story)

Observer 25.2.07 Hunting ban was all about politics - John Dodd is right: the hunting ban has led to more cruelty to animals rather than less… Victoria Thomas, Withypool, Somerset
As one of the 'civilised urban and suburban people' described by John Dodd, I would like to inform him that my primary support of the Hunting Act was not to do with a particular desire to 'help' wild animals. What I thought should be stopped was people deriving pleasure from chasing helpless animals with the intention of killing them in the name of sport. Antony Jarrett, Beckenham, Kent (letter)

John O'Groat Journal 25.2.07 Animal activist Joanne in US anti-fur protest - FORMER Thurso High pupil Joanne Sim has been making headlines in the USA in her latest exploits to promote animal rights. The 22-year-old is in the midst of a two-month stay over there as part of a tie-up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Among her latest stunts was joining two other female campaigners in an anti-fur protest outside the Washington outlet of the top fashion chain Burberry…. Joanne is a full-time activist based in Edinburgh with Advocates for Animals. She is due to return from her temporary placement in the US with PETA early next month…. (story)

Irish Independent 24.2.07 Fox hunt turned farm outing into 'a day of terror' - Eugene Moloney - A MOTHER told yesterday how a fox hunt turned a visit to a farm for her children into a day of terror…. Margo O'Keeffe said she watched in horror as members of the Duhallow Hunt came around the blind side of a barn within three yards of where her daughter had been playing a short time earlier…. Pat Fleming of the Duhallow Hunt said in previous years they had been allowed onto the farm's land by its late owner Maurice O'Connor…. "We made a mistake. I put both my hands up and we apologise," he added. (story)

Western Daily Press 24.2.07 LEGACY OF LIES FROM LABOUR - I Write regarding Peter Hain's article on hunting, (Comment, February 19).If the Hunting Act is held up as New Labour's legacy, it shows what a flawed legacy it is…. I suppose it mirrors everything else Labour has done - reducing the NHS to a state of paralysis, botching the Olympics as it botched Wembley and the Dome, and fibbing about producing the kit needed by our armed forces… Donald Farquharson Great Somerford Wiltshire (letter)

Western Daily Press 24.2.07 FIGURES SHOW BAN WORKS - If these figures are true then the numbers of foxes and deer are declining because more are being shot. Does this mean that the hunting ban is working? Shooting foxes causes more suffering than hunting because it can often wound which hunting never does… Giles Bradshaw, Devon (letter)
Western Daily Press 23.2.07 FIGURES SHOW THE HUNT BAN WORKS - Foxes thinner on the ground? The hunts report that the number of foxes is getting lower since the hunt ban. Well, surely this must please them, as they don't need to chase them all over the countryside and rip them to pieces to keep their numbers down…. A Palmer Dursley Gloucestershire (story)

Western Morning News 24.2.07 THESE POLLS HAVE LONG BEEN SUSPECT - Regarding your write-up (WMN February 21) on the eternal hunting debate...Polls conducted by MORI on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare have long been suspect. It is all a matter of who you ask. Nobody asked me or any of my friends who support field sports!... Patrick Ellis, Eggesford, Chulmleigh (letter)

Scotsman 24.2.07 Working dogs' tails - The ban on the practice of allowing a working dog's tail to be docked as a pup throws up matters that must be addressed…. it is only fair that tax payers should be responsible for paying the vet's fees for treating the tail injuries of working dogs owned by individual tax payers and organisations. KARL PIPES, Eredine, Dalmally, Argyll (story)

Leicester Mercury 24.2.07 PERMIT REQUEST - An animal rights organisation is applying for a permit to collect money in the streets. Uncaged Campaigns says the proceeds of the collection will be used to provide funds to end animal experiments and other animal cruelty. The organisation wants to carry out the collection on September 22 in the city centre…. (story)

Leicester Mercury 24.2.07 A MEATY ISSUE - Reading Mailbox on Tuesday, I saw there was another letter from Sue Daniels, chairperson of the local veggie group, aka animal rights group, telling us again to stop eating meat to save the world. Why do we get these letters printed all the time? We know Sue's e-mail address and mobile phone number. If we want to contact her, we know how to… Mike Sneath, Syston (story)
Leicester Mercury 20.2.07 VEGETARIANISM IS A LOGICAL MOVE - I've been surprised at the number of people who seem shocked at the scenes they've seen on television of factory-farmed turkeys. I wonder if a lot of people don't realise the suffering animals go through to put meat on their plate - cows, sheep, pigs, chickens as well as turkeys… Sue Daniels, Chairperson, Leicestershire Vegetarian Group. (letter)

Cambridge Evening News 24.2.07 Cruel to poultry From Joan Court Animal Rights Cambridge Sturton Street Cambridge - FACTORY farming involves treating sentient beings, chickens, turkeys, ducks etc as if they are incapable of feeling pain…. If the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus is present - and we know it can survive for weeks in bird faeces - it will be accessible to rats, foxes, wild birds, and humans…. (letter)

SOUTH NOTTS NEW YEARS DAY MEET IN NEWARK
Nottingham Evening Post 23.2.07 HUNT TO GATHER - The South Notts Hunt will be allowed to gather in Newark Market Place again for its New Year meet…. (story)
Newark Advertiser 5.1.07 Halloo, the hunt returns By LUCY MILLARD - More than 1,000 people met in Newark Market Place on New Year’s Day to welcome back the South Notts Hunt to its traditional meeting place.... There were cheers and applause when about 40 riders came into the Market Place just before 11am and a similar reception for them 30 minutes later when they left via Bridge Street and Cartergate to ride in the Hawton area.... Labour town councillor Mr Laurence Goff who has consistently objected to the hunt being invited to meet in the Market Place staged a peaceful protest with a handmade poster.... (story)
Newark Advertiser 3.11.06 Hunt is set for market return By DANIEL CHURCHER - The hunt looks set to return to Newark Market Place for the first time since 1987, despite fears of saboteurs and public order problems. As the landowner Newark and Sherwood District Council is recommending that its cabinet on Monday agree to the town council’s request to allow the South Notts Hunt to meet in the Market Place on New Year’s Day.... The leader of the majority Conservative group, Mr Tony Roberts, called for a free vote rather than dictating how his party should vote and all but one, Mr Peter Prebble, voted to allow the hunt into the cleared Market Place.... In a fiery debate, Mr Prebble likened fox-hunting to Apache helicopters strafing Afghan peasants... Labour councillors voted against the move but were defeated 26-15, with one abstention, independent Mr Len Sprigg.... (story in archive)
Newark Advertiser 28.4.06 Hunt may be back By CHRIS KIRK - Councillors have backed a working party’s controversial recommendations for future uses of Newark Market Place which include allowing a hunt to meet there on New Year’s Day…. A member of the working party, Mr Peter Harris (Lib) said at a meeting of the services overview and scrutiny committee meeting on March 29 that the South Notts Hunt was interested. On Monday, Mrs Nora Armstrong (Con) said: "People who do not like it should not go.” Mr Allen Tift (Lab) said: "Allowing the hunt to meet could be viewed as encouraging breaking the law, and violence… (story)

