June 2006

(*)- added since last update

Hexham Courant 30.6.06 Death threats and nasty phone calls all in day’s work By BRIAN TILLEY - CHARACTERS don’t come much bigger than Richard Dodd – and even he’s not as big as he used to be. For the larger-than-life countryside campaigner, farmer, thespian and former councillor has just shed four stones on a diet…. But there’s still no mistaking the affable Northern regional director of the Countryside Alliance. He’s forever on the television, the radio or his soapbox, promoting the way of life he has always held dear…. (story)

Hexham Courant 30.6.06 Helping hands at Alliance event By WILL GREEN - SINCE the county rally its been all go for Stamfordham YFC…. Looking to the future, it has been asked to help out at the Countryside Alliance Ball, on July 8, at Belsay Hall. This will once again help to raise valuable funds for the club…. (story)

Western Daily Press 30.6.06 IGNORE THE LAWS YOU DON'T LIKE - I Do wish that Giles Bradshaw and his hooray Henry friends would accept that hunting dumb wild animals just for fun, is a travesty for many of us in the countryside - in fact, for a big majority… Bob Andrews Somerset (letter)

Western Daily Press 30.6.06 A DISREGARD FOR ALL WILDLIFE - The only possible outcome of the pro-hunt demo at the wildlife sanctuary on Exmoor will be to highlight the typically insensitive and self-serving behaviour of hunt supporters, and generate even more condemnation of them. This is an extremely delicate time of the year with birds still nesting and young of all kinds just finding their feet… Gill Purser Cheltenham Gloucestershire (letter)

Western Daily Press 30.6.06 OH DEER - HUNTING BAN PROTEST IS A DAMP SQUIB (JUNE 26) - Sensible deer - they are blessed with survival instincts and mechanisms and there are reasons why "Bambi" wears a spotted coat until he is old enough to protect himself! Giles has simply made a fool of himself… K Watson Cheshire (letter)

Gloucester Citizen or Gloucestershire Echo 30.6.06 VEGGIE-LOVERS CAN FIND OUT MORE - Tomorrow, Gloucester: A celebration of all things vegetarian takes place at Gloucester's GL1 leisure centre tomorrow. At Gloucestershire Veggie Fair visitors can get information on vegetarian and vegan lifestyles…. (letter)
Gloucester Citizen 22.6.06 VEG OUT AT FAYRE - Ever thought about becoming a veggie? For many people the very idea of giving up the meat roast and two veg for a nut cutlet is unthinkable. But growing numbers are turning their backs on meat products and becoming vegetarians or vegans. Now the first ever Gloucestershire Veggie Fayre is being held in the county to showcase this alternative way of eating…. Gloucestershire Veggie Fayre organiser Chris Dowdeswell, of Midland Road, Gloucester, has been a vegan for about a year and a half…. (story)
Gloucester Citizen 9.6.06 COME ALONG TO VEGGIE FEAST - The countdown is on to Gloucester's first vegetarian food festival. The Gloucestershire Veggie Fayre is at GL1 Leisure Centre on July 1, starting at 9.30am… For more information or to enter a competition to win an iPod, visit www.veggiefayre.co.uk or contact Chris from Action Vegans! (story)

Yorkshire Post 30.6.06 Keep ban on whaling From: Horace A Parkinson, Mowbray Road, South Common, Thorne, Doncaster. AFTER the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting, which ended with talk of compromise with a key victory for pro-whaling nations, Japan says some anti-whaling nations are softening their stance…. The future should not hold a return to commercial hunting (letter)

Hastings Observer 30.6.06 Captive birds - WHILE holidaying in Hastings my family and I went to St Helen’s Woods Society’s summer fete. We spent a pleasant afternoon there and I felt as though I had been transported back to the 1950s - very quaint. However, l was surprised and disappointed to see captive birds on display in the very same environment which they should have been, by rights, enjoying as wildlife…. M DALLAS, Llandysul, Cairms, Wales SA44 5W (letter)

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 29.6.06 CONSERVATION: No quick fixes - I read with interest the good news in your article about the survival of the water vole in fenland areas, compared to other areas where its numbers are being driven towards extinction by the non-native North American mink. However, I was depressed to see the mink being dismissively described as having "escaped" from fur farms. In reality, escapees from fur farms were statistically insignificant. The majority of mink introduced into our wetland areas were deliberately released from fur farms by so called "animal rights campaigners"…. And the greatest irony? Having caused the problem in our wetlands by releasing the mink in the first place, they still refused to allow mink hunting to be exempted from the ban – ensuring that the problem became even worse…. George Bowyer, Milton Park, Peterborough (letter)

Western Daily Press 29.6.06 LOOPHOLE IN HUNTING LAW MUST BE CLOSED - What a humiliating outcome for Giles Bradshaw (Oh deer - Hunting ban protest is a damp squib, June 26). I almost feel sorry for him, but not quite, for he is part of a small minority who wish to overturn the Hunting Act and return us to the days when hunts could legally tear a wild animal apart… The Hunting Act needs tightening up. No animal-based scents, and hounds must be retrained to follow artificial scents as in the case of drag hunting. This will make the enforcement of the Act easier…. Helen Weeks West Coker (letter)
Western Daily Press 29.6.06 HUNTING BAN PROTEST IS A DAMP SQUIB - Giles Bradshaw is just a publicity seeker who likes the fact that the media turn up and he gets letters printed…. Mike, Bristol
I think we all owe Mr Bradshaw a certain amount of thanks. He has kindly highlighted the fact that the hunting ban does require some tweaking in order to close the loopholes which enable him and his ilk to flout the democratic law of the land… Steve Smith, Taunton (letter)

Daily Post 29.6.06 Poachers' paradise By Andrew Forgrave, Daily Post - WIDESPREAD poaching of salmon and trout is threatening one of Wales's greatest natural resources, angling clubs have told the Welsh Assembly. Illegal fishing is rife but there are just four pairs of bailiffs covering 3,470 miles of river in North Wales, said the Federation of Clwyd Angling Clubs (FCAC)… (story)

Blackpool Citizen 29.6.06 Protest about cruel snares - In 1983 the Labour Party manifesto pledged to prohibit the use of snares in the UK. Twenty three years later half of the MPs able to have signed the EDM 75 calling for a ban on snares…. May I please ask animal minded readers to write to the Right Honorable David Milliband MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR and ask him which suitable alternatives have already been identified to use powers to be granted under the Animal Welfare Bill to bring about an end to this silent barbaric killer on our countryside. Josephine Harwood Moor Park Avenue Bispham (letter)

Independent 29.6.06 Our demolition of the natural world - I was strangely touched to read of Deborah Orr's childhood belief in the message contained in Born Free and Ring of Bright Water (24 June). Having acted in both films in the 1960s, I would like to tell her that, as an adult, I too believed in them being "unanswerable statements of the animal conservation movement". For me they were also life-changing… VIRGINIA MCKENNA, CO-FOUNDER, THE BORN FREE FOUNDATION HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX (letter)

Sun 29.6.06 Pammie shows baring side - PAMELA Anderson bares . . . because she cares. The star, hosting an animal rights evening, posed in a G-string at designer Stella McCartney’s London shop… Pammie, 38, helped to hand out PETA awards for celebs who have fought animal cruelty…. (story)

