January 2003

(*)- added since last update

Portsmouth News 31.1.03 FOX WAS KILLED ON COLLEGE LAND SAY PROTESTERS - CHICHESTER College was branded the 'academy of blood sports' by anti-hunt campaigners after they accused the school of supporting hunting…. Members of West Sussex Wildlife Protection and the League Against Cruel Sports carried out their own investigation into the links between the college and hunting… The two groups claim the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt... chased foxes on college land on Christmas Eve, with at least one fox allegedly killed… They also claim students from the college had attended a joint meeting of the CLC hunt and the Brighton and Storrington Beagles, transported by college minibuses… (story in archive)

Sevenoaks Chronicle 31.1.03 PHEASANTS WELL FED - I Think it would be appropriate for Tara Corcoran to check the true facts (letters, January 23)…. The pheasants in this area are well fed and cared for and are not in factory conditions…. Beware shooters?-?the anti-hunt protesters will not stop at hunting you, and fishermen will be next. BARBARA FRANCIS Goathurst Common (letter)

The Sentinel (Stoke on Trent) 31.1.03 TIME TO END HUNTING - When more than half the MPs on the committee examining the Hunting Bill are firmly opposed to all live animal hunting, and 80 per cent of the public consider it cruel, while 98 per cent reject the claim that it is humane, can the pro-licensing lobby hope to succeed?... On January 18, the Cheshire Forest hounds roamed down a residential road… the prestigious Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt has earned a reputation for traffic chaos… The North Staffordshire Hounds in 1987 invaded gardens, killed a fox in front of a small child… the Quorn Hunt have been caught out on video throwing a fox alive to hounds in 1991… KATHERINE WATSON Cheshire (letter)

Ledbury Reporter 31.1.03 Vets give warning of outbreak - VETS have warned dog owners that the area is in its worst mange epidemic for decades with the finger of blame being pointed at the fox population… Vet Eden Tanner, of the Argus Veterinary Surgery in New Street, said: "We would assume there is a much higher incidence in foxes now. This is how dogs get it. Foxes get into people's gardens, where there are dogs…." (story in archive)

Sevenoaks Chronicle 31.1.03 STOP THE BARBARITY - I Was sad but touched to read about the firefighters who tried in vain to resuscitate a dog rescued from a fire in Sevenoaks… Tragically, this caring approach appears to stop at the locked laboratory door. Hundreds of dogs spend their lives in a sterile, loveless environment and are subjected to painful experiments in the name of science… The multi-million pound pharmaceutical industry has conditioned people into believing that this is necessary to find cures for human disease. However, this has been proven to be untrue… MISS TARA CORCORAN Raphael Medical Centre, Hildenborough (letter)

Matlock Mercury 30.1.02 HUNT PLANS OF BLOODHOUNDS AT CHATSWORTH - A pack of hunting hounds will be chasing through Chatsworth Park at the weekend - but there will be no fox in sight as these dogs are bloodhounds and their quarry is human. The dogs are trained to pick up a human scent and be followed by a hunters on horseback in a sport which dates back centuries. Sunday´s event is special as it a year since popular local bloodhound pack, The Four Shires´ met at Chatsworth…. (story)

Telegraph 30.1.03 End of dressage - I was rather cheered by the League Against Cruel Sports's proposed ban on "people using acts of dominance on animals" (letter, Jan. 28). Could this mean an end to dressage? (letter)
Telegraph 29.1.03 Pressured groups - So the League Against Cruel Sports is now the guardian of the nation's moral health (letter, Jan 28). Heaven help us. When I, as the executive director of the league in the 1990s, questioned a simple ban on hunting with dogs and advocated a better way forward for animal welfare, I was subjected to a stream of abuse and threats of physical violence… James Barrington, Consultant to the All-Party Parliamentary Middle Way Group, London SW1 (letter)
Telegraph 28.1.03 For our moral health - Nicholas Soames (letter, Jan. 27) condemns Alun Michael's hunting Bill as having no concern for real animal welfare. I beg to differ. The Bill, for all its faults, clearly bans hunting for sport, as well as hare coursing…. Institutionalising the act of hunting, calling it a sport, does not make it any more morally acceptable. It is cruel and must be banned, for the welfare of animals and the moral health of the nation. Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive, League Against Cruel Sports, London SE1 (letter)
Telegraph 27.1.03 No concern … Only last Wednesday, Alun Michael alleged, wrongly, that in competitive coursing "points are awarded . . . for achieving a kill". In a House of Commons committee on January 14, James Gray, shadow minister for the countryside, corrected the minister, confirming that "no points are awarded for killing"… "In the case of the hare," Burns found, "on those estates which favour hare coursing or hunting, rather than shooting, a ban might lead farmers and landowners to pay less attention to encouraging hare numbers. The loss of habitat suitable for hares could have serious consequences for a number of birds and other animals."… Nicholas Soames MP (Cons), London SW1 (letter)

DERBY EVENING TELEGRAPH HUNTING CORRESPONDENCE
Derby Evening Telegraph 30.1.03 KILLER FOX - OR KILLER CAT? - Having read other people's views for and against fox-hunting, I'd like to comment on remarks made by pro-fox-hunting supporters. They claim that foxes will kill for the sake of killing: this is not true. What is true is that foxes will kill more than they can eat at that time, but will bury the rest for the future if not disturbed…. if foxes did kill cats, would it be so bad? These pampered felines are responsible for the killing of millions of songbirds every year - Chris Cartlidge, Borrowash (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 22.1.03 PURSUIT OF UNEATABLE W. e. YATES (Opinion, January 16) questions the difference between a fox chasing a rabbit and hounds chasing a fox… To regard it as a sport is where the unspeakable come in and civility goes out. Ian L. Rubery, Hulland. (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 16.1.03 LET'S NOT LEAVE IT TO LANGUISH - Perhaps, B.G.Bower (Opinion January 7) would like to explain why he finds a hound chasing a fox so much more cruel than a fox chasing a rabbit?... W.E.Yates, Rona Close, Sinfin Moor (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 8.1.03 TOO MUCH FUSS OVER THE HUNT Being human, surely some of the hunting brigade must realise the cruelty involved in how the fox is killed - or does the thrill of the chase override it? W.E. Yates says Stephen Shelton blames mechanisation for the decline of the rural community (Opinion, December 30). Mr Shelton is quite right… Hundreds of thousands of miners, steelworkers, pottery makers, rail workers and textile workers, have all lost their jobs as a result of industry decline - industries far larger and more important than fox killing. So what's all the fuss about? B. G. Bower, Thorndike Avenue, Alvaston (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 1.1.03 FOX BOOK IS COMMENDED - I have been following the fox debate in your columns and I must concur with the sentiments expressed by Stephen Shelton and Christopher Harris… If any readers are really interested in foxes, I would commend a quite wonderful little book entitled "String Lug the Fox", by the well-known naturalist, David Stephen… Donald M. Haslam, Derby Road, Chellaston (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 31.12.02 KILLER HIDING BENEATH IMAGE OF 'CUDDLY FOX' - With reference to the letter from Stephen Shelton concerning foxes and hunting (Opinion, December 23), I have never read such a piece of nonsense… My parents have a smallholding on the edge of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. They have gone to great lengths to protect their animals… This has not deterred the fox from entering and killing all the chickens, ducks and geese time and time again… The fox is vermin and the only people who can control its population are the people working and living in the countryside. J.Skelton, Fairisle Close, Oakwood.
UNETHICAL: W.E. Yates (Opinion, December 17) asked the question: "If Roger and his fellow saboteurs find the hunt so impotent, why are they so concerned about hunting?"… The Hunt Saboteurs Association (to which we are affiliated) finds this unnecessary, unethical and unacceptable in this day and age… We do not picket the Meynell hunt because we consider it more "effective" than, say, the Quorn (Leicestershire) or Belvoir (Lincolnshire) hunts but simply because it is the major Derbyshire hunt. Roger, DAR/Derby Hunt Saboteurs (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 30.12.02 SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - PRODUCED BY FOXES - I am puzzled as to what kind of farm Stephen Shelton grew up on?... he seems to forget that, 60 or even 50 years ago, we had acute food shortages and a nation unable to feed its inhabitants. Now we have a surplus but perhaps he would prefer a ration card. He also seems to dismiss out of hand fox predation. No-one is suggesting a fox will take a fully grown sheep or pig, but their young are vulnerable… The figure of 200,000 is not one that I dreamed up but was quoted in the Trevor McDonald Tonight programme at the time of Foster's ill-conceived Bill. This is a figure for fox predation of lambs… No-one is pretending that poor people go hunting, except as spectators, or that the rural economy would collapse if hunting were banned. But those whose livelihood depends on it would be devastated; not only hunt staff, but those that service the hunts. Many of those are master craftspeople whose skills would be lost forever… W.E.Yates, Derby (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 28.12.02 HUMAN TOUCH: W. E. Yates' (Opinion, December 19) attempt to project human concepts on to foxes is too absurd to even laugh at. Clearly, the Countryside Alliance and Real Countryside Alliance are so bankrupt for ideas that they are having to resort to recycling ideas obtained from Walt Disney's wastepaper basket. Ralf Gray Junior, Main Street, Breedon-on-the-Hill (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 23.12.02 FOX BEING DEMONISED TO JUSTIFY CRUEL HUNT Your correspondent W.E. Yates is correct, there is a serial killer at loose in the countryside (Opinion, December 19), a killer that has made many of these island's indigenous species extinct, decimated the natural environment and kills randomly for fun. However lets get it right, it's not the fox, it's man… W.E. Yates misses my point regarding wealth… Their argument is a nonsense, because if you really were so poor you couldn't afford to go fox hunting. That's irony, not envy…. Stephen Shelton, Littleover (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 23.12.02 NATURE'S PEST CONTROL HELPS FARMERS - The hunting with hounds debate rages on with some?outrageous and unsubstantiated claims being made by the supporters of fox hunting. Peter Presland (Opinion, December 16) states that "the animal will be snared, trapped and poisoned", all of which are highly illegal methods of killing any wild animal… W.E. Yates (Opinion, December 19) appears to have an absolute hatred of foxes and will only be satisfied by the eradication of the species… Fox hunting is a barbaric pastime and has no place in a modern civilised society…. Christopher Harris, Normanton (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 19.12.02 FOXES ARE NATURE'S OWN SERIAL KILLERS - Re Stephen Shelton (Opinion, December 17)… He describes the participants as "Wealthy; from more privileged backgrounds; the luxury of owning a horse; upper-class vandals; expensive cars towing horseboxes; an expensive-to-maintain pack of hounds"...Oh dear, makes you green with envy, doesn't it, Stephen?. Is he paying for it, or the Government or tax or ratepayers? No. Hunting fraternity members are paying with their own money out of their own pockets and supporting the local economy… He equates the fox with a dog. Well maybe it is of the same remote ancestry, but so is the wolf, the dingo, and a dozen more species of wild dog, but there the similarity with your pet dog ends… W.E.Yates, Sinfin Moor, Derby (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 17.12.02 LICENSING WOULD BE A DESPICABLE U-TURN - We all know the truths of the brutality of hunting with hounds. A fox is a dog. What would anyone think if his or her own pet was chased for miles and then savaged by a pack of hounds?... The hunt added no income to our village yet left a trail of costly damage. It was also well known that foxes were bagged and released to guarantee a "chase". It was rare for us to see a fox, let alone ever have a problem with them… if the countryside is so strapped for cash, how they can afford the vast expenses involved for a hunt when there are many minimal cost alternatives?... Stephen Shelton, Littleover (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 17.12.02 FOXES DO CAUSE A PROBLEM In response to Roger, of Derby Hunt Sabs, (Opinion, December 10) I don't recall ever claiming to be an expert on any subject. However, having spent a considerable part of my 72 years living in rural Derbyshire and being connected with agriculture in one capacity or other, I believe I can rightly claim to have a working knowledge of country pursuits and associated problems…. Farmers who support hunts will tolerate the odd fox, providing the fox doesn't become too destructive. However, if hunting is banned, then there will be no excuse for keeping even the odd fox and they will be indiscriminately shot. I enjoyed Simon Burch's feature on the Meynell Hunt and found his observations were fairly reported. What puzzles me though, is, if Roger and his fellow saboteurs find the hunt so impotent, why are they so concerned about hunting?... W.E. Yates, Sinfin Moor (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 10.12.02 GREEN CLAIM IS INSULTING - I always find it laughable when supposedly self-proclaimed experts dig big holes for themselves when involved in the hunting debate… I find it insulting that the blood sports brigade attempt to hide behind the moniker of "conservation"… I found the recent feature by Simon Burch on the Meynell Hunt most interesting. We have "joined" the hunt on more occasions than I care to count and we have yet to see them kill. So much for pest control! Roger, DAR/Derby Hunt Sabs (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 8.11.02 HOUNDING OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT HUNTING - The fox-hunting season is back under way again, with the cloud of an uncertain future hanging over it. Its opponents call it a cruel anachronism and want it banned, while its supporters say it is a priceless way of life. Feature writer Simon Burch joined the Meynell Hunt to find out more for himself… (story)