Norwich Evening News 23.2.07 Row after hunt spills on to animal sanctuary land - DAVID BALE - A row has broken out after an animal sanctuary volunteer claimed to police she was hurt when a hunt spilled over onto land they should not have been on. Deborah Sparkes, a volunteer at the PACT animal sanctuary in Woodrising, has lodged a complaint to the police about the behaviour of the West Norfolk Foxhounds. She said she and Chris Rockingham, another volunteer at the sanctuary, suffered a bruised hip when three huntsmen galloped towards her and two others, forcing them to take cover. But the joint master of the hunt denied any wrongdoing and said he was unaware any hounds or huntsmen trespassed onto land where they should not have been during Monday's hunt…. (story)

Malvern Gazette 23.2.07 Hunt is on the wrong trail - Having read the article Pregnant woman in fear of hunt dogs' (Malvern Gazette, February 2), I feel I must comment. Valerie Allfrey, senior joint master of the North Ledbury Hunt, said: "If you lay a trail and the wind blows, how do you stop it moving", as if this was some kind of justification for her hounds being out of control…. If a trail is laid well in advance, then to know where the wind is coming from on that day is common sense. Since most of the hunts appear to be laying trails' just a few moments before the hounds are set off, lack of knowledge regarding wind direction is totally inexcusable…. Mrs Y Street, Okehampton, Devon. (letter)
Malvern Gazette 2.2.07 Pregnant woman in fear of hunt dogs By Gary Bills-Geddes - North Ledbury Hunt says it was following an artificially laid trail when two of its hounds ran into the garden of a home in Ashperton. Rebecca Cummings, of Haywood Lane, claims she was laughed at by hunt members as she tried to save her two cats from the hounds in her garden…. (story)

Staines Guardian 23.2.07 Animal hunting objections - What were the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent hunt supporters, reported to the police after they illegally attacked a monitoring group's vehicle causing extensive damage and injuring the driver on February 3, trying to prove? If they were genuinely hunting within the law, why were they so hostile to monitors who were simply collecting evidence?... Katherine Watson Cheshire (letter)

Scotsman 23.2.07 Shooting on the taxpayer - Scottish Natural Heritage has done the right thing concerning Mar Lodge. In suspending its funding for the National Trust for Scotland estate, it has not only listened to animal welfare campaigners but also to the public who are right to be concerned about what their taxes are being spent on…. LOUISE ROBERTSON, League Against Cruel Sports, Rosyth, Fife (story)

Cumberland News 23.2.07 Take your partners for the shooters’ ball - The Shooters’ Ball Committee, a syndicate of shoots in Cumbria, raised funds for two local charities with its annual event held at the Shepherd’s Inn, Carlisle…. (story)

Halifax Courier 23.2.07 Our fight to ban snares - I WAS upset, but not surprised, to read reports of the badger killed in a snare at Ramsden Clough, Walsden, recently… Many readers will be shocked to learn that snares are still legal in the UK…. The League Against Cruel Sports is campaigning for a complete ban on all snares. Cerys Roberts, (League Against Cruel Sports), Union Street, London, SE1. (letter)

Southern Daily Echo 23.2.07 We must stop animal cruelty - ANIMAL cruelty in any form is unacceptable, and at PETA we continue to strive to make more and more people aware. Some fashion stores sell real fur clothing, but to get the fur, animals are skinned alive and therefore endure enormous suffering…. JULIA DIDRIKSEN, Poole, Dorset (story)

Times 23.2.07 Protesters target McClellan - Ron Lewis - Security has been stepped up at a dinner to raise money for Gerald McClellan, the injured former boxer, tonight after threats of a protest by animal rights activists… he is blind, partially deaf and needs constant care. Later it emerged that the American had been involved in illegal dog fighting, which is the reason behind the potential protest… (story)

Elmbridge Guardian 23.2.07 Put an end to bull fighting - As Labour's spokesperson on animal welfare I have just tabled a written declaration in the European Parliament, calling for a ban on bull fighting…. ROBERT EVANS MEP Labour, London (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 23.2.07 VISITORS RESPECT THE WAY WE LOOK AFTER OUR ANIMALS - The opening night of the Great British Circus at the Lincoln Showground was a tremendous success… I am pleased to say our customers voted with their feet and were not put off by a minority of animal rights extremists... The people of Lincoln like our animals and respect the way we look after them. We believe a circus is not a proper traditional circus without animals and that's what the public want to see. MARTIN LACEY The Great British Circus. (letter)

Lincolnshire Echo 23.2.07 SAD ELEPHANT I'LL NEVER FORGET - When I was a child, I was taken to an animal circus and, even at a very young age, I felt uncomfortable watching these great wild animals performing for the entertainment of humans. A few days later, I witnessed one of the elephants used in the circus tied by one of its back legs to a post in the ground, his head swinging from side to side, looking distressed and miserable. Since then, I have never visited a zoo, animal circus or paid to watch any sort of "entertainment" at the expense of animals…. JACQUELINE STAINTON Wickenby Crescent, Lincoln
It's about time this sort of outdated 'entertainment' stopped…. PAUL TIMPSON Lincoln (letters)

Lincolnshire Echo 23.2.07 PRIORITY SHOULD BE AGAINST BULLFIGHTING - The many comments about the circus and the animal acts (February 20) remind one of the barbaric sport of bullfighting, a so-called public entertainment. Publicly slaughtering bulls is very cruel and degrading; it is regarded as a cultural heritage. What nonsense… RALPH W. ATTOE Canterbury Drive, Washingborough (letter)

Leek Post & Times 23.2.07 FARMING A REAL FEAR - Thank you for the extremely informative article by Jaclyn Pearson last week. Now we know the deadly H5NI strain of bird flu is "a problem of industrial poultry practices…. Animal husbandry was never meant to be like this. We've allowed appalling practices and greed. Cynthia Lubacz, Leek. (story)