Argus 29.6.06 Letter: It is wrong to demonise wild birds - I was appalled by your article headlined "Blight of the birds" (The Argus, June 16). Is this not the second article about the so-called "Birdman", John Butler, and his anti-bird alarm which scares birds using the distress call of their breed?... I enjoy balanced articles in The Argus but this one encouraged us to hate our bird population unnecessarily… -Gemma Millwood, Saltdean (letter in archive)

WDCS ANTI WHALING LETTER
Shropshire Star 29.6.06 Society for protection of whales needs you - Sue Fisher Whaling Expert for WDCS, The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (letter)
Bradford Telegraph & Argus 22.6.06 Save the whale! - I write to draw your attention to the plight facing the world's whales following the recent meeting of the International Whaling Commission…. The global community has a year to prevent the destruction of the commission. A return to commercial whaling will spell disaster for these magnificent creatures… Sue Fisher, Whaling Expert for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, St Paul Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire (letter)

Liverpool Echo 29.6.06 I HEARTILY endorse Anne Graham's letter (ECHO, June 23) about abuse of animals. Spare a thought also for the millions of animals bred for food, particularly poultry - millions of chickens live short, miserable and painful lives in totally unnatural conditions…. Lynne, Old Swan (full name supplied) (story)

Milford Mercury 29.6.06 Row over Anne the elephant - Animal rights protesters are urging the public not to visit Bobby Roberts Super Circus at the County Showground this week. Around 30 members of the Captive Animal Protection Society (CAPS) demonstrated outside the Showground on the circus' opening night on Tuesday to raise awareness that a 56-year-old elephant is used in some of the acts. Sally Koob, organiser of the protest, said: "This elephant, Anne, is the last to be used in a circus show in Britain and has extremely bad arthritis…. (story)

Western Daily Press 28.6.06 HUNTING BAN PROTEST IS A DAMP SQUIB (JUNE 26) - Giles Bradshaw, get a life and stop trying to justify the cruelty of hunting an innocent wild animal… Paul Timpson, Taunton (story)

Carmarthen Journal 28.6.06 NATIONAL SURVEY OF FOXES - A Carmarthen farmer's story about a fox has featured in the BBC Wildlife magazine. Mike Squire responded to the BBC's national Fox UK forum, which was launched earlier this year to create the first-ever definitive portrait of the modern fox… Sophie Stafford, editor of BBC Wildlife magazine, commented: "I am delighted with the response to Fox UK. Contributors' stories and pictures have helped us to build a fascinating portrait of the modern fox: friendly, clever, funny and handsome… (story)

Boston Globe 28.6.06 Animal rights extremists face backlash By Alana Semuels, Globe Correspondent - Animal rights extremists, known for their attention-grabbing stunts and sometimes using violence to make their point, are facing considerable backlash in Britain…. It's hard to say what tipped the balance against activists. Some analysts said it was when, in 2004, a relative of a farmer who bred research guinea pigs was disinterred… Yet many think the anti-extremism movement was jump-started by Laurie Pycroft, a 16-year-old high school dropout and self-proclaimed geek…. (story)

Lancashire Evening Telegraph 28.6.06 Animal tests for insulin saved lives - THERE has been a lot of media coverage recently on animal experiments and the antics of the animal activists, which is over the top. I do not agree with testing on animals for cosmetic or smoking purposes. But I do agree with the experiment on a dog for insulin by Banten and Best in 1921…. Freeing animals and digging people up is not the answer. Name and Address Supplied (story)

Glasgow Herald 28.6.06 Crackdown on puppy farms and pet fairs - DOUGLAS FRASER - Pet fairs and electric-shock dog collars face likely bans as a new animal welfare regime is rolled out. Environment and Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said the recent passage of the Animal Health and Welfare Bill this month will soon bring a wave of secondary legislation that will tighten regulation of the sale of pets over the internet, imports from puppy farms, animals in travelling circuses, plus stables and kennels… (story)
Scotsman 28.6.06 New law means Scotland now leads the way on animal welfare - JIM BUCHAN - THE vast majority of Scotland's farmers are highly conscious of the necessity of maintaining high standards of animal welfare. The fact is that, if their livestock is not properly looked after, profits slide down the drain. However, there is a very small minority who have, over the years, given the industry a bad name as a result of their ignorance and total disregard for the welfare of cattle, sheep, pigs and, occasionally, horses. Last month, the Scottish Parliament passed a new bill which will update all the existing legislation dating back to 1912. That bill will receive the Royal Assent next month. The implications of this were discussed in some length at a conference in Edinburgh yesterday… (story)

Scotsman 28.6.06 Chimps and apes to get same rights as humans - TONY JEFFERIES - SPAIN is not the first country that springs to mind as a land of animal lovers - it is better known for bullfighting and the large number of stray cats and dogs on its streets. But that image is set for a change. Today, the Spanish parliament will consider a resolution granting higher primates the same rights to life and freedom as humans. [The resolution recognising the rights of apes, chimpanzees and orang-utans has been put forward by Francisco Garrido, a bioethicist and member of the Green Party. It has the support of the socialist PSOE party and seems certain to become law….(story)

Dublin People 28.6.06 Shun animal products totally - One of the main anti-dairy arguments is that drinking milk from another animal isn't natural. Like other mammals, we are not designed to drink milk past weaning… For compassionate reasons vegans shun animal products totally. This evidence shows it makes sense from a health as well as from an ethical viewpoint. Bernie Wright, Alliance for Animal Rights www.afarireland.org Dublin 1 (story)

Western Daily Press 27.6.06 RSPCA GONG GOES TO TWO HUNT HEROES - Two hunt monitors have received awards from the RSPCA for their work on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Peter White, from Somerset, and Kevin Hill, from Dorset, have spent 20 years working for the organisation as hunt monitors, enduring insults and threats on a daily basis…. In recognition of their work, the RSPCA awarded them its new Special Investigation Award for 2006 at it annual general meeting…. Jackie Ballard paid tribute to the courage of the pair whose footage and photographs have included the discovery of artificial fox earths used by the Royal Beaufort Hunt. (story)