South Wales Evening Post 30.1.03 ACTION MUST BE DEBATED - The House of Commons has spent many hours debating the rights and wrongs of the hunting and killing of foxes, yet it is being denied the right to debate the intention of killing many thousands of people in Iraq… Viv Griffiths Newton Road, Mumbles, Swansea (letter)

Banbury Guardian 30.1.03 Opinion poll on hunting was misleading - The director of the Campaign for Hunting, Simon Hart claims (Banbury Guardian, January 23) ‘....our poll asked the public how they wished to see the issue resolved…" Seventy per cent of MPs wish to see a ban. Rest assured that they accurately reflect public opinion. At last it seems that democracy will prevail. Peter Bunce Public Opinion Researcher for Protect Our Wild Animals Haddenham, Bucks (letter)
Banbury Guardian 23.1.03 Best way to resolve hunt saga - In your report on Boxing Day hunting fixtures (Banbury Guardian, December 31) Miranda White of the League Against Cruel Sports dismissed a Countryside Alliance opinion poll… Whilst the MORI poll on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports asked for a view about hunting, our poll asked the public how they wished to see the issue resolved. There is an important difference… Despite their rather limp protestations it seems that whilst quite justly holding strong views, an increasing proportion of the public see a system of regulation based on evidence and principles as being the best way of resolving this saga. Perhaps it is the fact that such a system might eliminate prejudice, propaganda and bigotry from the decision making that so worries the League. Simon Hart Director Campaign for Hunting (letter)
Banbury Guardian 31.12.02 HUNT SUPPORTERS TURN OUT IN FORCE - HUNDREDS of hunt followers came out to support the spectacle of Boxing Day meets across the district…. Sam Butler is master of the Warwickshire Hunt and chairman of the Campaign for Hunting. He said: "I believe absolutely that this won't be the last Boxing Day meet."… Miranda White, of LACS said: "NOP who conducted the Countryside Alliance poll have been reprimanded for asking misleading questions in a deliberate manipulation to get the result they wanted…. (story in archive)

Swindon Evening Advertiser 30.1.03 Back in town - SWINDON'S urban fox population has made a comeback five years after it was decimated by an outbreak of mange…. (story in archive)

CHARITY COMMISSION INVESTIGATION INTO SOMERSET & DORSET ANIMAL RESCUE
Western Gazette 30.1.03 I ASSURE YOU, MY LIFE IS AN OPEN BOOK - I Do not know who Wendy Strickland is but I can empathise with her. Twenty months ago, I would have done exactly the same in support of Liz Stewart. I have known Liz for over 31 years and her husband Colin for nearly 52 years (I am his aunt)... In the spring of 2001, certain things began to happen which did not add up and she began to tell me outrageously blatant lies... If I can convince one person not to hand money over to Liz, my contribution to the world is complete. Jo Hone, Larkspur Crescent, Yeovil. (letter)
Western Gazette 30.1.03 FUND RAISERS SHOULD SHOW THAT THEY CARE - May I, through your columns, reply to Joyce Harris and Jo Hone... Most real animal lovers just get on and do what they can and unlike yourselves have not spent time listing their good deeds and how much cash being an animal lover entails... I am a real animal lover, received a bravery award from the RSPCA as a child, spent years campaigning to stop hunt and vivisection, with like-minded people started Yeovil and District Badger Protection Group, helping badgers and the public travelling miles and many all night jobs all paid from our pockets.... Most rescue dogs do not bite but the above surely are the animals most deserving of a home and TLC, don't you think so Jo. Stop writing and prove to the readers you are what you claim to be. It would be good to see some proof of your abilities especially for animals. W. Strickland, Stalbridge Road, Henstridge (letter)
Western Gazette 2.1.03 I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE - I have known Liz Stewart for several years and I have a dog rescued from certain death that Liz travelled many miles to save... Perhaps the fact that she could not do her usual paid employment may have affected the mortgage payments, not because she hasn't been able to take in rescued animals... Tina S. , full name and address supplied (letter)
Western Gazette 27.12.02 STOP THIS WITCHHUNT - I had to respond to the malicious and disgusting letter written by Jo Hone concerning Liz Stewart. We have known her for many years and the huge amount of her life spent on helping thousands of animals in desperate need.... What a sad individual Jo Hone must be spending her life on a personal witch hunt against someone who has done so much good.... Wendy Strickland, Stalbridge Road, Henstridge (letter)
Western Gazette 18.12.02 ANIMAL RESCUER REFUTES MORTGAGE ALLEGATIONS … Liz Stewart says a witch hunt against her resulted in a letter in last week's Western Gazette suggesting she had problems paying her mortgage on Balsam Farm, Wincanton, because she had stopped fund raising for her animal-rescue activities…"I have risked my freedom for animals on more than one occasion and I will not stop working on their behalf. It is my mission in life and I hope those people who are trying to make things difficult for me will stop." (story)
Western Gazette 12.12.02 'UNLIKELY' TO ACT AGAINST SANCTUARY - The inquiry into the Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue Centre at Wincanton by the Charity Commission is continuing... (story)
Western Gazette 12.12.02 THE TRUTH IS OUT - Congratulations, you have at last made Liz Stewart tell the truth. Because she has been stopped fund raising for the past few weeks, she could not pay her large mortgage and was in danger of losing her house. I do not have a Phd in maths, but even I worked out that fact out 18 months ago.... Jo Hone, Larkspur Crescent, Yeovil (letter)
Western Gazette 5.12.02 ANIMAL SANCTUARY 'WAS NEVER CHARITY' - The owner of an animal sanctuary spoke of her relief this week after an initial investigation by a Government watchdog failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing. This week the Charity Commission confirmed it was satisfied the Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue Centre at Balsam Farm, Wincanton, was not claiming to be a registered charity... The sanctuary caused outcry recently when Colin and Liz Stewart applied to turn it into a sanctuary for 40 dogs and 30 cats. Residents stormed a South Somerset District Council to protest about the idea, which was turned down.... (story)
Western Gazette 28.11.02 ANIMAL LOVER IS KIND AND HONEST Re: The front page article which appeared in the Wincanton edition of the Western Gazette in connection with the Charitiy Commission's investigation into the Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue Centre.... I have always found Liz to be kind, straighforward, honest and dedicated 150 per cent to her work for the welfare of animals.... Eva Gane, full address supplied (letter)
Western Gazette 28.11.02 COUPLE SACRIFICE ALL FOR ANIMALS - I was horrified to read the front page article in stating that Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue is being investigated for "misappropriation of funds" by the Charity Commission. I have known founders Liz and Colin Stewart for over 20 years... Thank you Liz, from the bottom of my heart. Name and address supplied (letter)
Western Gazette 15.11.02 CHARITY WATCHDOG PROBES SANCTUARY An animal sanctuary is being probed by a Government watchdog over allegations of misappropriation of funds. Somerset and Dorset Animal Rescue run by Liz Stewart at Balsam Farm, Wincanton, is being investigated by the Charity Commission.... Spokesman Kevin Snow said: "It is not registered as a charity but does received public donations. We have opened investigations following allegations of the misappropriation of funds and the failure of the rescue centre to register with the commission.... (story)

Reading Chronicle 30.1.03 Huntingdon cash is animal tragic - MANY of you will remember watching a programme on television a few years ago which exposed the cruelty that animals were subjected to in the laboratories in Huntingdon Life Sciences… BUT can anyone explain to me why we, the taxpayers, are paying for them to continue in business?... ANNE WILLIAMS Old Bath Road Sonning (letter)

Eastern Daily Press 30.1.03 Fishermen protest as seals go free - The RSPCA has hit out at fishermen protesting over the release of seals that have recovered from a killer virus… Police were called to remove six fishermen who opposed the release of four phocine distemper virus (PDV) seal pup survivors into the sea at Morston… The fishermen used their car to block the path of the returning RSPCA workers and claimed that releasing the seals back into the water would have a detrimental effect on cod stocks and other fish…. a spokeswoman for the RSPCA denounced the fishermen's claims… "This sort of behaviour is sadly symptomatic of the imbalance that exists between the fishermen and the natural environment," she said… But earlier, Ivan Large, chairman of North Norfolk Fishermen's Society, said the disease was nature's way of dealing with over-population and that more seals should not be returned to the wild at Morston…. "We are angry that they bring seals from all over the country, nurse them back to health and then dump them all near Blakeney," he said…. (story)