Oxford Mail 22.2.07 'Hunt man tried to run me down' By Tim Hughes - A grandmother was verbally abused and forced to jump clear of the wheels of a 4x4 vehicle driven by a man following an Oxfordshire hunt. Judy Gilbert, 60, a member of the League Against Cruel Sports, was monitoring the activities of the Vale of White Horse Hunt, at Filkins, in west Oxfordshire, in December, when a man following the hunt reversed his four-wheel drive vehicle towards her and shouted abuse…. (story)
Wilts & Glos Standard 22.2.07 Gran's anger as abusive hunt supporter cautioned By Jenni Silver - A HUNT supporter subjected a grandmother to a torrent of verbal abuse and caused several hundred pounds worth of damage to her car in a bid to stop her monitoring the Vale of the White Horse Hunt. Judy Gilbert, 60, was left shaken by the ordeal as she watched the VWH at Filkins Farm near Lechlade but determined to carry on doing her job. The incident happened on December 2 last year but came to light this week when her attacker was cautioned by Thames Valley Police…. (story)

BBC News Online 22.2.07 Rider injured in fall from horse - A 50-year-old woman has been injured in a fall from a horse in Shropshire. The rider - part of a visiting hunt from Suffolk - fell from her mount in a field off the A489 Lydham to Craven Arms road…. (story)

Western Daily Press 22.2.07 LABOUR TRIES TO MASK ITS FAILURES - I think most intelligent readers will recognise that Peter Hain's article "Hunt ban will be a lasting legacy" (Comment, February 19), is a smokescreen for Labour's abject failures over the last 10 years on so many other critical issues such as health, education and crime. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the hunting debate, it is truly sad that this is the pinnacle of Mr Hain's achievements as Leader of the House…. Philip Davey, Chippenham (letter)

Western Daily Press 22.2.07 TURNING BLIND EYE TO HUNTING - I have been troubled by the apparent lack of convictions of people who consciously hurt our wildlife, people and domestic animals. Now we know why. A copper who supplied hints to the Countryside Alliance on how to damage the credibility of a hunt monitor's video recording…. Mrs Jennie Cook, Minehead (letter)

Western Morning News 22.2.07 - SO, ACCORDING to the hunts, there are now fewer foxes and deer around - is that so? If they think this is correct then we should hear no more rubbish about them being "pests" as there aren't many around…. Mrs Y Street, Okehampton (letter)

Grimsby Telegraph 22.2.07 NOT ALL ANIMAL RIGHTS PEOPLE ACT WITHIN THE LAW - The letter from animal rights person Pat Wickham is quite right in stating fox hunting is more popular now more than ever, but not for the reason she states. Bad laws are always unworkable and let's remember that fox hunting in itself is not actually illegal, just as we know it.This is really rich coming from her, and I quote "Those who place themselves above the law will be brought to book." For more years than I care to remember, thugs in balaclavas or animal rights people did just that. Now, all of a sudden they want to be known as holier than thou… Mrs P Green, North Sea Lane, Cleethorpes. (letter)
Grimsby Telegraph 7.2.07 IS IT SILLY SEASON? - It appears that the silly season has started early this year with a marked show of sour grapes by fox hunting supporters, (Viewpoint, January 27). Contrary to what "name and address supplied" believes, the recent prosecution of a huntsman by the League Against Cruel Sports proves beyond doubt that the Hunting Act is, and always was, enforceable… Pat Wickham, North Street, Caistor (letter)

North Devon Journal 22.2.07 WHO IS DOING THE KILLING? - How sad it is to read that fox, deer and hare numbers have taken a dive since the ban on hunting with dogs came in.Who's doing all this extra and unnecessary killing?... I believe these animals are being killed in unprecedented numbers by disgruntled hunters and their supporters to demonstrate their anger, no one else would have the motivation… R CORNISH, Summerland Street, Barnstaple. (letter)

Evesham Journal 22.2.07 Countryside - Dinner and auction - THE Game Conservancy Trust's regional dinner and auction held at Blenheim Palace was immensely successful and raised an impressive record amount of £25,000… (story)

Northern Echo 22.2.07 Lamping - I FEEL that I must write regarding John Dean's story about poaching (Echo, Feb 19). I found the insinuations that all lampers are poachers and thieves, trespassing and causing criminal damage wherever they go, quite insulting. I lamp rabbits, as a legitimate form of pest control. It is not illegal and is done on property where I have permission…. Pat Blewitt, Darlington (story)

Western Gazette 22.2.07 No honour for turkey boss - SO, Bernard Matthews has postponed his collection of an honour… This honour should be withdrawn immediately. Lomond Handley, Evering Avenue, Poole. (letter)

Lincolnshire Echo 22.2.07 WHAT'S SO EDUCATIONAL ABOUT THE HUMILIATION SUFFERED BY ANIMALS? - As a teacher I am concerned at what I would describe as deception used by the 'Great' British Circus (February 21) that visiting it is educational. I fail to see anything educational about tigers, lions, zebras, horses and other unfortunate animals performing degrading, unnatural tricks in inappropriate conditions… SARAH BROWN Lincoln (story)

UIST HEDGEHOG CULL
Independent 22.2.07 Reprieved hedgehogs may be no safer on the mainland By Hannah Duguid and Paul Kelbie - It was a welcome piece of good news in an increasingly sad tale. The decision this week to halt the cull of hedgehogs on the Western Isles of Scotland and instead transport them alive from the wilds of the Uists back to the mainland was heralded by conservationists as a crucial step in the fight to save the creatures. But, while animals rights campaigners celebrate, the creatures themselves have every right to feel nervous about their impending relocation - hedgehog populations across the UK have dropped by up to an estimated 50 per cent in the past 15 years and there is concern over the mysterious decline…. (story)
Aberdeen Press & Journal 22.2.07 HEBRIDES HEDGEHOGS CULL CALLED OFF IN SNH U-TURN - JANE CANDLISH - Hedgehogs in the Western Isles are safe again after Scottish Natural Heritage agreed yesterday to move the creatures to the mainland, instead of continuing their controversial cull…. (story)
BBC News Online 20.2.07 Island hedgehog cull is suspended - The board of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has decided to suspend its cull of hedgehogs in the Western Isles. The organisation is to have the animals gathered and transported from the Uists to the mainland…. (story)
Aberdeen Press & Journal 20.2.07 CELEBRITIES BACK CALL TO END CULL OF HEDGEHOGS IN THE WESTERN ISLES - JANE CANDLISH - A Number of celebrities are backing calls for the end of the hedgehog cull in the Western Isles, as members of Scottish Natural Heritage meet today to discuss proposals to flit the creatures to the mainland instead of giving them lethal injections. The stars, including rock star Brian May and actress Joanna Lumley, have written to SNH urging them to drop their policy of killing the animals. SNH has been culling hedgehogs on North Uist for nearly four years…. (story)
Independent 20.2.07 Campaign wins reprieve for Uist hedgehogs By Paul Kelbie Scotland Correspondent - A five-year battle between conservationists and animal welfare campaigners over the fate of hedgehogs in the Western Isles of Scotland is expected to come to an end today…. (story)
BBC News Online 19.2.07 Ending in sight for hedgehog cull By Richard Black - The annual cull of Britain's favourite animal, the hedgehog, in the Uist islands of Scotland looks set to end. Wildlife experts have withdrawn their support for the cull, and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will debate on Tuesday whether it should be scrapped…. (story)
Scotsman 15.2.07 Hedgehog cull could end within days - JOHN ROSS - A CONTROVERSIAL cull of hedgehogs in the Western Isles could be stopped next week with the animals being moved to the mainland instead. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) looks set to end its policy of giving the animals lethal injections after the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had a change of heart on the killings this week… (story)
Glasgow Herald 15.2.07 Island hedgehogs set to escape cull - THE controversial cull of hedgehogs on the Uists looks set to be brought to an end. Officials at Scottish Natural Heritage are recommending that, instead of being dispatched by lethal injection, the hedgehogs should be relocated to the mainland…. (story)
BBC News Online 14.2.07 Proposal could halt hedgehog cull - Scottish Natural Heritage is proposing to end the cull of hedgehogs on Scottish islands for a trial period…. Uist Hedgehog Rescue, a coalition which has been collecting hedgehogs from the area and taking them to the mainland, said it was "absolutely delighted" at the proposal…. Spokesman Ross Minett said: "Having rescued and translocated hedgehogs from the Uists for the last four years, UHR has a proven track record and we will offer to be involved should SNH decide to undertake translocation…. (story)
Manchester Evening News 12.2.07 Stop hedgehog cull, pleads charity CALLS were made today for an end to the controversial culling of hedgehogs on a remote island. The programme began almost four years ago because of the threat the animals posed to rare wading birds and their eggs on Uist in the Outer Hebrides. Thousands were killed in the first cull. However, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society have now found that island hedgehogs can survive if relocated to the mainland despite previous fears many would die…. Today, the Scottish SPCA charity called for the end of the cull which could resume in the spring…. (story)