LACS NATIONAL TRUST LETTER
Western Morning News 27.6.06 MISLEADING COVERAGE OF NATIONAL TRUST'S POLICY - Douglas Batchelor, of the League Against Cruel Sports, echoes misleading press coverage speculating that the National Trust is changing its policy to allow the hunting of deer with dogs on its land. What in fact is proposed is a very narrow measure - applying only to the Holnicote Estate in Exmoor - to help us deal as effectively and humanely as possible with exceptional cases where clearly sick or injured deer are found by hunts on adjacent land and cross into trust property…. Peter Nixon, Director of ConservationThe National TrustSwindon, Wiltshire (story)
Northumberland Gazette 22.6.06 Trust hunt ban must stay in place - Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive, League Against Cruel Sports (letter)
Bath Chronicle 19.6.06 JUST AN EXCUSE FOR DEER HUNTING - The letter from Peter Nixon, director of conservation at the National Trust, is typical of the reply I would expect from somebody in his position…. Sick or injured deer, will be better off being left to their own devices, and allowed to quietly fade away or recover from their injuries… Finally, Peter Nixon and his colleagues should not forget the majority decision taken seven years ago on this subject. Go against that decision at your peril. Terry Organ, Oldfield Lane, Bath (letter)
Bath Chronicle 13.6.06 Hunting deer - In his letter, Douglas Batchelor, of the League Against Cruel Sports, echoes the misleading press coverage speculating that the National Trust is changing its policy to allow the hunting of deer with dogs on its land. What in fact is proposed is a very narrow measure - applying only to the Holnicote Estate in Exmoor - to help us deal as effectively and humanely as possible with the exceptional cases where clearly sick or injured deer are found by hunts on adjacent land and cross into National Trust property… This is entirely an animal welfare activity with the purpose of minimising suffering. Peter Nixon, Director of Conservation, The National Trust (letter)
Belfast Telegraph 10.6.06 Deer will suffer change in trust policy - DOUGLAS BATCHELOR London (letter)
Western Morning News 8.6.06 TRUST HUNT BAN MUST STAY - Douglas BatchelorChief executiveLeague Against Cruel Sports (letter)
Swindon Advertiser 5.6.06 Help block trust’s plans for hunting - D Batchelor. Chief executive. League Against Cruel Sports. London (letter)
Belfast Telegraph 5.6.06 Trust's ban on hunting must get the vote - DOUGLAS BATCHELOR League Against Cruel Sports (letter)
Bradford Telegraph & Argus 1.6.06 Deer hunt shame - Douglas Batchelor, Chief Executive, League Against Cruel Sports, Union Street, London SE1 (letter)
Wharfedale Observer 5.6.06 Trust decision - Douglas Batchelor Chief Executive, League Against Cruel Sports, 83-87 Union Street, London. (letter)
North east Evening Gazette 2.6.06 Hunting plan fears - DOUGLAS BATCHELOR, Chief Executive, League Against Cruel Sports (letter)
Bath Chronicle 2.6.06 DEER HUNTING WITH DOGS ON TRUST LAND? - Many of your readers will be members or supporters of the National Trust and, I am sure, will share my distress that the charity is contemplating allowing the hunting of deer with dogs on its land… At the trust's AGM in November, there will be a resolution calling for a continuation of the ban on hunts on Trust land. I am confident that the majority of members will support it. I would also urge your readers to write to the trust expressing opposition to any change in the existing policy. DOUGLAS BATCHELORChief executiveLeague Against Cruel SportsUnion StreetLondon (letter)

Derby Evening Telegraph 27.6.06 TORIES STILL SOFT ON HUNTING - I have to laugh when David Cameron keeps going on about compassionate Conservatism, yet will not mention the issues of hunting with dogs or blasting game birds for fun and sport, which he still supports… Colin Grimley, High Edge Mews, Belper. (letter)

Western Daily Press 27.6.06 HOW 'STRICT' ARE ANIMAL LAWS? - Having just read "Grotesque Porton Down experiments" (Western Daily Press, June 19), I note the last comment from the MoD, insisting that Britain has the strictest laws in the world on animal experiments…. One can presume that the 100,000 animals subjected to research since 2000 at the Porton Down military research centre are within Britain's strict laws, and that these laws allowing pigs, mice and monkeys to be used to experiment on how to stop bleeding, exposed to toxic chemicals and biological agents, subjected to burns, nerve gases and the E.coli virus, are the same strict laws that apply to animals used in medical research…. Janet Hall Cirencester Gloucestershire (letter)

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 27.6.06 Experiments are cruel and pointless - At a time when animal experiments are being hotly debated, a new report funded by the NHS provides damning evidence that animal experiments aren't just cruel, they don't appear to work…. The report (see link on www.animalaid.org.uk) shows that animal researchers don't talk to hospital doctors about their work; that clinical trials with human patients get under way even before the animal research is completed; that drugs that fail in animals are used in humans anyway; and that a drug that increased overall mortality in animals was, nonetheless, used in people…. Andre Menache MRCVS, Scientific Consultant to Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, TN9 1AW (letter)

Western Mail 27.6.06 Cruelty to whales - A return to the hunting of whales is in my opinion totally unacceptable. I write as a veterinary surgeon with over 40 years experience in general practice. Apart from arguments from conservation and other standpoints I consider the prime reason for opposing it is its very cruelty…. Martin Strong, Wernolaum, Penrherber, Newcastle, Emlyn (letter)

NATUREWATCH PROTEST AGAINST BODY SHOP
Argus 27.6.06 Animal rights' campaigners protest outside Body Shop - Animal rights protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside the headquarters of cosmetics giant The Body Shop yesterday. About 50 members of campaign group Naturewatch travelled from across Sussex to wave banners and signs outside the company's building on the A259 at Littlehampton… (story in archive)
BBC News Online 26.6.06 Body Shop row over animal testing - Campaigners opposed to the use of ingredients tested on animals are to stage a protest outside the West Sussex headquarters of The Body Shop. French cosmetics giant, L'Oreal, bought the Littlehampton-based business for £625m earlier this year. Animal welfare group Naturewatch said it would continue to stage protests until L'Oreal phased out the use of such ingredients…. (story)
Edinburgh Evening News 26.6.06 Body Shop in animal test row - ANIMAL testing protesters were today to campaign outside a branch of the Body Shop. Cosmetics giant L'Oreal recently bought the firm for £625 million… (story)

Dundee Courier 26.6.06 One less to deal with - In his letter (June 20) Patrick Newman attempts to put a soft filter on the practice of removing part of a puppy’s tail…The two common reasons for for tail-shortening are: a) the involvement of dogs in so-called field sports wherein they retrieve the bodies of creatures their masters have shot, and b) the competition-driven dog show scenario… Of course these owners will uphold this practice. Fortunately the rest of us don’t need a partisan explanation to help us decide the rights and wrongs in the treatment of animals…. K. Hackman. John Street, Arbroath. (letter)
Dundee Courier 20.6.06 Ask any dog owner - I don’t know how much Kathy Hackman (June 17) knows about dogs in general, or tail docking in particular, but from the tone of her letter, not very much! Tail docking is carried out during the first 48 hours of a pup’s life. It is still at a semi-embryonic stage, with the nervous system not fully developed… Patrick Newman. Rose Cottage, Cortachy, Kirriemuir (letter)
Dundee Courier 17.6.06 Pathetic and predictable - How utterly predictable were the letters from those who continue to croak out their justifications for cruelty and killing. (Courier, Letters June 9). The widespread public revulsion at the abuse of animals in 21st century society, eg tail-docking, is a sign that we humans (or, the majority of us), are evolving in our ability to recognise cruelty, and to refrain from harming any creature unless it is absolutely necessary. Absolutely necessary is not the term one would apply to the amputation of a dog’s tail to facilitate retrieval of its masters’ kill, when the killing is rarely for any other reason than ‘sport’.,,, The kind of world they are trying, white-knuckled, to cling to has had its day, thank God…. Kathy Hackman. John Street, Arbroath. (letter)
Dundee Courier 9.6.06 A minor procedure - Jim Crumley’s personal view (Courier, June 6) rotates around the recent animal welfare debate in the Scottish Parliament, particularly the issues surrounding the tail-docking of working dogs…. Without grouse management, and gamekeepers, there will be no heather moorland…. What we, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the Scottish Countryside Alliance and others like the SGA were trying to do was to ensure MSPs recognised tail-docking was a minor procedure that would protect working dogs for life…. (Dr) Colin B. Shedden Director, BASC Scotland. Trochry, Dunkeld. (letter)

Southern Daily Echo 26.6.06 Fox fence will help birds thrive - STAFF at a nature reserve are looking forward to hearing the flap of tiny wings . One of the Titchfield Haven's most sensitive areas for ground-nesting birds has had a mile of fox-proof fencing installed around it in order to protect eggs and young birds from predators. The Fareham nature reserve was able to pay for the fence thanks to a £3,930 grant from the Department of Food and Rural Affairs. In the past foxes have severely limited the rearing of young wildfowl and wading birds…. (story)