AVON VALE BOXING DAY
Swindon Evening Advertiser 29.1.03 There's no alternative - SO apparently we have an expert here Phil Beaven who has all the answers to fox control… If we do not keep foxes under control they will infest our towns and be a big problem. Just wait and see. I REEVE Wootton Bassett (letter in archive)
Swindon Evening Advertiser 9.1.03 It is time for a ban on hunting - I WAS intrigued to read in Friday's Adver that 2,000 people turned up to watch the hunt set off at Lacock on Boxing day. As one of the protestors, who was actually there I would estimate the crowd to be 600 and that is being generous… I was also interested in a bizarre letter from Simon Hart, director of Campaign for Hunting in Thursday's Adver…. I can tell him unless there is a total hunt ban so that animals can live their lives unmolested, the likes of Simon Hart will know no peace. PHIL BEAVEN Merton Avenue Swindon (letter in archive)
Wiltshire Gazette & Herald/Chippenham News 2.1.03 Protest dogs start of hunt - THE streets of Lacock were packed with thousands of protesters and supporters on Boxing Day, for what may have been the last Avon Vale Christmas hunt. Among the estimated 3,500-strong crowd was Malcolm Clark of the Wiltshire League Against Cruel Sports and fellow hunt protesters… But Jonathon Seed of the Avon Vale Hunt rubbished suggestions that this would be the last Boxing Day hunt. He said: "I am positive that the hunting bill will not be passed and we will be here to hunt again next Boxing Day." Anti-hunting protesters were conspicuous by their complete absence from the Tedworth Hunt's Boxing Day gathering in Pewsey…. (story in archive)
Bath Chronicle 27.12.02 THE FINAL HUNT? … The Avon Vale Hunt set off from Lacock shortly after 11am yesterday morning with hundreds of people lining the streets to wave them off. And more than 50 hunt protesters also gathered for the send-off outside the Red Lion in the High Street…. (story)

Scotsman 29.1.03 Wounded foxes - Lynne Mitchell writes passionately on the subject of hunting (Letters, 23 January), and is entitled to her views. But what she describes as cruel is often only the natural way of wild animals. The possibility of death is a daily hazard for all animals in the wild… I would prefer not to see an increase in the number of wounded foxes, and believe we should consider the risks to human life before blithely encouraging the greater use of rifles around the countryside after dark. MARY MUNRO Auchterarder Perthshire (letter)
Scotsman 23.1.03 Animal test - So, Ian Proctor (Letters, 21 January) believes that just because most people believe fox-hunting is cruel and immoral is no reason to legislate against it. Presumably he would like to see all laws against cruelty to animals repealed… LYNNE MITCHELL Lower Mains, Dollar Clackmannanshire (letter)
Scotsman 22.1.03 Cruel I am astounded by Ian Proctor’s claim (Letters, 21 January) that we should not legislate against fox hunting just because we find it cruel and immoral… NR Paterson ANSTRUTHER, FIFE (letter)
Scotsman 21.1.03 Prejudices - In her letter on fox-hunting (20 January), Sarah Bruce confuses a number of issues. In a tolerant society, the existence of opinions, held by some people, that hunting may be either cruel or immoral is no reason to legislate against it… Ian Proctor BONNYBRIDGE, STIRLINGSHIRE (letter)
Scotsman 20.1.03 Issues confused - Katie Grant (Opinion, 13 January) is being misleading when she claims the latest NOP poll shows less than 50 per cent of the population now support a ban on fox-hunting. The poll she referred to confused two issues, by asking questions that related to both animal welfare and civil liberties, so respondents had no indication of which issue they were being asked to support…. SARAH BRUCE The Causeway Edinburgh (letter)
Scotsman 13.1.03 Why politicians love to hate the sectarian blight - Katie Grant … THE hunting saga in England totters on. But lest you thought all was over up here, let me reassure you that it is not. On 5 June, three judges will hear the appeal by the Scottish Countryside Alliance to overturn the Watson Bill…. For a parliament to act against a minority whose livelihoods are at stake because of difference of opinion rather than provable fact would be a dangerous thing. The argument seems reasonable and could result in victory with honour… Public opinion is turning our way, with the latest NOP poll showing support for a ban well under 50 per cent and waning. Ugly scenes in public places could only jeopardise this… But if the judgment goes against the SCA, what then? I await instructions with interest. (story)

Horncastle News 29.1.03 Cruel practice of fox dumping …Sir Peter Tapsell, our MP, had sent the Minister’s reply to a question about urban foxes being dumped in the countryside to be destroyed or spread disease. The Union of Country Sports Workers is very concerned about this cruel practice which is similar to dumping unwanted Christmas pets… HENRY FOSTER Woodhall Spa. (letter)

Edinburgh Evening News 29.1.03 NCDL working with dog racers - I WRITE with reference "Racing is not a licence to kill" (Letters, January 16)…. I would like to assure Mr Hastie that the NCDL has never advocated banning greyhound racing, as we believe that greyhounds enjoy the sport. However, we are concerned about the standards of welfare for these beautiful creatures throughout their racing life and retirement… The NCDL and other animal welfare organisations have been working very closely with the greyhound racing industry for many years to improve welfare conditions for these dogs …. Clarissa Baldwin, NCDL Chief Executive and Chairperson of the Greyhound Forum Wakley Street, London (letter)
Edinburgh Evening News 17.1.03 Hounding the wrong people - WITH regard to Ross Minett’s of Advocates for Animals letter (News, January 13), there are thousands of people who own or train greyhounds and work in the sport who would not be in it if what he says were true… there are only 700-760 greyhounds at the Scottish racetracks. Furthermore, at the three major animal welfare centres in Edinburgh and the Lothians at the present time abandoned dogs of all breeds total 191 of which eight are greyhounds…. the numbers involved are extremely small and overall greyhound racing in Scotland does not have the problem Mr Minett would like his organisation’s donors to believe. Ms Anne Davidson Learmonth Crescent, Edinburgh (letter)
Edinburgh Evening News16.1.03 Racing is not a licence to kill - I REFER to the News report on the greyhound Orion abandoned in the vicinity of the National Canine Defence League centre at West Calder (News, January 6). As is par for the course when reporting on greyhounds like Orion the article closed by stating that thousands of greyhound are dumped or killed every year. This is a blatant untruth in respect of greyhound racing in Scotland and is one perpetuated by certain parties with an interest in denigrating the sport in their aim to destroy it and see it banned…. Hamish Hastie Greenheads Road, North Berwick (letter)
Edinburgh Evening News 13.1.03 It's a dog's life for greyhounds - SO we already have the first reported casualty of the greyhound racing industry this year ("You’re a lucky star!", News, January 9). Orion the abandoned greyhound is one of at least 10,000 greyhounds that are "retired" from racing in Britain every year… Many ex-racing greyhounds are simply abandoned and a large number are killed, sometimes by extremely cruel methods such as drowning or poisoning, because some owners and trainers are not prepared to pay the cost of having them put to sleep by a vet…. (letter)

Guardian 29.1.03 'Delicious!' - Rachael Oliveck was a committed vegetarian and animal rights activist for 14 years. But on Christmas Day she finally cracked, and tucked into some turkey - and she hasn't looked back since… (story)

Plymouth Evening Herald 29.1.03 WHY TRADE IN THESE EXOTIC CREATURES ? With reference to the article (January 13) concerning the pet section at Endsleigh Garden Centre, I was appalled that you should give what amounts to free advertising to an enterprise that makes money from selling live animals… BG HAYNES, Plympton
Andrew P Nunn, Endsleigh retail director, responds: Whilst it is impossible to legislate for every eventuality, our trained pets specialists are passionate about the animals in their care and make strenuous efforts to ensure that prospective owners are fully informed of the full implications of taking on any given species… (letter)

Guardian 29.1.03 'Delicious!' - Rachael Oliveck was a committed vegetarian and animal rights activist for 14 years. But on Christmas Day she finally cracked, and tucked into some turkey - and she hasn't looked back since… (story)

Scotsman 28.1.03 Countryside Alliance in radical staff shake-up - FORDYCE MAXWELL - RADICAL staff changes have been made at the Scottish Countryside Alliance as it limbers up for the May election campaign… The new-look headquarters staff is now Tony Andrews as chief executive, Allan Murray as Scottish director, Amy Kenyon as head of politics and media, and Nicola Chalmers-Watson in fund raising… Andrews… said yesterday: "The aim is, as I said then, to broaden our agenda, although our appeal against the hunting ban is still important."… (story)

Western Morning News 28.1.03 HALF-BAKED LAWS REVEAL LACK OF THOUGHT - As with the House of Lords, so with fox-hunting…. Now we learn at this late stage in the progress of the hunting Bill that no research has been done to establish the relative effects of shooting as a means of pest control as opposed to hounds… The thought of shot foxes limping around the landscape peppered with 12-bore pellets, eventually starving to death because they are no longer fit enough to catch their prey, is not one they want to bother with. Just so long as people are banned from riding to hounds the fate of the fox is immaterial…. While Government is seeking means to curb gun crime in the cities, does it really want to increase their use in the countryside against foxes without evidence of any reduction in suffering? Does it plan to retrain Birmingham gangsters as fox control operatives?... J Ward-Hayne, Modbury (letter)

York Evening Press 28.1.03 Shotgun nonsense - DURING his weekly ramble down Rural View, Grant Burton tells us about the awful problems of keeping a shotgun for game shooting (January 14)… The gun is an instrument of death, expressly designed for the taking of life, human or animal… Removing the existing controls would only exacerbate what is already a dangerous situation. Robert Holmes, Thorganby, York (letter in archive)

Western Morning News 28.1.03 ANONYMITY IN LABORATORIES MUST NOT BE PROTECTED - The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) is delighted with the latest concession from the Government that more openness is needed on animal experiments, but is dismayed that it plans to delay action… The claim that freedom of information would threaten scientists' personal safety is a red herring… If the scientific community believes in what it is doing to animals in laboratories, it should be prepared to be questioned in public. Jan Creamer, NAVS, London (letter)

Gloucester Citizen or Gloucestershire Echo 27.1.03 WHY THE HUNT RUNS IN MY FAMILY'S BLOOD - Although I hail from a musical and military family with a mother who preferred a flutter on the bookies to getting too close to an animal she regarded as 'dangerous at both ends and b..... uncomfortable in the middle', I clearly inherited an equine gene… As a Barnett of Glympton, my wife has come from a distinguished Heythrop hunting family. Our eldest son, James, Henry's father, has married into an equally distinguished Beaufort family… If the political prejudices of a majority are imposed so as to ban the lawful activities of a minority, democracy itself will be in peril. In order to survive every hunt has to stand firm and refuse to be banned. No one should be tempted into a 'middle way' licensing scheme… If you are interested in helping to save your country please contact This England at PO Box 52, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1YQ or e.mail: john.gouriet1@virgin.net. (story)

Telegraph 27.1.03 BBC appoints its first countryside reporter after claims of an urban bias By Tom Leonard, Media Editor - The BBC is to appoint its first countryside correspondent after criticism that it an urban bias in its reporting… Previously the "rural affairs" brief has covered all environmental stories. The news was greeted by the Countryside Alliance as a significant step forward. The corporation was accused last year by alliance supporters of underplaying the importance of the Liberty and Livelihood March because of the urban, pro-Labour sympathies of its staff…. (story)