MAR LODGE ESTATE
Aberdeen Press & Journal 21.2.07 SNH DEFERS CASH DECISION FOR PROMOTION OF FIELD SPORTS ON ESTATE - AMELIA WHITTAKER AND JANE CANDLISH - A Decision on the use of public money to help promote field sports on a Deeside estate has been deferred. Scottish Natural Heritage said yesterday it wanted to firm up details of the Mar Lodge Estate management plan before agreeing to offer its financial support…. Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler said last night: "I think any pause to reflect on the matter properly is to be welcomed… (story)
Aberdeen Press & Journal 19.2.07 MAR LODGE FIELD SPORTS DEAL LABELLED 'OUTRAGEOUS' - AMELIA WHITTAKER- The National Trust for Scotland has been condemned by animal rights groups for its "outrageous" use of public money to promote grouse shooting and deer stalking on a Deeside estate. The conservation charity will tomorrow get more than £250,000 from Scottish Natural Heritage to help implement part of a five-year management plan for Mar Lodge Estate, near Braemar…. The League Against Cruel Sports spokesman Barry Hugill said: "It's outrageous that public money is being used to subsidise what is for a tiny minority of people in the area…. Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, said: "We oppose deer stalking… Ross Minett, director for Scottish animal protection charity, Advocates for Animals, added: "We do not believe that any public money should be used to subsidise, facilitate or promote so-called 'sport' shooting… (story)
Scotland on Sunday 18.2.07 Critics gun for National Trust hunting plan - JEREMY WATSON - ONE OF Scotland's leading conservation charities has come under fire for promoting grouse shooting and deer stalking with the aid of public money. The National Trust for Scotland will this week be granted more than £250,000 by Scottish Natural Heritage to help run its flagship Mar Lodge estate on Royal Deeside for the benefit of the nation. But an agreement signed by the two bodies says one of the NTS's key objectives will be to "promote sporting use of the estate"…. Ross Minett, director of Advocates for Animals, said: "Of course, conservation funding should be used to conserve grouse populations. However, it would surely be totally contradictory and unacceptable for any public money to then be used to support or promote the shooting of these birds…. The League Against Cruel Sports said it was "very dubious about a grouse moor that is supposedly being set up for 'ecological' reasons"…. (story)

Nottingham Evening Post 21.2.07 LETTER: PHOTOS OF FISH - I was struck by the main picture on the angling page on February 15. I think Carl Gibbs looks like a soldier pulling back the mouth of a 'body bag' in a war zone for a photographer to get an exclusive 'shot'…. ROBERT MASSEY Willoughby Court Lenton (letter)

Lancashire Telegraph 21.2.07 Well done Wayne for fur ban - I WAS pleased Blackburn fashion designer Wayne Hemingway refuses to use fur in his designs… MRS SHEILA BRENNAN, Bombay Street, Blackburn (letter)

Exeter Express & Echo 21.2.07 ASTONISHED TO SEE HARE ON THE MENU - I was astonished to see hare included in your What to eat in March article, Food & drink, Echo, February 17.The brown hare has suffered at least an 80 per cent population decline during the past century and is particularly scarce here in the South West…. Rodney Hale, Chairman, British Brown Hare Preservation Society (letter)

Lincolnshire Echo 21.2.07 PROTESTERS ARE OUT AS CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN - Animal rights protesters put on their own performance outside a circus last night to vent their anger at the use of live animals for entertainment. About 15 people voiced their opinions outside the Great British Circus, which was holding its first night at the Lincolnshire Showground, off the A15, north of Lincoln…. Protest organiser Jackie Burlison said: "This is the 21st century - we have moved on. Performing animals should not be used to entertain us… Another of the protesters, Paul Cousins (47), of Boultham Moor, Lincoln, said he felt extremely strongly about the issue… (story)
Lincolnshire Echo 21.2.07 CAMPAIGNERS WANT OUTRIGHT BAN - The use of live animals in the Great British Circus has provoked anger from many people. The Lincolnshire Echo has received a stream of letters from people upset that tigers, lions, horses and zebras will be used in displays…. (story)

Bath Chronicle 21.2.07 VEG IS BETTER FOR MOTHERS-TO-BE - So new research in the Lancet says pregnant women should eat more oily fish to produce brainier babies.But just last year research from the Harvard School of Public Health showed that eating oily fish during pregnancy could raise the risk of premature birth…. The Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation has been warning people for years about the dangers of eating fish contaminated with toxic pollutants such as mercury, dioxins and PCBs… DR JUSTINE BUTLER, Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation, York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol (letter)

Crewe Chronicle 21.2.07 Fur flies at launch of designer pink pets By Jamie Oliver, Crewe Chronicle - ANIMAL rights activists are seeing red after a scheme to breed pink rabbits was unveiled by a South Cheshire firm. Richard Kirkup and David McHugh, the men behind OCPRS - Orkney Celebrity Pink Rabbit Suppliers - breed Orkney Pinks on the Scottish islands. They say they stumbled across a formula for the new breed of rabbit after a mix-up in food supplements…. But animal rights campaigners were thrown out by hotel security before the official launch and the venture has been slammed by the RSPCA… (story)