Daily Record 26.6.06 YOURVIEW - ANIMAL OUTRAGE - WHAT is happening to this world, does the human race want the planet to themselves? People are killing off whales, seals, foxes and squirrels etc. And we have now letters from our housing association, warning us not to feed the birds…. Clare Fullerton, by email (letter)

South Wales Echo 26.6.06 Science or sushi, whale-hunters? - THE most magnificent creature to populate planet earth for many millennia is the whale. But the Japanese are already hunting 1,000 minke whales a year under the guise of scientific research…. Bill Julian, Trenchard Drive, Llanishen, Cardiff (letter)

Reading Express 26.6.06 Cruelty of duck farms - WE have become aware of the shameful conditions on duck farms supplying major supermarkets, Animal group VIVA has filmed ducks crammed into dirty, stinking sheds in their thousands… Lilian Darnbrough, Blandford Close, Slough (letter)

Sunday Times 25.6.06 Betting the farm on a change of outlook - The farmer who has attempted to spread the joy of rural life among fellow blacks has not found it easy, says Roland White - The Belvoir hunt were dashing across the Leicestershire countryside one morning when they ran into a group of protesters, who were astonished to discover that one of the faces peering down from beneath a riding hat was black…“Two hundred years ago these people would have been hunting your ancestors,” the protester countered bitterly. “Oh, 200 years ago my ancestors would probably have eaten you,” retorted the rider before trotting off on his horse. The hunter was Derek Laud, who is now best known as a former contestant on Big Brother but who has also served as the first black master of the New Forest hounds… a Devon farmer last year launched the Black Farmer Rural Scholarship. Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, 47, was born in Jamaica and came to Britain as a child…(story)

Sunday Times 25.6.06 Atticus - ROLAND WHITE - Lammy to the slaughter as minister attones for rural slur - Culture minister David Lammy will be enjoying plenty of fine country fare next month: namely, several large slices of humble pie. Lammy is off on a tour of the countryside to atone for an ill-advised speech at the Labour conference last year in which he referred to rural folk as “inbred”…. they did not escape the attention of the Countryside Alliance. After an angry exchange of letters, Lammy has apologised “unreservedly”… (story)

Bedfordshire on Sunday 25.6.06 Nirah – you have your say have heard today of the dispute between the Nirah team and local residents and am very saddened to think that we might miss out on a first class conservation centre…. Matt Arnold High Street, Eaton Bray
On behalf of BedfordBID, which represents over 800 businesses in Bedford town centre, I am writing to express our support for the Nirah project in Bedfordshire…. Mo Aswat Executive Director BedfordBID
… I sincerely hope common sense will win the day and Nirah will be able to continue with its plans to built the project in Bedford…. Alberto Thomas Cowper Road, Bedford
… What on earth do our elected representatives and the executives in Cauldwell Street think they are doing with our money? I`m not going into a full list of the money they have wasted, we all know of their track record so far but Nirah has been let down by them…. Ray Hostler, King Edward Road, Bedford
What is the council playing at letting Nirah slip away? The prospect of such an interesting national project being built here would raise the profile of the county… Julia Knox Chandos Road, Ampthill
Re: Nirah, it is clear from the company’s recent public consultation meetings that the Nirah project has changed from a specialist scientific research centre into a water theme park. As such the county council legally cannot subsidise this leisure venture or lend money to it as if it were the unique scientific venture that Nirah used to be…. Judith Cunningham Liberal Democrat Borough Councillor Wootton ward
I am the Green Party candidate referred to in Ray Hostler’s pro-Nirah letter in the edition of June 11 and I would like to point out that I actually received 4.59 per cent of the vote, not 0.5 per cent as claimed by Mr Hostler. On the subject of Nirah I believe many people who are currently in favour of this project take this view because they are being misled by Nirah over the real aims of the project…. The Nirah project is about keeping animals in captivity primarily for public entertainment, with the added horror of animal research taking place behind the scenes…. Justina Mclennan Goldington Road, Bedford
… May i therefore suggest they reconsider their decision to support Nirah, a project which will thrive and bring rewarding results not only for stewartby,but for tourists visiting the centre…. Jane Lockley Stewartby (letters)

Bath Chronicle 24.6.06 WRITE TO BLAIR AND PROTEST ABOUT RETURN TO WHALING - As the annual general meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in St Kitts has just finished, readers may be concerned to learn that Liberal Democrat analysis of new figures show that almost 10,000 whales were killed for 'scientific purposes' in the past 20 years… The current threat to progress against this barbaric practice highlights the need for radical reform of the anti-democratic whaling commission. CLLR SHAUN MCGALL Lib Dem, Oldfield, Second Avenue, Oldfield Park, Bath (letter)

Worcester Evening News 23.6.06 It's a stupid law - Sorry, Michael Foster, Labour MP, but I agree with chairman Jean Dowty that the hunting law is a stupid law and a waste of public money. GEORGE COWLEY, Worcester (letter in archive)

Waterford News & Star 23.6.06 It’s contrary to human dignity - Minister of State, Sean Power, TD, recently declared in the Dáil that, as an altar boy, he learned a great deal about greyhound racing from a priest who brought him to races and “even to the odd coursing meeting”. The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has been calling on the Catholic Church over the years to ensure that all their priests adhere to paragraphs 2416 and 2418 of the Catechism which states that “animals are God’s creatures…thus men owe them kindness”… The vast majority of Mr Power’s constituents, and indeed the vast majority of the Irish electorate, are opposed to live hare coursing, as independent polls have revealed since the mid-seventies…. From: Aideen Yourell, Spokesperson, Irish Council Against Blood Sports (story)

Hertfordshire Mercury 23.6.06 Pupils 'murder fears' during animal rights protest - A man was arrested during an animal rights protest which frightened pupils at a Ware primary school. A group of around 25 protesters were camped outside drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) premises in Park Road last Friday, supervised by at least 12 police officers. Pupils at St Catherine's C of E Primary School were playing outside during their lunch break at the time. One 10-year-old told the Mercury: "There were little children from Years 1, 2 and 3 that were crying their hearts out…. Donal O'Driscoll, 32, from Oxford, is due to appear at Hertford Magistrates' Court today (Friday, 23 June) charged with a public order offence. (story)

Irish Examiner 23.6.06 Extremists on both sides of the vivisection debate - BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has accused those opposed to animal testing as ‘extremists’ — but it is just as extreme to support all animal testing as it is to oppose it entirely…. I believe that, given the facts, the majority of people would find much of the animal testing ethically unacceptable… Michael Job, Rossnagreana, Glengarriff, Co Cork (letter)