FERNIE SABS CONVICTIONS
Leicester Mercury 27.1.03 TRAVELLED SO FAR - I was interested to read the report (Mercury, Jan 13) of the court case where five hunt "saboteurs" were convicted of affray against the Fernie Hunt…. none of the five men came from Leicestershire, nor indeed from the East Midlands. They came from as far apart as Wolverhampton and Southampton. They were too old to be students, so why were they in Leicestershire?... I do find it somewhat strange that organised law breakers should travel so far to terrorise people with whom they do not agree. Andrew Robathan, MP, House of Commons (letter)
Swindon Evening Advertiser 11.1.03 Protester attacked hunt car - AN ANTI-HUNT protester from Swindon has been ordered to do community service after he admitted attacking a huntsman's car. Five protesters, including 32-year-old Paul Davis, of Coate Cottages, pleaded guilty to affray following an incident at the Ferney Hunt in Leicestershire on March 9 last year… "These men were part of a group of about 10 or 12 who were all wearing scarves, hats and disguises, and dark green and black camouflaged clothing…. There was a slight collision between Mr Williams's vehicle and the group's Land Rover… They got out and attacked his car. The passenger side window was smashed, the light clusters were smashed, and the panels on the drivers side door were dented. He was unable to do anything other than lock himself in…." Davis and four others from Hungerford, London, Southamp-ton and Wolverhampton were all sentenced to 100 hours' community punishment and each ordered to pay £250 costs…. (story in archive)
Wolverhampton Express & Star 11.1.03 Huntsman terrified as protesters attack By David Banner - Five anti-hunt protesters, including a Wolverhampton man, attacked a huntsman's car while its terrified owner cowered inside, a court heard. The five men admitted affray at the Ferney Hunt in Leicestershire on March 9… Matthew Nott, 30, of Riches Street, Wolverhampton and four others from London, Swindon, Hungerford and Southampton, were all sentenced to 100 hours community punishment and each ordered to pay 250 pounds costs…. (story)
Nottingham Evening Post 10.1.03 HUNT-AFFRAY TRIAL COLLAPSE The trial has collapsed of a Nottingham woman accused of being part of a gang which chased and attacked a hunt supporter. Stephanie Fry, 21, of Ridding Terrace, was said to have been in a 12-strong gang of saboteurs which targeted a man before a hunt in Leicestershire in March last year. But Fry was bound over to keep the peace for a year. The development came after Baz Bhatia, prosecuting, was unable to continue the case for personal reasons…. Fry's co-accused, Charlotte Findall, 27, of Derby, was bound over for two years. Both had denied affray (story)
Nottingham Evening Post 8.1.03 HUNT ATTACK IS DENIED - A nottingham woman has gone on trial accused of being part of a gang which chased and attacked a hunt supporter in his car. Stephanie Fry, 21, is alleged, with another woman, to have been part of a saboteur group which targeted Gary Williams as he waited to watch the hunt…. Mr Bhatia said Mr Williams had parked on a lane near Laughton Hill when he noticed one of the Land Rovers pull up… Mr Williams attempted to drive off, but was in collision with a second Land Rover…. "It was plain both these Land Rovers appeared to try to box him in." Mr Bhatia said one of the Land Rovers "tailgated" Mr Williams. When he was forced to stop because of traffic around 12 people got out of the vehicles and attacked Mr Williams' Toyota…. The jury was told that five other people had admitted the offence and will be sentenced at the end of the trial. (story)
Derby Evening Telegraph 8.1.03 HUNT ATTACK DENIED A Derby woman has gone on trial accused of being part of a gang of hunt saboteurs who chased and attacked a hunt supporter in his car. Charlotte Findall (27), of Moor Street, Derby, is alleged to have been part of a saboteur group which targeted Gary Williams as he waited to see the Fernie Hunt in Leicestershire on March 9 last year…. The court heard that seven people were arrested in nearby woodland, including Findall and Stephanie Fry (21), of Nottingham. Both deny charges of affray. The trial continues (story)
Leicester Mercury 15.5.02 Hunt saboteurs facing trial Six hunt saboteurs accused of violent disorder in Market Harborough are to face trial at Leicester Crown Court…. Anthony Wells, prosecuting, said the charges related to an alleged incident at the meeting of the Fernie Hunt, near Laughton, on March 9. The defendants were Charlotte Findall (26), of Moore Street, Derby; Matthew Nott (29) of Riches Street, Wolverhampton; Karl Hedner (24) of Holloway Road, London N19; and Paul Davis (31) and Stephen Short (37), both of Coate Cottages, Swindon. The sixth defendant, Stephanie Fry (20), of Ridding Terrace, Nottingham, was unable to attend the hearing…. Another hunt saboteur Nathan Brown (30) of Portswood Road, Southampton pleaded not guilty to causing £1,800 criminal damage to a Toyota truck belonging to Gary Williams at Laughton on that day. (story may be in archive)

Liverpool Echo 27.1.03 IT IS amusing how the prospect of another war with Iraq has brought the old CND campaigners out of the woodwork again. Since the USSR went toes up and the Berlin Wall came down, they've been a bit short of a cause, and had to diversify into animal rights and anti-hunting. Now they are back in business, doing what they've always loved best, which is opposing the USA… G.W.R. Hunt, Bebington. (letter)

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 27.1.03 COUNTRYSIDE: Thousands bet on illegal bloodsport - UP to 30 people took part in a series of illegal hare coursing meets across Greater Peterborough. In what is thought to have been the biggest event in more than a year, gangs of men were betting thousands of pounds… Campaign group Countrywide Watch today confirmed that the event was illegal because the coursers had not been given permission to be on the land. The Government is currently trying to introduce a blanket ban on the sport. Hare coursers, who are well-known for trying to intimidate anyone who attempts to stop them, use mobile phones and the internet to tell each other about illegal meetings…. (story in archive)

BBC News Online 27.1.03 Lab protesters target wrong man - A Peterborough family claim they are being wrongly targeted by animal rights activists… protesting outside the headquarters of Huntingdon Life Sciences… But Barry Greenwood says stickers giving his name and address have been found near his home… they are mistakenly targeting his family because their home's previous owner had shares in the company…. (story)

Edinburgh Evening News 27.1.03 Is the meat-free diet for the chop? - Pamela Timms- ‘I WONDER, now, if vegetarianism is a type of eating disorder." Surprisingly, these are not, as you might think, the words of a BSE-addled, lifelong carnivore but of Philip Dundas who, until a couple of months ago was a strict vegetarian…. A recent survey by food organisation Realeat showed that in the past two years around 600,000 vegetarians have started eating meat again…. More worrying for the vegetarian movement, however, is that many lapsed vegetarians are finding they can actually feel better when they start to include meat in their diets again. This is perhaps not surprising as vegetarians often find it hard to get enough nutrients to stop them suffering from ailments such as anaemia, which is caused by a lack of iron in the diet…. (story) p>Telegraph 25.1.03 Villain or visionary? - Robert Uhlig meets Lord Haskins, rural tsar and most hated man in the countryside …. So why was the Liberty & Livelihood March, in which 470,000 people made clear their frustrations with the Government's rural policies, comprehensively ignored by the Government? "It was a fantastic march and yet it had no political impact. Very strange, but I think the messages being put out were confused, and the one message that came across strongest - hunting - was not buyable to the rest of the electorate. "The pictures of countryside people, who claimed to be poverty-stricken, going into clubs in Pall Mall for their lunch did not do the message any good. As soon as the MPs in London saw that, the March organisers lost the battle."… (story)

Telegraph 25.1.03 Country notebook: still up in the air - Germaine Greer has a novel idea for the safe return of stolen property …. Everyone thinks that because I'm against the ban I must like fox hunting and the people who do it. But I don't. I don't like foxes much either, but I dislike bans more than I dislike huntsmen or foxes. What I don't understand is why we have to create new crimes when we can't deal with the perpetrators of the old ones… Maybe what the Blairites like about making hunting a crime is that it will be pretty conspicuous. As the perpetrators will be on horseback in the open countryside, the police might actually be capable of tracking them down, catching them and arresting them. Our prisons can then fill up with huntsmen while the tiny minority of convicted burglars carry on burgling under the guise of community service…. (story)

Nottingham Evening Post 25.1.03 DOGFIGHT: EDWARD VERSUS MP NICK - LYNETTE PINCHESS - Edward Enfield - the father of TV comic Harry Enfield - is locked in a bitter war of words with a Notts MP. The row broke out after Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer wrote to The Times outlining his opposition to fox-hunting. Edward Enfield read the letter and took offence - as he is a strong supporter of hunting… And when he failed to get a proper reply he wrote a scathing attack on Dr Palmer in his column in The Oldie magazine… Dr Palmer said MPs are not allowed under House of Commons rules to correspond with non-constituents. He told the Evening Post he is not a fan of fishing for sport, but added there was zero probability of Commons action to ban it…. (story)

Times 25.1.03 Hare coursing - Mr Alun Michael tells us (letter, January 23) that the Hunting Bill now before Parliament sets two tests, utility and least suffering… He concludes by insisting there is nothing in this Bill that has any implication for shooting and fishing... When I reflected on his logic, I did not know whether to laugh or weep RICHARD ASSER, Tadmarton Manor, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 5TD.(letter)
Times 23.1.03 Hare coursing - Sir, Hare coursing (Dr Lewis Thomas’s letter, January 15) fails both of the two tests, utility and least suffering, set by the Hunting Bill which is now being considered by committee in the Commons. There may be a need to control the numbers of hares in certain locations to prevent damage to crops. But hare coursing does not pretend to be a means of pest control… This Government has no intention whatsoever of placing restrictions on the sports of angling and shooting. ALUN MICHAEL, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, SW1P 3JR (letter)
Times 15.1.03 Hare coursing as recreational sport - Sir, The Minister for Rural Affairs, Alun Michael, in his statement last month to the House (Hansard, December 3, col 757), stated specifically: “We have no intention whatsoever of placing restrictions on the sports of angling and shooting.” Hare coursing clearly falls into the same category as shooting or fishing, which are recreational sports… Judged therefore by the minister’s so-called “golden thread” of cruelty and utility, there can be no “incontrovertible evidence” to ban hare coursing if shooting and fishing are to remain unrestricted. Yours faithfully, LEWIS H. THOMAS, Smiths Cottage, North Heath, Chieveley, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8UA (letter)