Grimsby Telegraph 21.2.07 'BOOTIFUL' - BY WHOSE STANDARDS? - I Have been watching in vain for any comment on the horrendous conditions the turkeys were kept in since the Bernard Matthews bird flu hit the headlines…. Bernard Matthews is now back in full production with conditions for the birds, it seems, as before. How ironic this country was once known as a nation of animal lovers. What a joke, but I don't feel like laughing. Josephine Gibney, Manchester Street, Cleethorpes. (letter)

Somerset County Gazette 20.2.07 Hunt ban - two years on - TWO years after hunting with dogs was banned, a Taunton hunt this week admitted - "It's not the same anymore". The Taunton Vale Fox Hounds says support for legal forms of hunting remains strong but is desperate for a repeal of the Hunting Act… Simon Everdell, joint master of the West Somerset Hunt, said: "It's taken some time but we've learnt to adjust to trail hunting…. The Hunting Act is a ridiculous law which doesn't work….” (story)

Northern Echo 20.2.07 Hunters ride out as pantomime characters - HUNTSMEN and women have attempted to show their lighter side by dressing up in pantomime costumes. Members of York and Ainsty South Hunt dressed up as characters from Cinderella for a drag hunt at Crayke, near Easingwold, North Yorkshire. … (story)

Independent 20.2.07 Hunting is culling by another name - John Walsh (17 February) understandably scorns the Countryside Alliance's claim that there would be more foxes if hunting were restored in full. But hunting is culling by another name, and the latter activity is approved by conservationists…. ROBERT VINCENT, ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE (letter)

Western Morning News 20.2.07 HUNT BAN IS HERE TO STAY - Will Mr Sweet of Helston (WMN, February 6) ever stop bleating about the hunting Act?Unless Dave, the man who leads the Tories, manages to scrape his party into power - and that, of course, is highly unlikely - the Act is here to stay… Poor Mr Sweet, it's a hard life. Jean Turner, Plympton (letter)

Western Daily Press 20.2.07 BRING TO BOOK THE DIRTY TRICKS DUO I was not surprised to read about the dirty tricks that the Countryside Alliance and these hunts get up to so that they can continue to carry out their cruelty on wild animals in the name of sport (Western Daily Press, February 9). Alison Hawes should get into serious trouble for encouraging people to tell lies and get innocent people in trouble with the law…. A Palmer, Dursley (letter)

Leicester Mercury 20.2.07 END ANIMAL FEAR - Fox hunting is barbaric and cruel to every class of people. I will vote for whichever government puts a ban in place. I would also abolish bonfire night and Diwali or any other functions that terrorise pets and children…. Sheilagh Armstrong, Knighton, Leicester (letter)

Western Mail 20.2.07 Farmers to boost partridge numbers - Steve Dube, Western Mail - FARMERS and landowners are urged to lend a hand in reversing the decline of the grey partridge. The Game Conservancy Trust says the native game bird is one of the species that has declined most over the past 40 years…. (story)

Dundee Courier 20.2.07 Airgun sale ban support grows By Graham Huband and Laurie Watson - SUPPORT FOR a ban on the sale of airguns in Scotland seemed to be growing last night after the shooting of a boy and girl at a fast food restaurant in Dundee… (story)

Carlisle News & Star 20.2.07 ‘Stop the greyhound killing grounds’ – MP By Chris Story - A JUDGE is being urged to severely punish a man who slaughtered greyhounds and buried them on his land for £10 a time. Carlisle MP Eric Martlew hopes a stern warning will be issued to anyone involved in killing dogs when David Smith is sentenced for his crime… (story)

Southern Daily Echo 20.2.07 Object to Canadian seal cull - THE annual seal hunt will soon be taking place in Canada. This is the cruellest hunt in the world, according to scientists and animal watchdogs… NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED (letter)

Independent 20.2.07 Don't blame the peasants for bird flu - Dominic Lawson's "uneducated guess" that H5N1 "stemmed from peasant farming methods" is just that (Opinion, 16 February). While he is right in saying that the vast majority of people in countries where avian flu is endemic keep chickens, he ignores the incredible growth in global factory farming and its role in producing virulent strains of avian flu…. PHILIP LYMBERY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING, GODALMING, SURREY (story)

Scotsman 20.2.07 Relocation of hedgehogs - Scottish Natural Heritage's board is to meet today to decide whether to end the cull of hedgehogs on the Uists. The Uist Hedgehog Rescue coalition hopes the board will follow the recommendation of its scientific officers and end the cull in favour of translocation…. ROSS MINETT, Advocates for Animals, Queensferry Street, Edinburgh (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 20.2.07 WHAT CIRCUS REALLY SAYS ABOUT ANIMALS AND US - I Am deeply saddened to see both North Kesteven and West Lindsey district councils allowing circuses to perform in their areas using animals. The animals used are degraded simply to satisfy the curiosity of the public and make a tidy sum for the circus owner. This is morally repugnant… RACHEL ASTILL-DUNSEITH Lincoln
Congratulations to Lincoln City Council on making the decision to ban live animal acts within the city… JAMES THOMAS Eagle
Have we gone back to the Dark Ages? People should boycott the circus on the Lincolnshire Showground…. ALISON MOORE East Barkwith
I totally agree with the call for a boycott of this outdated and cruel form of entertainment…. TERESA MERCER Gresham Street, Lincoln.
As two circuses with performing animals are visiting the Lincoln area, the RSPCA would like to reassure readers that it is opposed to exhibitions or presentations of all animals in circuses and travelling menageries…. SOPHIE WILKINSON RSPCA East Regional Press Officer, PO Box 60, Peterborough, PE1 5SZ (letters)

Northern Echo 19.2.07 Hunt groups defiant over second anniversary of ban - TWO years to the day since hunting with hounds was banned by the Government, supporters across the region say their sport is stronger than ever. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the ban, which was met with widespread condemnation from pro-hunt campaigners… Andrew Spalding, secretary of the Bedale Hunt, in North Yorkshire, said: "In a strange way, the Labour Party have done us a favour by doing what they did, because since then, so many people have come out and supported hunting financially and in terms of numbers…. Joe Townsend, huntsman for the Hurworth Hunt, said: "What the ban has done for us is that it got people supporting us who perhaps were not behind us before, and it's down to the way we were treated by the Government…. (story)