LONDON SHEEP DRIVE
Cumberland News 23.6.06 Day the streets of London were paved – with Cumbrian sheep By Rachel Norris - A FLOCK of Herdwick sheep has been turning some heads on the unfamiliar streets of London. The 30 Cumbrian ewes became the first flock to be ‘driven to market’ in the capital for more than 100 years…. The procession attracted a small group of animal rights protesters… (story)
Northern Echo 20.6.06 Protestors fail to spoil charity drive by butchers - A RETIRED butcher ran the gauntlet of animal rights activists as he exercised an ancient right to drive a flock of sheep across a London bridge. Bryan Cockburn, from Bedale, North Yorkshire, was one of 17 members of the Worshipful Company of Butchers (WCB), all Freemen of the City of London, who took part in the charity fundraising event at the start of an architecture week…. But the event was marred by about 30 protesters who hurled abuse at the drovers and tried to block their progress… Mr Cockburn said: "They caused quite a commotion, but we eventually made it to St Paul's… (story)
Northern Echo 19.6.06 Farmer runs gauntlet - A RETIRED butcher ran the gauntlet of animal rights activists as he exercised an ancient right to drive a flock of sheep across a London bridge. Bryan Cockburn, from Bedale, was one of 17 members of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, all Freemen of the City of London, who took part in the charity fundraising event at the start of a special architecture week in the capital… But the start of the event was marred by the presence of about 30 protesters who hurled abuse at the drovers and tried to block their progress. (story)
London SE1 16.6.06 Sheep drive threatened by animal rights activists - Saturday's sheep drive from Southwark to Smithfield to launch the London Architecture Biennale has been threatened with disruption by animal rights activists. Shard of Glass architect Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers will drive sixty of Farmer Sharp's Herdwick sheep from Borough Market to Smithfield via the Millennium Bridge on Saturday morning… However, the Salvation Army has now withdrawn its participation from the event after receiving telephone threats from animal rights activists who described the sheep drive as "the work of the Devil". Biennale director Peter Murray…. described threats to smash the windows of the Salvation Army's headquarters as a "criminal act which ought to be dealt with by the police in the firmest possible way"…. (story)

Leicester Mercury 23.6.06 CIRCUS ADS AND THE GIPSY CURSE - David E Gillman bemoans the fact that circuses face prejudice today (Mailbox, June 15) and claims "that the average bystander still assumes that circuses are owned and run by poorly-educated, rough-and-ready types who have negligible skills to rely on". Is it any wonder that the public believes this when you look at the style of advertising created by these people. Take the recent visit of the Great British Circus to Blaby. They littered the area with posters with the following threat written on them: "Do not remove - sickness and poverty will strike anyone who does not heed this warning"…. John R Baron, Enderby (story)
Leicester Mercury 15.6.06 CIRCUSES FACE PREJUDICE - I read with admiration and total agreement the visionary contribution by Dominic Bardill on the controversial topic of animals in British circuses… Accepting that there is a difference between firmness in training of a nervous or inexperienced animal, and actual cruelty, I cannot emphasise enough the central fact that a captive animal will neither respond to training nor perform its routines in the circus ring unless it is contented in its environment, feels safe and well-nourished, and has a natural interaction with its trainer and keepers alike…. David E Gillman, Leicester (story)
Leicester Mercury 1.6.06 AGAINST NATURE - What a load of rubbish Dom Bardill's comments were on circus animals. The pet dogs of today are nothing like their wild ancestors. Teaching your dog to retrieve a stick has no resemblance to "persuading" a tiger to jump through a hoop… Pat Quigley, Lutterworth. (letter)
Leicester Mercury 1.6.06 CRYING WOLF - I read Dom Bardill's First Person column about circus animals with interest (Mercury, May 23), especially the part where he says "if we got rid of the circus, as we did fox-hunting, then the animals would be put down". Prior to the hunt ban, hunt supporters bombarded us with figures stating that 20,000 hounds and 15,000 horses would have to be put down should the ban become law…. V H Sheppard, Leicester. (letter)
Leicester Mercury 23.5.06 CIRCUS ANIMALS ARE HAPPY AND LIVE LONGER, TOO - Dom Bardill says Labour's left-wingers are again guilty of banning fun without thought - Sadly and suddenly, society has decided it is cruel to ask Fido to lie down; you are abusive if you keep your rabbit in a hutch and it is shocking to put a goldfish in a tank!... Animal abuse is cruel. But when they are cared for, what is the harm in them performing? It is simply giving them something to do. Alas, there is a problem, because there are people who think they understand animals and they have decided to take it upon themselves to speak for them. The truth is, they know nothing…. (story)

Swindon Advertiser 23.6.06 Leon pedals for bear bid By Kevin Burchall - AN ANIMAL rights campaigner is set to embark on the toughest fundraising challenge of his life in an effort to help the plight of bears in the Far East. Leon Moore, 30, of Marlowe Avenue, Park North, will start a gruelling eight-day cycle from John O'Groats to Lands End on Monday and hopes to raise as much cash as possible for the charity Asia Bears…. (story)
Western Daily Press 13.3.06 LEON GETS ON HIS BIKE FOR MOON BEARS - Nightclub doorman Leon Moore is cycling from John-o'-Groats to Land's End in a bid to raise £6,000 for China's tormented Moon Bears. Mr Moore, 29, of Swindon, is incensed by the treatment of the gentle creatures, which are kept in tiny cages where they are cruelly milked for their bile through holes into their gallbladders… (story)

Kent & Sussex Courier 23.6.06 OBE IS 'TRIBUTE TO TEAM'S WORK' - An Animal LOVER best known for rescuing stranded whales and dancing bears has been awarded an OBE. Alan Knight, 54, who lives in Dallington is a staunch vegetarian who gave up running the family optical components company in Hastings five years ago to dedicate his life to improving that of animals. He now heads Uckfield-based International Animal Rescue and chairs British Divers Marine Life Rescue which hit the headlines in January when it organised the mission to try and save a 20 foot whale stuck in the Thames…. (story)

Newark Advertiser 23.6.06 Group calls for circus boycott By CAROLINE BOYD - A circus that features a live bear has gone ahead in Southwell despite objections from an animal rights group. Jolly’s Circus, one of nine in the country that still uses animals in its acts, arrived in the town on Monday. … A national animal rights group, the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, this week called for a boycott of the circus… (story may be in archive)

Bolton Evening News 23.6.06 Dave’s Moon Bear honour - COMEDIAN Dave Spikey is to have a rescued Moon Bear named after him. The comic, who shot to fame in Peter Kay's Channel 4 show Phoenix Nights, has been granted the honour by the Bolton China Bear Rescue Group…. (story)

Horse & Hound 22.6.06 CA on the up as LACS slumps - The Countryside Alliance is enjoying an upsurge in membership, in contrast to the League Against Cruel Sports - Record support for the Countryside Alliance (CA) has resulted in spiralling membership, now totalling 107,438, up 8% on last year. By contrast, the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has had a 29% drop in membership income,… Despite this, the group claims it has just over 20,000 members. But according to its former chief executive Jim Barrington, now heading the pro-hunting Middle Way Group, LACS only ever enjoyed a high of about 18,000 members in the early 1990s…. Likewise, LACS former chief officer Graham Sirl (pictured), who left in 2001, told H&H in an interview in February: "Our membership then was about 8-9,000. I don't know what it is now, but it didn't go up a lot all the time I was there… Based on LACS' own figures, published in AGM papers, he said a calculation of total membership income of £69,047, divided by about £15-£20 per head (LACS charges £20 for standard membership, £10 "unwaged" and youth, £30 family/two adults, and £500 life membership) put membership between 3,452 and 4,603… The CA, meanwhile, at last week's AGM announced it has 95,709 members in England and Wales, 7,076 in Ireland and 4,653 in Scotland…. (story)