NEW FOREST BUCKHOUNDS LETTER
Western Daily Press 25.1.03 HUNT FACTS ARE WRONG - In December, you published a letter from Roger Bell in defence of hunting with hounds in general and deer hunting in particular. In that letter, Mr Bell made some statements about the way the now-disbanded New Forest Buckhounds operated… Mr Bell states the hounds never touched the deer. I have film of the New Forest Buckhounds attacking the hunted deer on two separate occasions… The New Forest Hounds has lost some of its pack after the dogs were killed on the railway and on major roads in pursuit of the fox… It is ridiculous for Mr Bell to blame those who support a ban for the excesses that might be practised by aggrieved ex-hunters. If animals are more cruelly treated or drastically culled after a ban, as is happening now in Scotland, it merely demonstrates the depths to which humans can be brought when they steep themselves in hunting and killing for fun…. Frankie Horan New Forest Animal Protection Group Protect Our Wild Animals Christchurch Dorset (letter)
Newark Advertiser 20.12.02 Deer cull ROGER BELL, Southampton (Full address supplied.) (letter may only be on website for a week)
Worcester Evening News 19.12.02 Why the deer went into decline - ROGER BELL, Southampton. (letter in archive)
Western Daily Press 14.12.02 HUNTING AND THE NEW FOREST'S DEMISE - The New Forest has been a hunting forest for more than 1,000 years… The New Forest Buck Hounds hunted the fallow buck… Due to the selective nature of hound use, only weak or lame animals fail to escape…. Roger Bell Address supplied (letter)
Wiltshire Times 13.12.02 The worst enemies are those who claim to protect - THE New Forest has been a hunting forest for over 1,000 years, it is a national treasure…. When The New Forest Buck Hounds were disbanded in 1997 there were 3,500 head of fallow deer in the New Forest. By the end of this year the Forestry Commission will have culled the population to just 600 head… Whether you approve of hunting or not it is an inescapable truth that it is the best way of conserving their populations…. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED. (letter in archive)

Hull Daily Mail 25.1.03 SLAYINGS WERE A FOX'S DOING - Popular writer Ernie Teal today joins the Mail with his unique insight into country life. Don't miss his diary every Saturday from now on… Urban foxes, as I have stated many times in my column, have only one real predator to fear - the wheeled vehicle… Foxes have to kill other animals to eat for survival, but they also kill wantonly…. They are wanton killers, but that is how the creator intended them to be. As humans we also do more than our share of butchery… (story)

Bolton Evening News 25.1.03 Help us to end bears' misery - FURTHER to the picture of the freed Asiatic bear in the Bolton Evening News on December 17, a very informative heart-rending programme was shown on BBC television on January 2… Jill Robinson, Animals Asia Founder, first uncovered bear farming in 1993 and has worked tirelessly since then in an attempt to bring an end to this horrendously cruel practice… Bolton Support Group are dedicated fund raisers for this cause… B J Walker Stitch-mi-Lane Harwood, Bolton (letter in archive)

Bradford Telegraph & Argus 25.1.03 Bears say thanks - On behalf of the bears I would like to thank those of you who have given your signatures to my petition(s) to stop the cruel bear-bile farming in China… Wendy Tapsell, Redcar Road, Greengates (letter in archive)

Western Daily Press 25.1.03 I appeal to your readers not to buy toys or ornaments that are made of real fur. There seems to be an increased number of shops and stalls that are stocking kittens in a basket and other such products…. Jane Rowe Bicester Oxon (letter)

Oxford Mail 25.1.03 Sorry for that slur - Life-like toys in the form of cats, using real cat fur, are on sale in a stationery shop in Summertown, Oxford, and at a newsagents in Burford… In reply to your male correspondents demanding an apology for my suggestion that fur was formerly worn only by prostitutes, I apologise unreservedly. Surely, even most prostitutes would not sink that low. IAN JUDGE Staverton Road Oxford (letter in archive)

Oxford Mail 25.1.03 Disgusting industry Ralph Leavis states that if animal rights' campaigners cared more about children than animals, the killers of the tragic hit-and-run victim Ross Doyle would be in jail. Does he think we are a breed apart?... May I offer a challenge to Mr Leavis? Join us leafleting, on our stalls and on our demos when we stand in the cold at Dover docks, as transporters tear around the roundabout at full speed throwing the animals all over the place, then enter the dock to disgorge their pitiful cargo to hell. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED (letter in archive)

Telegraph 24.1.03 Peterborough - Tebbit the hawk - A written parliamentary question by Lord Tebbit has surfaced. It asks whether the Government's declared aim of culling Westminster's pigeons is "compatible with its policies towards animal rights and welfare"…. "They say that the pigeon is a pest, while presumably the fox is a cute, cuddly creature. If I stood in the middle of London with a 12-bore, shooting pigeons, there'd be terrible trouble. I wouldn't do it, of course, as it would prove the hawk was more efficient than me." (story)

Hexham Courant 24.1.03 LIVESTOCK BURIAL BAN CRITICISED - LIVESTOCK laws that will ban burial of fallen animals on-farm may force farmers to pile animal carcasses for disposal at farm gates. The European Union laws, set to come into force this April, will stop farmers from burying dead sheep from all but the most remote fields and fells on their farms… "In the past when animals died we would have had a pit where we could burn the carcasses and record it, or we could take them to the kennels, which would do a service for farmers by taking dead ewes and cattle, feeding them to the hounds and burning the rest. But even the kennels are under threat."… (story)

Chester Chronicle 27.1.03 ANDREW Rawling of the League Against Cruel Sports (Points of View, January 10) should be ashamed of himself for referring to, and raising comparisons with, the Nazi propaganda exponents when speaking about his pro-hunting opponents. The Chronicle should be ashamed of picking up the words for a cheap inf lammatory headline for the letter…. J MILLER Oldfield Road, Ellesmere Port (letter)
Chester Chronicle 20.1.03 I AM afraid I must take issue once again with the views expressed by Mr Rawling of the League Against Cruel Sports in last week's Points of View. I stand by the head count at the Mouldsworth Meet - there were nearly 80 on horses and between 220 and 240 foot supporters, counted by two different people… On Boxing Day, there were more protesters than riders but the number of supporters on foot (again in the 220 area) outnumbered the protesters by eight to one… On Boxing Day and again on New Year's Day, the three hunts which cover Cheshire (ourselves, Cheshire Hounds and Wynnstay) all met in Cheshire and the only time protesters appeared was at our Boxing Day fixture… ALEX PARK M F H Joint Master, Cheshire Forest Hunt
IT IS quite possible that Andrew Rawling of the League Against Cruel Sports (Points of View, January 10) was at a different hunt to that of Alex Park and the Cheshire Forest since there were Meets held at various locations by several hunts on the day in question!... The vitriolic rhetoric of Mr Rawling is illinformed and reminiscent of the more audacious Soviet propaganda of the Cold War era HUW ROWLANDS Warrington Road, Mickle Trafford (letter)
South Cheshire Chronicle 15.1.03 OVER the years we have become used to over-the-top propaganda spouted by the hunting fraternity. Cheshire Forest Hunt Joint Master Alex Park (Views, January 8, 'No show from the opponents of hunting') is no exception… ANDREW RAWLING League Against Cruel Sports, Cheshire (letter)
Chester Chronicle 13.1.03 OVER the years we have become used to over-the-top propaganda spouted by the hunting fraternity. Cheshire Forest Hunt Joint Master Alex Park… is no exception. He claimed more than 300 people turned out to see hounds on Christmas Eve, with very little opposition. He must have been at a different hunt to the one I attended!... On Boxing Day he claims 220 hunt supporters and 25 demonstrators. Again a completely ridiculous figure. In fact there were more protesters than riders…. ANDREW RAWLING League Against Cruel Sports (Cheshire), PO Box 796, Chester CH2 2XB (letter)
South Cheshire Chronicle 8.1.03 I SHOULD like to respond to the feature which you carried anticipating trouble at the hunt meets over the Christmas period. Despite a barrage of Press releases and Internet publicity from our opponents, we had a trouble-free series of meets and even those who created the publicity failed to appear! On Christmas Eve, a crowd of more than 300 supporters turned out to see hounds away from The Goshawk in Moulds-worth and there was not one protester present. On Boxing Day, we had more than 220 people out at The Duke of Portland in Lach Dennis and there was a small demonstration - about 25 people - at the meet. Finally, at our children's meet from The Dog Inn in Peover, we had more than 100 mounted and nearly twice as many on foot, and again no protesters…. ALEX PARK MFH Joint Master, The Kennels, Peover (letter)

Worcester Evening News 24.1.03 Anti-hunt MPs are out of step - I SEE Helen Smart (You Say, Monday, January 13) thinks anyone who supports hunting is undemocratic. If she looked at things a bit more carefully, she'd see that it's the MPs against hunting who are out of step with the majority of ordinary people…. If Helen Smart thinks hunting people are undemocratic, just watch Tony Blair take us into a war with Iraq without a vote in Parliament. Our MPs will stay at home and vote for a hunt ban so that our servicemen and women can return to a land fit for foxes, rats and rabbits. Now that's democracy at it's best. ALAN COOK, Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire. (letter in archive)

Western Daily Press 24.1.03 PARADOX OF HUNT BAN - Why is Helen Weeks content to allow foxes to hunt rabbits, but not content to allow dogs to hunt foxes, which have no other natural predator?... Helen Weeks states that licensing would be a betrayal of Labour voters and backbenchers and a slap in the face for democracy. A total ban of hunting would be a betrayal of foxes and other quarry species… Stephen Little Royal Crescent Bath (letter)
Western Daily Press 18.1.03 NO LICENCE FOR THIS KILLING - The pro-hunt MPs and peers, who are commissioning a study to investigate the use of guns on foxes, seek to delay and mislead, because it is based on the false premise that the fox is a pest and hunting is needed to control it… Far from being a threat, the fox can be a good friend to this country's farmers. It has been estimated that foxes save farmers in the region of £100million a year in agricultural damage by keeping the rabbit population down… Helen Weeks West Coker Somerset (letter)

Western Daily Press 24.1.03 IN DEFENCE OF THE FOX - I write in support of the letter written by Jane Rowe re the much maligned fox. During the foot-and-mouth crisis here in the Forest of Dean, 5,000 free roaming sheep were slaughtered. The lambs of the remaining, unshepherded ewes should have been easy pickings for the evil fox. And, if we are to believe the rantings of the hunting fraternity, we should not have had a sheep population at all…. I have seen a fox remove and bury a stillborn lamb from a field - but have never seen a fox attack or kill a live lamb… Name and address supplied (letter)