BBC News Online 19.2.07 Police 'not enforcing hunt law' - Police are adopting a "pick and mix" attitude to the law on hunting and ignoring offences, anti-hunt campaigners say. Marking two years since the introduction of a ban on hunting with dogs, protesters in Parliament Square called for better enforcement. Activists, dressed as bank robbers and gangsters, said hunts were "openly breaking the law"…. Spokesman for the protesters John Curtin said: "It is very difficult to get evidence of it, but everyone in the countryside knows that hunting is going on… (story)

Times 19.2.07 Torys to pledge to repeal hunt ban - The Melton Hunt were riding point-to-point yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the hunting ban in England and Wales, as the Conservative leadership pledged to introduce a one-line Bill to repeal the Hunting Act if the party wins the next general election…. (story)
Western Morning News 19.2.07 CAMERON: I WILL REPEAL HUNT LAW - REBECCA SHORT - Tory leader David Cameron plans to overturn the hunting ban if his party wins the next General Election…. Diana Scott, joint master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, said: "I think this is Cameron's way of simplifying and erasing a useless piece of legislation which has been completely unmanageable and has not done anybody any good… John Rolls, RSPCA director of animal welfare promotion, said: "Two years on and the public unsurprisingly remains buoyantly in favour of the ban on what was a brutal, needless and outdated pastime… Robin Nicholls, master of the Tetcott Hunt, which hunts around Bude in North Cornwall and across the border into Devon, said support for hunting was "tremendous"… (story)
Sunday Telegraph 18.2.07 Tory plan to overturn hunt ban By Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor, Sunday Telegraph - David Cameron plans to repeal the hunting ban if the Conservatives win the next general election, in a simple one-line Bill…. (story)

Guardian 19.2.07 Birds of prey 'loophole' breaks law, claims QC - Steven Morris - A barrister yesterday claimed hunts using birds of prey to circumvent the ban on hunting with dogs are breaking the law… In a legal opinion for the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Anthony Scrivener QC said this would be against the law as - with the possible exception of golden eagles - birds of prey do not hunt foxes…. (story)

Western Mail 'Hunting ban is one of our proudest achievements' - Tryst Williams, Western Mail - THE Hunting Act is one of Labour's proudest achievements since coming to power, Peter Hain said this weekend, on the second anniversary of the controversial law…. His comments were immediately seized on by the Countryside Alliance which said the Act had failed…. (story)
Western Daily Press 19.2.07 HUNT BAN WILL BE A LASTING LEGACY - Two years after the Hunting Act was passed following scenes of violent demonstrations across the country, the politician responsible for seeing it through Parliament, the Rt Hon PETER HAIN MP says it was a great achievement… (story)

ESSEX & SUFFOLK ARRESTS
East Anglian Daily Times 19.2.07 Five arrested after violence at hunt - LAURENCE CAWLEY - POLICE swooped on a Suffolk hunt after violence erupted between stewards and protestors. Five people were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder following a disturbance at the Essex and Suffolk Hunt at Norton Road, Whatfield, near Sudbury, on Saturday afternoon…. Lee Moon, spokesman for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said one male hunt monitor needed hospital treatment for a suspected broken nose and fractured cheek, as well as injuries to his arms…. (story)
BBC News Online 18.2.07 Five held after anti-hunt protest - Five people were arrested at a hunt meeting in Suffolk after clashes involving anti-hunt protesters. Police said there were scuffles involving stewards from the Essex and Suffolk Hunt and protesters at Whatfield, near Sudbury, Suffolk. The Hunt Saboteurs Association said police arrested three hunt stewards, a terrier boy and a hunt monitor… (story)
ITV 18.2.07 Five arrests after hunt scuffle - Police have arrested five people after violent clashes at a hunt meeting. Stewards from the Essex and Suffolk Hunt and hunt protesters scuffled at Whatfield, near Sudbury, Suffolk. The Hunt Saboteurs Association said police arrested three male hunt stewards, one terrier boy and a female hunt monitor on suspicion of public order offences….. (story)

Argus 19.2.07 How can people enjoy torturing an animal? It has long amazed me that grown men and women on horseback can see some form of pleasure in the chasing, torturing and killing of a defenceless animal. Could they explain to me why it gives them such a thrill?... Susan Funnell, Richardson Road, Hove (letter)

Dundee Courier 19.2.07 How many falconers have been prosecuted? Your story about registration saving falcons from theft is largely incorrect. For a start, the registration scheme will remain because all peregrines, merlins, goshawks, golden eagles, etc on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act will require a breeder certificate… If the RSPB were honest in their review of raptor nests, although they like to lay nest failure at falconers’ door, there are countless other factors that influence successful fledging of chicks. Ask them how many falconers have been prosecuted in the last five years for stealing birds of prey? And by the way. It is an urban myth that Arab falconers pay a king’s ransom for peregrines…. Nick Kester, Communications Officer, Hawk Board. (letter)

Northern Echo 19.2.07 Warning as rural crime team cracks down on poaching - POLICE from three forces are cracking down on criminals trespassing on farmland in the region. Darlington-based rural crimewatch group, Countryside Crime Watch (CCW), is concerned about the number of poachers - known as lampers - hunting rabbits at night… Brian Pavey, the Darlington gamekeeper who is the co-ordinator of CCW, many of whose members are farmers, said there had been several lamping incidents on farmland to the north of Darlington in recent weeks… (story)