Eastern Daily Press 22.6.06 Tradition upheld by annual show - MICHAEL POLLITT, RURAL AFFAIRS EDITOR - Tradition was on show yesterday at the annual puppy show held by the West Norfolk Foxhounds. The new master and huntsman, Charles Carter, welcomed more than 160 visitors to the hunt's kennels at Necton, near Swaffham, for the annual event…. There were just 10 hounds - all from the same litter - in the ring for the two judges, Jonathon Seed, of the Avon Vale, and huntsman Mark Bycroft, of the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent…. (story)

Western Mail 22.6.06 Foxes... they're the farmers' new best friend - FAR from being their arch enemy, foxes benefit farmers by preying on rabbits, a new report has concluded. The bulk of their diet is made up of rabbits which cause more than £100m damage to UK agriculture a year. The report, After The Hunt, was commissioned by anti-hunt campaigners the International Fund for Animal Welfare…. (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 22.6.06 FREE FOR THE FOX - Unless securely fenced, the 'free range' chickens 'saved from slaughter and up for adoption' (June 19) will escape their 'prison cell' only to become a victim of the fox. This is especially so now there are more foxes than ever due to the hunting ban. DAVID LINDSAY Lincoln (letter)

Western Daily Press 22.6.06 MAN IS A PREDATOR - Foxes are not the top predator in this country. They never have been and they never will be. Up until recently, they had two predators - dogs and man. Now they have just one, and that is man…. Giles Bradshaw Devon (letter)

Western Daily Press 22.6.06 THE OTHER SIDE - I Agree with every word Justin Kerswell wrote (Your Say, June 14). I have always thought how strange the human being behaves toward animals!... As for the poor old fox being chased to exhaustion, then ripped apart by dogs, now we see the other side of the human being. Hunting belongs in the 18th century. We should endeavour to cut out all forms of cruelty. Norah Pound Wroughton Wiltshire (letter)

Scotsman 22.6.06 Threat to golden eagles - The Scottish Gamekeepers Association is appalled at the indiscriminate poisoning of the iconic emblem of Scotland. Golden eagles are no threat to grouse stocks, and, indeed, may be an asset, as they feed on other predators such as foxes. However, we are concerned at the misleading statement from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, designed to panic the public and claim the moral high ground…. Blaming a gamekeeper for this incident is very easy, but it has to be recognised that anyone trying to protect stock or crops could be responsible… BERT BURNETT, Committee member, SGA, Pearsie, Angus (letter)

Aberdeen Press & Journal 22.6.06 Poisoned raptor - I see the custodians of the countryside have managed to slaughter another raptor (the Press and Journal, June 17). Apparently, any bird of prey is fair game nowadays, which is not surprising with the derisory penalties being handed down for these offences…. John Campbell, 5 Blantyre Terrace, Findochty (letter)

Western Daily Press 22.6.06 KILLING SONGBIRDS IS NOT A 'SPORT' - As a member of a wildlife rescue team and a trustee of the same organisation, it never ceases to amaze me how some people accept without question that squirrels, cats and sparrowhawks are responsible for 85 per cent of adult songbird loss… We lose, at the very least, 50 per cent of our migratory song- birds on each migration to and from their wintering grounds…. This mass destruction is supported by the Countryside Alliance, and is even advertised on the web for holidays of bloodsports fanatics to shoot our migrating songbirds… I now ask Tim Bonner, head of media relations, and Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, to stand up publicly and condemn and oppose this ridiculous destruction of our songbirds for sport… M J Haines Cirencester Gloucestershire (letter)

Evening Leader 22.6.06 Isn’t it time that air guns were banned? - I felt sad to read about two cats being shot with an airgun. How could anyone be so cruel to inflict such pain to defenceless animals?... Air guns are not toys and can be fatal should they fall into the wrong hands. They should definitely be banned… Mrs P Lister, Brymbo, Wrexham. (letter may be in archive)

Essex Chronicle 22.6.06 PUSH TO BAN ANIMAL SNARES - A Dunmow woman is campaigning to ban animal snares. Cerys Roberts, 29, of Philpott End, joined the animal welfare group League Against Cruel Sports in April and is leading a nationwide campaign for changes in the law on ensnaring animals. She is bringing her petition to Essex this summer and is also creating a short film to be shown at cinemas and festivals about the dangers of animal snares…. (story)
BBC News Online 22.6.06 Snare Aware By Cerys Roberts - Nothing is more idyllic than the beautiful Essex countryside in summer, but our countryside hides an ugly secret. Snares- thin wire nooses, banned throughout much of Europe, are legal in the UK, and are taking an enormous toll on wildlife and pets. The snares, instruments of mediaeval torture, are set by gamekeepers and landowners to catch, they claim, foxes and rabbits. What they don’t like to admit is that they also trap and maim badgers, otters, cats, dogs and even ponies… (story)

Financial Director 22.6.06 Tories want more protection against animal rights activists - Kevin Reed, Accountancy Age - Plans to protect shareholders from having their information disclosed to protect them from animal rights extremists have been criticised by the Conservatives for not going far enough…. the Tories claimed that Companies House would still enable access to shareholder details, and warned about the cost on smaller companies for blocking potential repeated court orders if activists made numerous requests for information…. (story)

Hull Daily Mail 22.6.06 WHAT IS THE TRUE EXTENT OF ANIMAL TESTS? - Is It April 1 again already, or is the Mail trying to have a laugh at the expense of animals? Aaron Worsley asks Aled Jones to research the topic of animal experimentation, before laughingly trying to convince people that fewer then 4,000 animals are used and the number is falling. The Government has released figures that 2.7 million are used and the number is rising…. Steve Broom, Ings Road Estate, Hull. (letter)
Hull Daily Mail 13.6.06 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BENEFITED FROM EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS - Regarding Aled Jones' letter about animal testing (Mail, June 10), who claims animal testing is "a horribly violent practice". Mr Jones fails to support his views with any hard evidence. For example, did he know that 46 per cent of all animal testing is carried out in the wild in the form of observing and recording animal behaviour in their natural habitat with no human intervention whatsoever? Hardly a horribly violent practice… Arron Worsley, Main Road, Bilton, Hull. (letter)

Lichfield Mercury 22.6.06 THE REAL ISSUES OF ANIMAL TESTING - I Am writing in response to letters in the Mercury concerning the guinea pig case. Like myself, the large majority of animal rights campaigners found the desecration of Gladys Hammond's grave abhorrent…. We actively support superior human-based medical research. Reliance on animal testing is dangerously misleading…. Diane Smith, Lichfield Animal Aid
REGARDING the coverage of the 'guinea pig' case (Mercury, May 18) and the subsequent response from P J Taylor (June 8) stating that it was a biased waste of space, I would like to remind P J Taylor that we all have a right to read reports in the paper and arrive at our own conclusions… What we do not have the right to do is force our opinions on others by way of blackmail, intimidation and terrorist actions which the 'four finest and best' currently accommodated in HM prisons, pleaded guilty to in a court of law. D Harvey, Bridge Cross Road, Burntwood (letters)
Lichfield Mercury 15.6.06 SUPPORT FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTEST IS OUT OF ORDER AND HYPOCRITICAL - I Applaud you in your response to PJ Taylor's complaints (Mercury, June 8) regarding the Mercury's coverage of the desecration of Gladys Hammond's grave… No-one would deny it is a difficult moral question, but the vast majority of us understand that this work must continue. Jo Tanner, Chief Executive, Coalition for Medical Progress, London SE1 8UL.
I FOUND the letter from P J Taylor of Burntwood, published in the June 8 edition of the Mercury, totally abhorrent and objectionable…. K Arrowsmith, Walsall (Details supplied).
Editor's note: No letters have yet been received in support of P J Taylor's comments. (letters)
Lichfield Mercury 8.6.06 GUINEA PIG CASE COVERAGE WAS A BIASED WASTE OF SPACE - The Mercury used to be a fair-minded publication, and readable. The paper has become petty-minded rubbish, only suitable for fire-lighting… However, it sunk lower than anyone would have believed possible on May 18…. I am a retired pharmacist who has seen the treatment of vivisected animals and know the vile cruelty that occurs… Animals have as much right to live their lives out in peace as have humans, and are not on earth for the benefit of humans. Those who torture them and those who breed them to be tortured, merely for their own financial profit, deserve everything the protestors do to them, and more….I believe it is the moral duty of humans to care for animals, wild or tame, in whatever way they can, and those who have sacrificed their freedom for the sake of preventing animal torture are the finest and best, and that those who oppose them will suffer. P J Taylor, Bridge Cross Road, Burntwood
Mercury editor Tim Hewitt replies: "Whilst being 'fair minded' enough to give P J Taylor the space to make his or her point, certain phrases directly referring to the desecration of the grave of Mrs Gladys Hammond were too offensive to publish and have been removed from the above letter. "I stand by the front page comment referred to by P J Taylor, in that there is a debate to be had over the merits of animal testing, but that it must take place in a democratic and peaceful context. Inciteful words and exhortations to violence or intimidation are abhorrent to every right-thinking citizen…. (story)