Cambridge News 24.1.03 Coursing can save hares From Mr S P Wilson, High Street, Little Willingham - … The gentleman says he saw hares caught for the Waterloo Cup in the 1980s. At that time thousands of hares were shot every year. But because of the beginning of the decline they were caught to help the population across the country. I make my answer very clear that if hares are caught for dogs to chase I will disagree with it because it is not fair to the hare…. If you want the hare to be extinct, ban hare coursing because farmers are not going to be dictated to by people who don’t know what is going on in the countryside in 2003… If Mr and Mrs Michalak want to save the hare, they should take notice of what I have written and not write like two spoilt children. (letter)
Cambridge News 8.1.03 Let’s have Coursing From Rod Norden, The Square, Stow-cum-Quy - YOU would think by reading MR S P Wilson’s letter (News, December 30) we are overrun with brown hares doing untold damage to the countryside… I would like to point out I don’t belong to any animal rights or nut-cutlet brigade and if hare coursing is going to be banned would it be possible for the powers who run the Country Fair held every August in Quy Park to spice it up a little this year and have some real live hare coursing in the main ring, so we all know what we are going to be missing… I can tell Mr Wilson not far from where he lives back in the early 80s I saw with my own eyes, all done above board, hares being netted to take north for the Waterloo Cup as there was a shortage of hares in the north that year… (letter)
Cambridge News 13.12.02 Hares are torn apart - From Mike and Ingrid Michalak, Swaffham Road, Burwell - MARK Prescott and Charles Blanning’s defence of hare coursing (News, December 5) made interesting reading. Killing hares may not be the object of coursing but hundreds are caught, many ending up in a living tug of war between two greyhounds… (letter)

Whitehaven News 23.1.03 A WAY OF LIFE IS CHANGING - "I LIKE wild places and the people who live in them - they have to be rugged," so says Willy Poole, described as one of England's last few remaining characters in an age of political correctness. He likes to speak his mind and what's more he likes to air his views to whoever will watch or listen. And so he does in Willy's World 2 - his second video portrait "of a country way of life that is fast disappearing". And when it includes fox hunting, deer stalking and the like some will say "good for that"…. Fox and trail hounds figure prominently. There can be no finer sight, or sound, as the packs give chase and voice. Fine, sleek horses, adorable terriers, puppy shows. Filmed in the Borders, Northumberland and the Cheviots, it's all there in 60 minutes of compulsive viewing and parts of it are not for the squeamish…. Copies of Willy's World 2 can be obtained for £13.99 plus £2.60 p&p from Studio Arts Television, P.O. Box 405, Aylesbury, HP22 4WH. Also from website www.willypoole.com (story)

Bath Chronicle 23.1.03 IT'S NOT ONLY WELL OFF PEOPLE WHO GO HUNTING - Badger diggers claim to be digging for foxes, says David Thomas (Letters, January 11). As usual, David Thomas is attempting to ride his hobby horse - this is not about digging, he is diametrically opposed to foxhunting as all his previous letters have indicated. He blatantly states that cruel pastimes like fox-hunting would have been illegal decades ago had it not been for a misinformed public. Get real, Mr Thomas. It is, sadly, people like you who are misinformed due to your bigotry… DUNCAN WARRINER Neston Road, Corsham (letter)
(from Bath Chronicle website) 17.1.03 CRUEL SPORTS HAVEN'T ENDED - Cruel pastimes like fox hunting would have been illegal decades ago, had it not been for a misinformed public…. As long as fox-hunting is legal it is difficult to prosecute illegal badger baiters/diggers because when caught they claim they were digging for fox. Badger baiters being part of the fox hunting culture, having close links with the terrier men, who all share an interest in pitting their dogs against fox or badger… DAVID THOMAS Hisomley Wiltshire (letter)
(from Bath Chronicle website) 13.1.03 HUNTING IS CRUEL AND NEEDLESS - Cruel pastimes like foxhunting would have been illegal decades ago had it not been for a misinformed public. This has been due to the fact that the so called Broadcasting Complaints Commission says the establishment bias towards cruel-sports especially, within the BBC, was behind their jurisdiction. Because as long as foxhunting is legal, it is difficult to prosecute illegal badger baiters/diggers because when caught they claim they were digging for fox…. DAVID THOMAS Hisomley Westbury (letter)

Evesham Journal 23.1.03 Food for thought in the hunting debate - WITH regard to Lewis Potter's offal letter last week, vainly seeking to justify the freedom to kill wild animals with trained hounds as a Field Sport. It clearly failed to understand that the meat of freedom requires responsibility for it's proper digestion!... MICHAEL PARKER, Grange Cottage, Main Street, Sedgeberrow (letter in archive)
Evesham Journal 23.1.03 Depressing familiar language of the hunt - IT was with a mixture of sadness and disgust that I read the latest outburst from your correspondent Mr Lewis Potter. Such expressions as `liberty' and `freedom of choice' are depressingly familiar language coming from the mouths of the hunting and shooting fraternity…. the blood `sports' fraternity, who are lacking in the slightest vestiges of humanity, compassion or decency. MALCOLM GREEN, Fountain Court, Waterside, Evesham. (letter in archive)
Evesham Journal 16.1.03 Don't understand the real taste of life? - AH, a New Year and a volley of seasonal greetings from the anti-hunters ringing in the pages of last week's Journal. A fine winters fare indeed of inaccuracy and half truths seasoned with just a little spite…. Away with your grey miserable gruel Misses Moyse and White. Go find the kitchen of real democracy and look up a meal called Freedom of Choice. LEWIS POTTER, Pershore Road, Evesham. (letter)
Evesham Journal 9.1.03 Ancient and pointless event - I AM disgusted that a report on the number of spectators who turned out to watch The North Cotswold Hunt was included in the January 2 issue of the Journal… I am not proud to be part of a community which takes part in and supports this ancient and pointless exercise. MISS ZOE WHITE, Church Lane, Pinvin (letter in archive)
Evesham Journal 9.1.03 Season of goodwill to all for all things? - I AM writing in response to the article featured in last week's Journal concerning the `Hunt Meet' on Boxing Day in Broadway and Kineton. For numerous, consecutive years myself and many friends have protested in peace against hunting with hounds in Broadway… I feel obliged to explain why I failed to protest this year and it is because of the sole reason that I feared for my safety. Being a young female, male hunters have on occasion directed their anger towards me in aggressive manner… MISS CHARLOTTE MOYSE, Abbot Chryrtons Place, Evesham. (letter in archive)
Evesham Journal 2.1.03 Record crowds for hunt meets RECORD crowds turned out to see the hunt on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, in the wake of the controversial parliamentary debate over the sport's future. The North Cotswold Hunt met in Kineton and Broadway and was surrounded by good-natured supporters…. In the run-up to Christmas the League Against Cruel Sports was urging anti-hunt supporters to turn out and demonstrate, although it is believed only about six turned up in the Cotswolds… (story in archive)

Northampton Chronicle 23.1.03 Anglers should take responsibility - While walking by the canal at Bugbrooke Wharf on Thursday, January 16, I was shocked to discover a dead robin entangled with hook and line on a branch… When will the anglers and angling clubs responsible for this menace to our wildlife behave decently and see it is removed? M Hindson, Park Drive, Northampton (letter)

COUNTRYSIDE PARTY LETTER
North West Evening Mail 23.1.03 GIVING A VOICE TO THE COUNTRYSIDE - RICHARD ORMROD Countryside Party Treasurer The Croft, Sunnyside Culloden Moor Inverness (letter)
Derby Evening Telegraph 22.1.03 CHANCE TO STAND FOR ELECTION - Richard Ormrod, Countryside Party treasurer, The Croft, Sunnyside, Culloden Moor, Inverness, IV2 5EE (letter)
Torquay Herald Express 20.1.03 CHAMPIONS OF COUNTRYSIDE - I am writing to introduce The Countryside Party to your readers. This party was created specifically for the purpose of giving the people who live, work and "play" in the countryside an opportunity to obtain a voice in the democratic process that was not provided by the existing political parties… RICHARD ORMROD The Countryside Party Culloden Moor Inverness (letter)

Whitehaven News 23.1.03 TRAILING WORLD MOURNS LADY BANDRESS - LADY Bandress, the HTA's record-breaking hound, is dead - and the last of her pups will be running in the 2003 season…. (story)

Daily Record 23.1.03 Sick hobby - I WATCHED a news report this week on badger baiting in the Borders. What kind of people get enjoyment from watching a trapped animal being ripped apart by blood- thirsty dogs?... W. Campbell, Renfrew. (letter)

Cambridge News 23.1.03 Animal activists in court - FIFTEEN animal rights protesters have appeared in court accused of a public order offence during a demonstration in Cambridge last month… in relation to a demonstration against Cambridge University's plans to build a primate research centre at Huntingdon Road, Girton… (story)
Cambridge News 21.1.03 Eight more charged over march - POLICE have charged eight more people in connection with an illegal animal rights march through Cambridge last month… The eight charged yesterday were Dawn Hurst, 30, from Bolton, Kate Jones, 22, from Liverpool, Thomas Harris, 19, from Eversham, Francis Cornwell, 54, from Milton Keynes, Dennis Smith, 30, from Bournemouth, Karen Currie, 34, from Bournemouth, Paula Diment, 35, from Elizabeth Terrace, Wisbech and a 16-year-old boy from Solihull…. (story in archive)
Cambridge News 4.1.03 Brave stand on HLS - From Kathleen King, Selwyn Road Cambridge - DIANE Gracey’s letter (News, December 7) in support of the work carried out by such organisations as Huntingdon Life Sciences was well reasoned and made valid points… Please thank Diane Gracey for her letter (letter)
Cambridge News 9.12.02 Animal rights demo members arrested - POLICE arrested 18 animal rights campaigners during a day of protest in Cambridgeshire yesterday. Up to 200 people were involved in demonstrations at Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) near Alconbury and outside 307 Huntingdon Road, Girton – the site of Cambridge University’s proposed primate research centre. The protests were part of a day of action by animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), which aims to close down HLS to mark the firm’s half-century. Protester John Woods said: “We went to Girton with the idea of putting pressure on the proposed new laboratory… (story)
Anglia TV 9.12.02 Animal rights protesters arrested - 18 animal rights protesters have been arrested for public order offences after staging unauthorised protests in Cambridge… (story)
Cambridge News 7.12.02 Hear silent protest From Diane Gracey, Carrick Close, Cambridge - I WAS distressed and angered to read in the News (December 3) that SHAC is planning a national event at HLS on Sunday at noon. As a sufferer from an, as yet, incurable disease, multiple sclerosis, I think that SHAC is quite wrong in its propaganda and activities… In July, SHAC mounted a demonstration on Parker’s Piece. I mounted my own, lone protest at the event, displaying a notice stating why I was there, what my views were and why I was so opposed to SHAC… I would like to turn out on Sunday to mount yet another lone protest. But my MS makes me unable to tolerate the cold… As you watch reports of the event, or read about it in the press,remember the many millions like me who can’t be there because they are too ill. They will be a silent and invisible presence – but, I hope, a far, far more powerful one. (letter)
Cambridge News 3.12.02 Police prepared for HLS demonstrators - POLICE are bracing themselves for a week of demonstrations against Huntingdon Life Sciences. The animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) is holding a worldwide week of action against the company to mark the 50th anniversary of HLS's formation…. (story)