BEST RURAL RETAILER AWARDS
Northumberland Gazette 19.2.07 David's top of the shops - A LONGFRAMLINGTON shop is the best in the country. David Carr's shop has been named best village shop in the Countryside Alliance's best rural retailer competition…. (story)
Andover Advertiser 16.2.07 Village PO pipped at the (award) post By Dick Bellringer - ABBOTTS Ann shop and Post Office was national runner up in its category in the finals of the Best Rural Retailer competition, beating off strong competition from hundreds of outlets…. (story)
North West Evening Mail 15.2.07 FARM SHOP SCOOPS TOP PRIZE - A POPULAR South Lakes family tourist attraction has won a prestigious farm diversification award. Low Sizergh Barn, at Sizergh, near Levens, has been crowned Best Rural Retailer by the Countryside Alliance in the Best Diversification category…. (story)
Cotswold Journal 15.2.07 Shipston - Rightons wins top rural retailer spot By Anita Deshmukh - SHIPSTON butcher's Rightons celebrated being named Countryside Alliance Midlands Rural Retailer of the Year at a glittering ceremony at the House of Lords…. (story)
Stratford upon Avon Herald 15.2.07 AWARDS FOR RURAL SHOPS - A BUTCHERS and a shoe shop in Shipston each scooped a Midlands regional award in the Countryside Alliance’s second annual Best Rural Retailer competition last Wednesday. Rightons, the butchers, were judged Best Local Food Retailer and shoe shop and men’s outfitters E H Spencer was highly-commended in the category of Best Traditional Business… (story)
Manchester Evening News 13.2.07 Award delight for family-run tailoring firm - Kevin Feddy - A FAMILY-RUN tailoring firm based in distinctly urban Salford has been crowned best traditional business in the Britain in an annual `best rural retailer' competition. Alexander James of Pendlebury beat 12 other regional finalists to win the accolade in a contest run by the Countryside Alliance…. (story)
Western Mail 13.2.07 Alliance announces best rural retailers - LANGTHORNE'S Buffalo Produce of Northallerton, Yorkshire; the Corner Shop in Longframlington, North- umberland; Foxbury Farm Shop and Butchery in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire; and the family-run gents outfitters Alexander James of Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, have been named as the nation's top rural retailers…. (story)
Meat Info 12.2.07 Farm shop receives retailing accolade - The National winner in the Countryside Alliance’s annual Best Rural Retailer competition was announced during a reception at The House of Lords in front of the media and parliamentarians. Having been short listed as the winner for the South of England, Foxbury Farm Shop, in the Burford Road, Brize Norton then went on to be awarded the accolade National Best Local Food Retailer…. (story)
Farmers Weekly 8.2.07 British Rural Retailer awards celebrate the best in rural business - Four countryside businesses from Oxfordshire, Northumberland, the midlands and Cumbria triumphed in Best Rural Retailer awards ceremony, staged last night (Wednesday 7th February) in the House of Lords, Westminster…. Winner of the Best Local Food Retailer Award was Foxbury Farm Shop and butchery, Brize Norton, Oxfordshire…. Best Village Shop/Post Office was David Carr’s Corner Shop, Longframlington, Northumberland…. Best Diversification was Langthorne’s Buffalo Produce, Northallerton, North Yorkshire…. Winner of the Daily Telegraph Best Traditional Business was Alexander James of Pendlebury, Greater Manchester…. (story)
Midhurst & Petworth Observer 6.2.07 Farm park attraction that offers so much - A WEST Sussex visitor attraction has become the South-East regional winner for best diversification in the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer competition. Fishers Farm Park at Wisborough Green now goes through to the national event after being selected by the judging panel led by Countryside Alliance regional director Michelle Nudds… (story)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 5.2.07 Farm shop meats with approval - A MOTHER-and-son team are celebrating after their farm shop scooped a prestigious award for Best Rural Store. Rosemary Morton (68) and her son Robin (39) set up the Willow Brook Farm Shop four years ago and have since built up a thriving business – with a loyal following of customers travelling from far and wide to buy their famous fresh food. And the hard work of the enterprising family has paid off after the Mortons’ shop won the top honour of Best Rural Retailer for the East of England – beating off competition from thousands of businesses. Rosemary and Robin will travel to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pick up the Countryside Alliance award…. (story)
Western Mail 23.1.07 Rural firms honoured in retail contest - Gareth Morgan, Western Mail - A BUTCHER, a lasagne baker and two story-telling grannies have been identified as some of the best businesses in rural Wales… The six Welsh winners of the regional stage of the Best Rural Retailer competition were chosen by the Countryside Alliance for their outstanding contribution to their communities…. Grandma's Stories is run from the tiny Carmarthenshire village of Myddfai by Valerie Wood-Gaiger and her friend and neighbour Carroll Nunnerley….The farm shop at Rhug, Denbighshire, now gives visitors trailer rides around the estate to give them an insight into organic farming. And Llwynhelyg Farm Shop, Ceredigion, has diversified into baking lasagne, apple pie and other wholesome foods… (story)
Yorkshire Post 17.1.07 TRADITIONAL WOODCRAFT BUSINESS TURNS OUT BEST... Robert Sutcliffe - A CRAFTSMAN beat off 2,000 hopefuls to win a top award recognising the nation's best traditional businesses. Robin Wood enjoys an international reputation for his work researching the lost craft of turning bowls on a foot-powered lathe. He has now won the title of Best Traditional Business in a competition organised by the Countryside Alliance and a national newspaper…. (story)
Hexham Courant 11.1.07 Recipe for success AN ALSTON bakery is in the national final of a presitigous competition. The Moody Baker has won the regional heat of the Rural Retailer of the Year award, run by the Countryside Alliance... (story)
Derbyshire Times 11.1.07 Turning back time for top award - An internationally renowned craftsman turned back the clock to win a top award recognising the nation's best traditional businesses. Edale-based woodturner Robin Wood has built his own foot-powered lathe to make bowls and plates medieval-style. And his timeless designs, made with locally sourced wood, have earned him the regional title of Best Traditional Business in a competition organised by the Countryside Alliance and Daily Telegraph.... (story)
Manchester Evening News 9.1.07 Tally-ho! We have jumped to the top - Kevin Feddy - A FAMILY-RUN tailoring firm that supplies pipers, brass bands, showjumpers and country sports enthusiasts is on the march in a national competition. Alexander James of Pendlebury has been named the best traditional business in the north west in the Countryside Alliance's quest to find Britain's top rural retailers.... (story)
Worcester News 8.1.07 Follow your nose to a nice little something on the side By Sara Pawsey - THERE are undoubtedly some aromas associated with horses that many owners could well do without. But the smell of leather in a traditional saddlers' workshop is right up there with newly-made bread and freshly-ground coffee as one of the world's heavenly scents. And the judges of the Countryside Alliance's rural retailers competition have followed their noses to the Malvern Saddle Company and believe they have sniffed out a winner.... (story)
Malvern Gazette 29.12.06 Saddling up for business award By Candice Pearson - THE Malvern Saddle Company is riding high after scooping a top award in the Countryside Alliance Best Rural Retailer competition.... (story)
Cotswold Journal 28.12.06 Real recognition of ten years’ of effort - FOSSEWAY Garden Centre is celebrating winning a regional title in the Countryside Alliance awards for the top country retailers of the year... (story)
Derbyshire Times 28.12.06 Top of the shops - Farm shop staff are celebrating success at the double after winning a top regional award. Chatsworth Farm Shop has been named the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer of the Year award in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.... (story)