Oxford Mail 22.6.06 Shabby attitude - The animal lab issue is one that tends towards more heat than light… Gillian Whitty (Oxford Mail, June 16) is right that not enough has been done to explore future replacements for animal experiments, but I agree with Edward Woollard (Oxford Mail, May 27) that until that happens, there is a compelling case for medical research that saves human lives or relieves human suffering… As a longstanding opponent of both fox hunting and cosmetic testing, I can see why some people disagree with my support for the lab. Their right to protest peacefully is sacrosanct, but that protest should never slip over into intimidation and harassment… Richard Huzzey (Councillor), Holywell Ward, Oxford City Council (letter)

DEER RELEASED FROM SANCTUARY
Wiltshire Gazette & Herald 22.6.06 Deer ‘set free’ to die By Jill Crooks - The deer escaped from the sanctuary, in Devizes Road, a month ago and at first it was thought to be the work of vandals. But an anonymous message was placed on an animal activist website and Special Branch are now investigating. The ALF message on the Bite Back website says: "During the morning of Thursday May 25, we took out our tools, and began to destroy fencing… Michael Petley, owner of the sanctuary, has condemned the action and highlighted how little research must have been done by those responsible as the sanctuary has been there for eight years…. (story)
Western Daily Press 20.6.06 ANIMAL RIGHTS THUGS WRONG TO FREE DEER - UNDERSTANDABLY, there is plenty of sympathy in this country for animal rights campaigners… But when misguided groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) take action, as they did in Wiltshire last week, they actually undermine their own cause… Until the ALF struck, the 27-strong herd of deer spent their days grazing at their park near Devizes. Now the vast majority of them are scattered across the countryside and will be lucky to survive until the end of the summer…. (story)
Sunday Times 18.6.06 Atticus - ROLAND WHITE - They may be liberated . . . but they’re not very bright - Barely a month after Tony Blair backed the fight against animal rights extremists, here is evidence that they might not be as cunning as we all feared. The Animal Liberation Front has just announced that it has liberated 25 red deer from a farm in Potterne, Wiltshire… Just one problem. Their target has not been a farm for eight years. It’s now a deer sanctuary…. (story)
BBC News Online 16.6.06 Deer herd owner slams ALF tactics - A landowner has said Animal Liberation Front (ALF) activists who let his herd of red deer the wild committed a "gross act of stupidity". When the animals escaped from their Wiltshire home in May, it was thought fence-removing vandals let them out. But now a notice has appeared on an ALF website claiming responsibility. Michael Petley of the Potterne Deer sanctuary said: "What has escaped them is that this is a sanctuary for deer, not a breeding house for meat." … (story)
Wiltshire Gazette & Herald 1.6.06 Sanctuary boss slams animal activists - DEER sanctuary owner Michael Petley has condemned vandals who cut his fence and freed his deer. More than 20 red deer escaped from the sanctuary at Sandfield House in Devizes Road, Potterne… He said: "What has possibly escaped the perpetrator's attention is that this is a sanctuary for deer. It's not a breeding house for meat in the traditional sense of farming or animal testing. "If it was done with the mistaken intent of liberating these animals the reality is they have done anything but. This was a herd that was living happily and securely. They were watered and fed and now they are in unknown territory in which they are not suited or used to…." (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 22.6.06 BIRD AGONY IGNORED: In the heat of the day, I found myself stuck in a long queque of traffic near Asda's store. The cars were nose-to-tail in a stop-start situation. Ahead of me in front of at least four stationary cars, lying in the road on the white line, was a struggling greenfinch that had obviously been struck by a car. What horrified, angered and depressed me was the sheer callous disregard for the poor struggling injured bird… MS JACKIE BURLISON Lincoln (letter)

Derby Evening Telegraph 22.6.06 STREET COLLECTION BOOST FOR CHARITY - A street collection organised by Derbyshire Animal Welfare Network in Derby earlier this month raised £239 for an animal sanctuary. The money has been donated to the Hillside Sanctuary… For further information on DAWN, contact Sandra Barker… (story)

Daily Record 22.6.06 BAN ON WHALING MUST BE PRIORITY - IFIND the news that Japan is about to resume whale hunting abhorrent…. Stephen Balfour, via email (letter)

Carlisle News & Star 22.6.06 Boycott whaling countries - I HAVE had it with the countries that support whaling…. Angie Wareing, Lanercost (letter)

Llanelli Star 22.6.06 CIRCUS SPARKS CONCERN - The circus is in town - and has brought controversy with it. Within hours of the Bobby Roberts Circus pitching up at Stradey Park, animal protection campaigners called on Llanelli townsfolk to boycott the show. The Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) is opposed to circuses using animal performers… (story)

Essex Chronicle 22.6.06 RESIDENTS URGED TO BOYCOTT CIRCUS - NEIL KING - An animal rights group has called for the public and landowners to boycott a circus performing in Burnham-on-Crouch. Circus Mondoa opened its gates yesterday, Wednesday, and will be performing at Mangapps Railway Museum, on Southminster Road, until Sunday, but national group the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) has asked people to stay away in protest of its use of animal… (story)

Denbighshire Free Press (22.6.06) Why keeping cattle has led to starvation - THE Highland cow that escaped from St Asaph market and was shot on Thursday at least escaped the sordid abattoir death meted out (excuse the pun) to the other poor creatures. The main tragedy is that there is no need for these animals to be slaughtered and an even bigger tragedy is that their deaths cause millions of people to starve in the world…. Jean Bennington, Knowles Avenue, Prestatyn (letter may be in archive)

Bolton Evening News 22.6.06 Stop the slaughter - As a show of British military finery, the Trooping of the Colour has had no equal for 258 years…. But as the Queen took the salute to mark her 80th birthday celebrations, some 4,000 miles away a group of hunters were preparing to go into the dense woodlands of Canada and kill a Canadian black bear… A Cartmell, Bolton Green Party (letter)