Cambridge News 23.1.03 Animal line fills a gap - From Joan Court St Matthew’s Cat Collective Sturton Street Cambridge - I AM SO SORRY I have confused and annoyed Diane Gracey by writing letters representing different organisations (Letters, January 9). Perhaps I should just explain about the animal helpline in case she ever hears of anyone needing advice or support on animal-related matters. It is similar to the Samaritans… Oh dear – you and I disagree about animal experiments. I have read the scientific evidence and, as you know, I have come to the conclusion that these experiments are flawed… People do shy away if one compares animal torture with the Holocaust, but cruelty is involved in animal experimentation and, alas, we have clear evidence that human beings are capable of unimaginable torture to all sentient beings, human and non-human.We deny this at our peril. (letter)
Cambridge News 17.1.03 Stop lab suffering From Miss W M Reynolds, Gog Magog Hills, Babraham - I WOULD like to reply to Diane Gracey (Letters, January 9), who rightly denounced Ms Court’s likening of experiments on primates to the horrors of Nazi and Japanese war-time research…. In the light of the knowledge we now have, to proceed with experiments on primates is surely on a par with conducting them upon a slave race.Valuable results, the old “the end justifies the means” argument, would not, in my opinion, make the research morally justifiable… I do wonder why the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty group should consider it such a triumph to close down the Huntingdon Research Centre when the members must know that the research would be transferred to America, where the laboratory animals involved would lose even the meagre protection they have at Huntingdon. (letter)
Cambridge News 9.1.03 Nothing like Nazi horrors - From Diane Gracey Carrick Close Cambridge - THE letters from Joan Court which have appeared in Letters have come from an array of organisations. On December 30 she wrote on behalf of “Animals, People and the Environment”; on 10 August, “Animal Rights, Cambridge”; on July 15 “X-CAPE (Cambridge Against Primate Experiments)”. To complicate matters still more her letter of December 30 tells us she runs an animal helpline sponsored by “The Quaker Concern for Animals”… In her December 30 letter she picks up a theme she first voiced in her letter of August 10: that research involving animals is actually and morally equivalent to the horrors inflicted by Nazi doctors on Jewish victims in places such as Auschwitz…. The headline you inserted above her letter of December was “Let’s plan to be moral”. I have no argument with that, provided it is a valid morality, and not the vapourings of Ms Court and her kind. (letter in archive)

Times 23.1.03 Docking dogs' tails - Why do puppies scream when their tails are docked, if it causes no pain (letter, January 20)? After 25 years in veterinary practice, I have seen very few severe tail injuries in dogs. Is it justified to dock perhaps 1,000 pups to prevent a possible tail injury in one?... E. MORGAN JONES, 20 Birchwood Drive, Lower Peover, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 9QJ (letter)

Bath Chronicle 23.1.03 PIGEONS PUT ON THE SPOT - Special feeding zones may be introduced in Trowbridge to combat the problems posed by pigeons in the town centre… The Trowbridge Pigeon Control Initiative partnership will now draw up an action plan to include extensive consultation with local residents, using the advice given yesterday by the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PICAS)… PICAS director, Guy Merchant, said: "The meeting has been very constructive…" (story)
Bath Chronicle 20.1.03 EXPERTS TO CLEAR UP PIGEON PROBLEMS - The dilemma of what to do with nuisance birds in Trowbridge will be the topic of the day when business and civic leaders meet tomorrow… Now Guy Merchant, the director of the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PICAS), is set to join local people at tomorrow's seminar to look at possible solutions. PICAS is a non-profit making organisation which advises on all aspects of non-lethal bird control, but specialising in the control of pigeons…. (story)

Rugby Advertiser (23.1.03) THE COMPASSIONATE SPIRIT OF JILL LIVES ON - THE memorial date for the tragic death of Jill Phipps is February 1. Jill died while actively protesting against the export of calves from Baginton airport…. The spirit of Jill, with her compassion, empathy and kindness lives on and those who are sickened by this mindless violation of animal rights. Have your say! Please write to your MP and MEP. Janet Cummings, Tower Road, Rugby (letter)

Oxford Mail 22.1.03 Hunt says sorry for trespass - A hunt has apologised for riding over a military training ground. Members of the Bicester Hunt with Whaddon Chase and a pack of hounds went on to the Ministry of Defence site off Widnell Lane, Piddington, on January 16… POWA spokesman Penny Little, pictured, said: "We can only wonder how many trespasses by the hunt go unobserved and unreported…" Hunt secretary Robert Vallance explained that members had met at Corble Farm, near Brill, and accidentally went on to about 50 acres of rough land that the Army uses for training. Mr Vallance said: "We have apologised to the MoD for any incursion on their land or embarrassment we might have caused… (story in archive)

Bradford Telegraph & Argus 22.1.03 The writer who suggested that the desire to see bloodsports criminalised was a Left-wing plot will be glad to know that I've taken the liberty of sending his letter (T&A, January 9) direct to such pillars of the Right as Teddy Taylor and Ann Widdecombe… Sid Brown, Glenhurst Road, Shipley (letter in archive)

Gloucester Citizen 22.1.03 TRADITIONS GONE - We have recently revoked two traditions - the exclusiveness of male clergy and a crackdown on hunting. I wonder what will be next? Christmas, Bonfire Night, pantomimes, losing the Ashes?... ARTHUR DAVIS London Road Gloucester (letter)

Huddersfield Daily Examiner 22.1.03 Greyhound track plan attacked in petition By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner - GREYHOUND lovers are campaigning to halt plans for a dog racing track in Dewsbury. Plans for a greyhound track to be built on land owned by Kirklees Council and leased by Dewsbury Rams Rugby League Club near their ground at Owl Lane were revealed last November… The Tia Greyhound Rescue group, of Sowerby Bridge, is spearheading a campaign run by Kidderminster-based group Greyhound Action to stop the track being built. Tia volunteer Susan Dawson organised the petition and was presenting it to a full Kirklees Council meeting today…. (story)

Western Daily Press 22.1.03 MPS TO PROBE BADGER RISKS - Mps are to hold a new inquiry into the supposed link between badgers and the spread of bovine tuberculosis, it was revealed last night. Stroud Labour MP David Drew will chair the investigation, which will be carried out by a sub-committee of the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee… (story)

Western Daily Press 21.1.03 UNFAIR TO THE COUNTRYSIDE - Roy Franklin keeps telling us what a countryside loving person he is. I don't believe him. In his last letter he urged anyone against hunting not to support businesses and farmers who are in favour of it. After all we farmers and rural businesses have gone through in the past few years, I find this callous…. C Weir Bridgwater Somerset (letter)
Western Daily Press 8.1.03 TIME TO HURT THE HUNTERS - May I ask all Western Daily Press readers who agree that hunting animals to their deaths is cruel, to consider participating in an economic boycott of all businesses that are connected either to hunting, or benefit hunt supporters in any shape or form. This could be farmers who allow the hunt on their land, blacksmiths, hotels and pubs used or owned by the hunt or its supporters, linked equestrian events, vehicle sales or companies who have hunt shareholders…. Here in Bridgwater, for example, an estate agent I sold a house through turned out to be a keen hunter… Roy Franklin Bridgwater Somerset (letter)

Western Morning News 21.1.03 Needless violence - UNFORTUNATELY the ditherings of the Government have caused the hunting debate to rear it's ugly head once more.… The fact that it will take law and legislation to stop hunting brings disgrace on the people who degrade themselves by taking part in this pastime. Kevin Gaveney Newton Abbot (letter)

Western Morning News 21.1.03 LEAGUE HAS NO SOLUTIONS TO MANAGE DEER HERDS - The views of Paul Tillsley on deer conservation (WMN, December 11) might carry more weight if one were able to dissociate him from the fate of the 107 unfortunate animals that perished in the Baronsdown "sanctuary" in 12 months. Those that had not starved to death had to be dispatched. All this goes to show that the League Against Cruel Sports does not work for the welfare of animals. It campaigns against people…. The league shows no inclination or competence to manage the populations that accumulate on land under Mr Tillsley's control, so the opinions of its representatives should be treated as irrelevant. J Ward-Hayne Modbury, Devon (letter)
Western Morning News 13.12.02 HUNT'S IMPORTANCE TO AREA - I write with regard to the letter by Paul Tillsley - "Two sides to the story of hunting"… My late half-brother was the retained lawyer of the League Against Cruel Sports, and during one case to be heard in the Exmoor area, he decided, prior to the hearing, to do a few days research on the hunt and the people who lived in the locality. His investigations proved to be quite the opposite to Paul Tillsley's statements. There was barely a person in the whole area who did not have some connection with hunting. Roy Williams, Callington (letter)

Worcester Evening News 21.1.03 Some facts about the fox - RATHER than Maurice Brett being confused, I consider it is P King. He challenges Mr Brett to produce facts then, when he does, he says he's confused. If P King watched David Attenborough's programme The Life of Mammals, he'd have learnt some facts about the fox…. Another interesting fact that emerged from the programme was that the red fox is the nation's favourite mammal… MARION J LARGE, Lower Wick, Worcester (letter in archive)
Worcester Evening News 8.1.03 Confused by practical matters of hunting IN his letter (You Say, Tuesday, December 24) Maurice Brett has obviously become very confused by the practical matters involved in hunting… Mr Brett is leading figure in POWA (Protect our Wild Animals) and is very adept at selectively quoting from the independent Burns report on hunting to promote its anti-hunting campaign. This is strange, as POWA twice failed to submit any evidence to Burns, yet suddenly its member have become experts on a report they previously shunned. P KING, Bransford, Worcester (letter in archive)
Worcester Evening News 24.12.02 A compromising situation - I AM surprised that P King denies that the disembowelling of foxes by foxhounds is a frequent cause of their death (You Say, December 11)… And as for the incidents of fox and deer disembowelling I reported recently, P King need only look on the Hunt Saboteurs website for photographic evidence and the vet's report. MAURICE BRETT, Bromsgrove (letter in archive)
Worcester Evening News 11.12.02 It has failed to register - THE latest letter from Maurice Brett (You Say, November 27) claims to have horrific evidence of the protracted death a fox must suffer when caught and killed by hounds. The truth is he has no evidence that this happens, carefully avoiding specific references by using the words "likely" "apparently" and "guess."… The support for fox control and hunting by the majority of veterinary surgeons has been mentioned in the Evening News on several occasions, a fact that has singularly failed to register with Mr Brett. P KING, Bransford, Worcestershire. (letter in archive)
Worcester Evening News 27.11.02 Horrific nature of the kill - THE horrific nature of hunting wild animals with dogs was once again confirmed by post-mortem evidence last month. Hunt protesters, having retrieved the remains of a fox killed by foxhounds, took them to a vet for post-mortem… Any attempt by the Government to preserve hunting in any form would be licensed cruelty of the worst kind…. MAURICE BRETT, Protect Our Wild Animals, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire (letter in archive)