Carlisle News & Star 27.12.06 MP praises 11 rural retailers By Kelly Eve - ELEVEN Cumbrian retailers have been praised by Penrith and the Border MP David Maclean in Parliament.... He has put down an Early Day Motion congratulating 16 North West finalists in the Best Rural Retailer 2006 competition.... (story)
Cumberland News 22.12.06 Meet the best rural store in north-west - IT’S OFFICIAL – Hallbankgate Co-op is the best rural store in the north west. The store won best shop or post office prize in the regional category of the Countryside Alliance’s best rural retailers awards.... (story)
Malvern Gazette 22.12.06 Malvern company scoops top award By Candice Pearson - A Malvern company has scooped the Best Traditional Business prize in the Countryside Alliance Best Rural Retailer competition. Owner Robert Jenkins, a Master Saddler, travels all over the country to measure horses for side-saddles, making each bespoke saddle from British leather in his Malvern workshop.... (story)
Daily Post 21.12.06 Partridge-stocking Spar scoops award By Andrew Forgrave - WHEN businesswoman Felicity Elphick walked into her local Spar shop, she was stunned to discover it stocked partridge. The former Tory parliamentary candidate was so impressed by Llangoed Spar, near Beaumaris, she nominated it for the Countryside Alliance’s 2006 Best Rural Retailer contest. Shop owners Gareth Moore and Donna Casey have now been named as the best regional shop – one of the four category winners in North Wales and Cheshire.... (story)
Wiltshire Gazette & Herald 21.12.06 Red letter day for village post office - The champagne was flowing at Sherston Post Office and Stores this week, after it was crowned the best in the Wessex region. It was a red letter day on Monday for owners Paul and Gail Mather, as they found out they had won the regional Best Rural Retailer award for a village post office or shop. The competition is run by the Countryside Alliance and nominations are received from customers.... (story)
Western Mail 19.12.06 Rural retailers bid for national glory - REGIONAL judging is now underway in the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer competition, with 15 short-listed local retailers bidding for a regional title and the chance of national glory... (story)
18.12.06 Butcher cuts it as the best local food joint - A VETERAN butcher is today celebrating after his family-run business scooped a prestigious award for Best Local Shop. Martin Trendall's butcher shop has been serving customers for more than 35 years, but he was delighted to discover that his busy store in Queens Street, Oundle, had won a coveted regional award for the Best Food Retailer of the Year. Without telling him, one of Martin's loyal customers had nominated Trendall's for a competition run by the Countryside Alliance, as it searched for the best rural shops in the UK... (story)
Scotsman 16.12.06 This first-class service deserves your support - TONY ANDREWS - LAST Wednesday the Scottish Countryside Alliance unveiled the winners of our Best Rural Retailer contest for 2006. The winner of the best village shop/post office was Drumbeg Stores in the stunning Assynt area of Sutherland.... So it was particularly galling that the next day, the UK Government announced massive cutbacks to the post office network that will threaten not just the hard work of the Butlers and dozens like them, but the rural communities they serve.... (story)
Cotswold Journal 14.12.06 Shipston - Family-run firm named retailer of year - Rightons of Shipston has been named best local food retailer in the Midlands in a competition run by the Countryside Alliance.... (story)
North West Evening Mail 12.12.06 FOOD HALL VYING FOR TOP ACCOLADE - A HOST of Cumbrian businesses are in the running to be named Britain’s best rural retailer. Holker Food Hall, near Grange, is among 11 firms from the county shortlisted in the regional heat of a Countryside Alliance competition, the winners of which will be announced later this month... (story)
Mid Devon Gazette 5.12.06 - ELLEN COOK - Businesses in Hemyock and Chulmleigh have made it into the regional final of the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer competition.Wallace's Farm, Hemyock, has been shortlisted in the best diversification category and Highlands Hogs, Chulmleigh is in the Daily Telegraph best traditional retailer category.... (story)
Mid Devon Gazette 5.12.06 PIG FARM OWNER HOGS THE LIMELIGHT ON FOOD SHOW - ELLEN COOK - The owner of a free range pig farm near Chulmleigh is appearing on television.Sarah Thatcher of Highlands Hogs, Tollbar Cross, was asked to be in a programme for UKTV Food, and filming took place in Ivybridge on Thursday.... Sarah has also reached the regional final of the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer competition. (story)
Mid Sussex Times 5.12.06 TAKE A BUTCHERS AT IAN'S WINDOW - "I BET you won't see a shop window like this anywhere else!" enthused butcher Ian Thomas after hearing that his shop had won through to the final of a national competition…. The shop, Glyn Thomas & Son in Lindfield High Street, is one of 16 South East finalists in the Best Rural Retailer competition run by the Countryside Alliance… (story)
Carlisle News & Star 4.12.06 Retailers in running for awards By Chris Story - A HOST of Cumbrian businesses are in the running to be named Britain’s best rural retailer. Butchers Cranstons are among 11 firms from the county shortlisted in the regional heat of a Countryside Alliance competition, the winners of which will be announced in the middle of this month ... (story)
Lakeland Radio 1.12.06 Local businesses up for rural retailer awards - The Countryside Alliance Best Rural Retailer competition is hotting up now the regional judging is underway and by Mid December the overall winners will be announced.... (story)
Montrose Review 1.12.06 Butcher on the blocks for top award - A LOCAL businessman was celebrating this week after his shop was shortlisted for a top industry award. Neil Watt, who owns Watt the Butcher on Murray Street, was nominated as one of Scotland's traditional retailers and could soon be thriugh to the national finals.... Neil will discover in mid-December if he has won the regional final of the Daily Telegraph Best Traditional Retailer award, which would then automatically qualify his business for a place in the national finals. The winner of that will be announced in February next year. The competition is run by the Countryside Alliance.... (story)
Scotsman 29.11.06 ... The shortlist has been published for Scotland's best rural retailer of the year award, a competition organised by the Countryside Alliance.... (story)
Herts Advertiser 23.11.06 Rural butcher is a cut above - MIGHTY meaty, matey sums up the character of butcher John Pender who has been nominated for a Best Rural Retailer award. Chatty John, aged 57, runs John the Butcher's in Sandridgebury Lane, St Albans, with his son - also called John, 28.... The tiny store has been nominated by its customers for the nationwide competition organised by the Countryside Alliance in conjunction with the Daily Telegraph.... (story)
North West Evening Mail 13.11.06 BUTCHER DELIGHTED TO BE UP FOR PRESTIGIOUS PRIZE - AN Ulverston butcher has told of his delight at being nominated for a prestigious national award. Irvings Butchers is up for the Best Rural Retailer Award, for its quality of produce and service.... The competition is run by the Countryside Alliance to give recognition to rural retailers.... (story)
Western Mail 24.10.06 Help us to find Britain's best rural retailer - Simon Hart, Western Mail - WHEN one of the finalists from the Countryside Alliance's Best Rural Retailer 2005 competition said his win "has made my year", we knew that we had captured the public mood and made a real difference to many communities. Such a positive initiative just had to be repeated, so the competition is running again in 2006, but this time on a larger scale…. (story)
Western Telegraph 19.10.06 Make a hero out of your rural retailer By Debbie James - the county's food heroes could be in line for a major award. For the second year running, the Countryside Alliance is running its best rural retailer competition to celebrate the unsung heroes of rural communities like Pembrokeshire. For these retailers to have a chance of winning they wil