Western Mail 21.1.03 Greater controls on air guns `pointless and unfair' - Andrew Clarke Newsdesk@Wme.Co.Uk, The Western Mail - The National Newspaper Of Wales - THE Countryside Alliance has criticised as "pointless and unfair" the Government's intention to tighten restrictions on air-gun ownership. The Alliance has called on Home Secretary David Blunkett to "address the real issues on gun crime and misuse rather than place further restrictions on responsible and legal firearm owners". The director of the Campaign for Shooting, Nigel Davenport, said, "Victimising law-abiding people who own and use air weapons properly does nothing to reduce gun misuse by the criminal fraternity… (story)
Western Mail 21.1.03 Air weapon attacks against animals on the increase - Elin-Angharad Davies Rspca, The Western Mail - The National Newspaper Of Wales - AIR weapon cruelty against animals has undoubtedly been on the increase in both the urban and countryside areas of Wales over the past year with scores of mindless attacks on pets and wildlife being reported to the RSPCA… (story)

Guardian21.1.03 Tests on animals vital for science – minister - Centre to research alternative methods 'worth exploring' - James Meek, science correspondent - Animal experiments remain essential for medical advances, human welfare, and protection of the environment, the government declared yesterday in an unequivocal endorsement that will please many scientists and anger animal rights activists. However, the government backed the idea of a British research centre on alternatives to scientific use of animals…. Michelle Thew, chief executive of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, said: "The government's statement today calls for more consultation on freedom of information for animal experiments, when action on this issue is already long overdue…" (story)
Times 21.1.03 All tests on animals must be published - BY MARK HENDERSON, SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT AND VALERIE ELLIOTT, COUNTRYSIDE EDITOR - DETAILS of every animal experiment conducted in Britain will have to be published for the first time, the Government announced yesterday…. (story)
Western Daily Press 21.1.03 MINISTER BACKS ANIMAL TESTING - The Government yesterday gave its support to animal experiments… Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth said: "The Government agrees with the finding that animal experiments are necessary to develop human and veterinary medicine and to protect humans and the environment…" (story)
Ananova 20.1.03 Government backs experimenting on animals - The Government has given its support to experimenting on animals. The pledge follows a report published by an all party select committee of peers which said animal experiments are needed to make medical progress… (story)

Western Morning News 21.1.03 THE BIBLE HAS NEVER BACKED THE VEGETARIAN - The attack against the authenticity of the Christian Gospels, by H Lancre, should be viewed in the light of evidence provided by the Old Testament… Clearly the matter of vegetarianism is not a matter of Christian teaching, but entirely of personal choice. H D Branton Redruth (letter)
Western Morning News 7.1.03 TRUE CHRISTIANITY LIES IN HOW WE LIVE LIFE … Most of those who profess themselves to be Christians don't know the meaning of the word… Many of the beautiful teachings of true Christianity as originally taught by Jesus - boundless love, reverence for all creation, vegetarianism/veganism, anti-hunting, teetotalism, the honouring of women etc - were altered and suppressed to court popularity and make Constantine's new super religion, Roman Catholicism - with which he hoped to unite all the peoples of the Empire - more acceptable to the meat-eating, hunt-loving, alcohol-drinking, chauvinistic pagan masses of the day…. H Lancre St Austell (letter)

Western Daily Press 20.1.03 CALL THIS GOOD MANAGEMENT? - In response to a letter by Ian Gruncell, I take issue yet again with the assumption by hunt supporters that they are the only people with a true understanding of the countryside and its management. Foot-and-mouth disease, BSE, bovine tuberculosis, swine fever, scrapie, soil erosion, river pollution, irresponsible pesticide use; do farmers among them really have a deep understanding. guardians of the countryside? I don't think so… I will, though, take his advice and boycott food produced by farmers who hunt, or allow hunting on their land. I do not wish to subsidise bullies who torment and kill wild animals just to satisfy their blood lust. S Harding Wellington Somerset (letter)
Western Daily Press 7.1.03 LAND GRAB THAT CHANGED THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE FOR EVER I refer to the letter from Ian Gruncel - How Hunting Helped To Shape Countryside. The countryside as we know it was not formed by the Normans but came about from 1785-1815 when greedy, grasping upper-class landowners, not satisfied with the land they already owned, snatched the land from the common people… Mr Gruncel talks of the wonderful hedges, woods and clean rivers that the blood sport fraternity have bequeathed to us. Perhaps he would care to explain then why the vast majority of ancient hedges, woodland, pastureland and bogs have been destroyed by the same hunting landowners who claim to be the guardians of the countryside?... P Richardson Cirencester Gloucestershire (letter)
Western Daily Press 7.1.03 CONTROL IN HANDS OF FEW While I agree with Ian Gruncel that control of the countryside was governed by Norman warlords, this was solely for the benefit of themselves and not the English people or their natural wildlife… It seems strange to me that with the advancement of modern ideals, some members of our society still try to hold on to ancient practices. These people, even now, like to control, not for the conservation of species or the environment, but for profit, sport and financial control…. M J Haines Cirencester Gloucestershire (letter)
Western Daily Press 30.12.02 HOW HUNTING HELPED TO SHAPE COUNTRYSIDE - In response to the constant stream of letters from the anti-hunt brigade I would like to respond with some facts. The whole structure of the British countryside as we know it, and which makes us the envy of tourists worldwide, is almost entirely due to the fact that it has been managed by the hunting, shooting and fishing members of our society… I do not hunt or shoot (although I do fish) and I was proud to have attended the Countryside March along with nearly 408,000 others… Please don't put such a large section of law abiding society in a position where they must be classed as criminals in order to defend their civil liberty. Ian Gruncel Dilton Marsh Wiltshire (letter)

Evening Standard 20.1.03 London's killing fields By Tom Coghlan, Evening Standard - An urban fox lies dead at a marksman's feet. He has just fired a bolt through its brain… The scene is played out at a large house in Wimbledon - and today it is being repeated all over London. Nearly 9,000 foxes were shot in streets and gardens last year alone…. The cull was revealed after the Evening Standard tracked down the hunter who is paid thousands of pounds a year to snuff out the London fox…. "What I do is control a nasty problem. There is one fox for every 15 yards in London today. We get 80 calls for help a day. People complain of the foul smell, of pet rabbits and guinea pigs being killed, of foxes messing everywhere…" (story)

Cambridge News 20.1.03 Demonstrators march - A PROTEST against a new primate testing laboratory in Girton passed off peacefully on Saturday with meditation and prayers. The group Meditate to Liberate, which was set up as an alternative to other animal rights groups with reputations for violence, gathered at the proposed site of the Cambridge University lab on Huntingdon Road…. The event's organiser, Patrick Brown, a Buddhist from Leicestershire, said: "We are just trying to provide an alternative for the many people that are against animal experiments…" One protester, Arthur Keighley, from Cambridge, heard about the protest from emails sent by a network of Animal Liberation Front activists…. Jean Parker, a Buddhist from Kingston, near Cambridge, said: "I don't think this will achieve very much because the decision is with the Government and I think they will probably back the university…." Pam Sephton, a Catholic from Girton, said: "I just can't bear the thought of animals in cages and people doing experiments on them…" Maxine Kaye, from Peterborough, who has raised hundreds of pounds for Wood Green Animal Shelter with sponsored walks and other activities, went to the protest with her two daughters…. (story)

Oxford Mail 20.1.03 Animal rights protesters tell story of farm fight - Animal rights campaigners who fought to close a cat breeding business near Witney have published a book based on the battle. The book, A Cat in Hell's Chance, has been compiled by campaigner Anny Malle and is based almost exclusively on protesters' accounts of the 30-month long campaign against Hillgrove Farm at Minster Lovell… (story in archive)

Western Daily Press 20.1.03 CARLA MOVES TO SAVE COWS Animal-lover Carla Lane has stepped in to save cows at a West farm where six animals have already died, it emerged yesterday… The farmer, Richard Cox, was found guilty of two offences of animal cruelty in December 2001 (story)

Western Daily Press 20.1.03 PROFIT AND TRADE GOES BEFORE ANIMAL PLIGHT The welfare of billions of animals is in jeopardy, because profit and trade is put first. Compassion In World Farming is leading a global campaign to ensure that ethical and moral considerations such as animal protection take priority…Louise Piddington Welsford Avenue Stoke Plymouth (letter)

Chester Evening Leader 20.1.03 Move to clean up pigeons problem - CABINET members have approved measures to deal with Chester’s troublesome pigeon population…. The city council has worked with the Pigeon Control Advisory Service, a charity group, which has advised the council on humane ways to tackle the problem… (story in archive)

Bedford Times & Citizen 20.1.03 MAYOR RULES OUT GEESE CULL - Bedford Mayor Frank Branston has ruled out a cull to deal with the growing gaggle of geese on the Embankment. Instead the borough boss has backed a £21,000 package of measures aimed at minimising the mess and nuisance caused by the birds… pest expert Guy Merchant, director of the Pigeon Control Advisory Service, said: "The only way to deal with the numbers problem in Bedford and we have told the council this is to 'oil' the eggs with pharmaceutical paraffin solution…" (story in archive)

Sunday Times 19.1.03 Letters to the Editor: Ban snares - Congratulations on your article exposing the horrific injuries and agonising deaths caused by snares to wild and domestic animals and, even more worryingly, to endangered species such as the capercaillie (News, January 5). I would, however, have to agree with Bert Burnett (Letters, last week) that the ban on foxhunting has not led to a rise in the use of snares. Indeed, as expected, shooting has proved much more effective than hunting with hounds… Lynne Mitchell, Dollar, Clackmannanshire (letter)
Scotland on Sunday 12.1.03 Fox snare threat RE your story ‘Capercaillie face fox snare threat’… there is absolutely no evidence to support claims that gamekeepers are setting any more snares than they were 20 years ago; in fact there are fewer gamekeepers on less land! Scotland’s fox population has increased by 20,000% since 1970… The principal reasons for the capercaillie’s decline are climate change and excessive predation. Bert Burnett, Scottish Gamekeepers Association (letter)
Sunday Times 5.1.03 Foxhunting ban leads to rise in snared wildlife MARK MACASKILL AND DONALD COLLINS THE future of the capercaillie, one of Scotland’s most endangered species of birds, is being threatened by snares set by landowners to catch foxes. A rise in the use of the traps since foxhunting was banned earlier this year has resulted in more of the birds being caught and killed… (story)
Scotland on Sunday 5.1.03 Capercaillie face fox snare threat - JEREMY WATSON - SCOTLAND’S most endangered bird - the capercaillie - is being threatened by a huge rise in the number of fox snares being set by gamekeepers… (story)

Sunday Times 19.1.03 Dogs and cats feed boom in fur trade - NICHOLAS HELLEN SOCIAL AFFAIRS EDITOR - FUR TAKEN from dogs and cats is being imported by the British fashion trade as the vogue for fur-lined garments continues to boom, prompting ministers to launch a crackdown…. Nick Palmer, Labour MP for Broxtowe, said the labelling initiative was the first step to a statutory ban on cat and