Gloucester Citizen or Gloucestershire Echo 21.6.06 MP: FARMING ISN'T A 'HAS BEEN' INDUSTRY BUT IT NEEDS HELP - Mid-worcestershire Mp Peter Luff says farming is not a "has been" industry. The president of the Three Counties Agricultural Society spoke out at the Three Counties Show… (story)
Birmingham Post 20.6.06 Farming 'still has bright future' By Jonathan Walker, Political Editor - Farming still has a bright future despite the "constant attacks" of politicians, super-markets and anti-fox hunting activists, an MP has claimed. Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire), Chairman of the Three Counties Agricultural Society, said British farmers would remain at the heart of the nation's food industry despite the threats they faced… "The hunting ban may not have been the most important issue for the business of farming, but it symbolised what many in the countryside saw as a complete lack of understanding of the rhythms and customs of rural England and Wales."… (story)

Derby Evening Telegraph 21.6.06 PESTS ARE FAIR GAME FOR PAUL - Contrary to popular belief, a deep-rooted antipathy towards nature and animals is not what makes a good pest control technician. "A pest is just an animal in the wrong place at the wrong time. A squirrel on a post at the bottom of the garden is a lovely sight, but if you've got one in your roof eating your insulation and chewing through wires then it's not nearly as pleasant," explained Paul Dunkley of Charnwood Environmental Services… "I have found that many people working in pest control have a background in countryside management and gamekeeping," said Paul (38), from Shelton Lock, who worked on the Grace Dieu estate in Leicestershire and trained as a gamekeeper as a teenager…. (story)

Torquay Herald Express 21.6.06 DOG RACE GROUP STAGES PROTEST - Members of a South Devon Greyhound Action Group staged a noisy protest outside a William Hill betting chain outlet in Torquay. They were demonstrating against the UK's biggest bookmaker's involvement in the greyhound dog racing industry… Action Group spokeswoman, Helen Stevens said they wanted to end William Hill's association with the industry…. More than 20 members of the South Devon Greyhound Action Group waved banners and placards outside William Hill's betting shop at the bottom of Union Street… (story)

Hull Daily Mail 21.6.06 BREACH OF HUMAN RIGHTS? - I Have no connection to people protesting over animal experiments in your balanced story (Mail, May 29). However, although not agreeing with comments about benefits from these awful experiments, I was pleasantly surprised you mentioned alleged breaches of human rights. Many have been jailed for sending polite e-mails and letters…. S Broom, Apollo Walk, Ings Road Estate (story)

Nottingham Evening Post 21.6.06 PROTESTS AS CIRCUS ROLLS IN... MARCUS BOOCOCK - An animal rights group is urging people to boycott a circus opening in Southwell today because of its use of animals. The Captive Animals Protection Society claims Peter Jolly's Circus is being cruel to animals by making them perform…. Paul Thomas, from the Captive Animals Protection Society, said the bear suffers because it has been taken out of its natural habitat…. (story)

Aberdeen Evening Express 21.6.06 DISBELIEF AT BID TO START WHALING - It is beyond belief that the International Whaling Commission has voted to end the 20 year ban on hunting… S Hadden Banchory (letter)

INDEPENDENT BEARSKIN CORRESPONDENCE
Independent 21.6.06 Green bearskins - It is suggested (letter, 19 June) that the Conservative Party is not environmentally friendly when it supports the idea that military bearskins should be real rather than made of "more modern materials". Such materials are likely to be made from oil-based chemicals, which are not renewable… ALEX SWANSON, FURZTON, MILTON KEYNES (story)
Independent 20.6.06 Bears will still have to be shot, whatever hats the Guards wear - Your article on the slaughter of bears for Guards' headgear (17 June) omits to mention that hundreds of black bears - far more than are needed by the MoD - are shot each year in Canada not for sport but as menaces to public safety… bears that continually haunt residential areas after attempts have been made to dissuade them or to return them to the wild will continue to be shot because the life of a child will always trump that of a bear. This will happen regardless of whether or not their pelts end up on the heads of those guarding Buck House…. ROGER COLLINS, KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
A desire to define "Britishness" has cropped up frequently of late, and at last we have the definitive definition, courtesy of the MoD. It is Grenadier Guardsmen wearing slaughtered bears on their heads as they perform a meaningless ritual for the benefit of tourist photographs. EILEEN NOAKES, TOTNES, DEVON
So the MoD can find no suitable alternative to real bear skin? So scrap the silly ceremonial-only headgear altogether and get something more suited to 2006… D BIRKBY, ALTON, HAMPSHIRE (letters)
Independent 19.6.06 End the import of black bear fur - I take issue with the Ministry of Defence's viewpoint that the method of killing of Canadian bears to make bearskin hats is purely a matter for the Canadian government ("A bear necessity?", 17 June). I am a qualified scientist who has visited Canada several times in the past few years to observe and photograph wildlife. I know the frustration and anger felt by many Canadians who see their government adhere to the demands of the hunting minority and trample on the opinions of everyone else… ADELE BRAND, CATERHAM, SURREY
Thank you for informing your readers about the fact that after two decades of the MoD "searching" for an alternative, black bears in Canada are still being slaughtered to make the ornamental caps worn by the Queens guards… ANITA SINGH, CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR PETA EUROPE LTD LONDON, SE1 1
… Tory MPs have tabled an amendment supporting the use of the skins of dead bears as a "glorious military tradition". So much for the green credentials of the new cuddly Tory party. CHRISTOPHER CLAYTON, WAVERTON, CHESHIRE (letters)

Western Daily Press 21.6.06 THE CRUELTY OF MODERN FARMING - The farmers in the "linking environment and farming" venture (Western Daily Press, June 10), must be hoping that the public will be conned into accepting a heavily censored and partial view of what constitutes modern farming practice. I don't suppose the public will be shown around the overcrowded and airless battery chicken units. They won't be present when farmers murder the surplus-to-requirements newly born male calves… Roy Franklin Bridgwater Somerset (letter)

Louth Leader 21.6.06 ‘Thuggery and stupidity’ of animal activists - Re Bumble the owl. It is such a shame these extremists have to interfere (on this occassion obviously a situation they knew nothing about). I am a huge animal lover (vegetarian, won’t use leather, animal tested products etc) and I help with animal rights campaigns whenever I can, but these animal activists and terrorists give the genuine animal campaigners and animal lovers a bad name… Mrs Fiona Marin, Sent by email (story)

Sunderland Echo 21.6.06 Fish not health food - THE Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation (VVF), are extremely concerned on hearing the Government's plans to provide schoolchildren with fish oil supplements. The VVF has been warning people for years that most fish and fish oil supplements are contaminated with toxic poisons such as mercury and dioxins…. Dr Justine Butler, Health Campaigner, Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation, 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH (story)

Western Morning News 20.6.06 LOVING ANIMALS ECLIPSES SHOPPING AS A PASTIME - After reading W T Sweet's recent letter, I am writing to say that I am fed up with certain individuals making it a crime to love and care for animals. I will wholly admit to having a deep loathing for anyone privileged, especially, as Theo Hopkins puts it, the "Hooray Henrys". My opinion of them aside, however, why do these people insist on dressing up in silly clothes and riding roughshod over everyone's property and insist it is in the name of conservation?... Name and address supplied (story)
Western Morning News 7.6.06 THEO Hopkins promotes hunt saboteurs as English icons (WMViews May 24), but why stop there? If he's reduced to trawling the depths of the infamous for candidates, why not include football hooligans and animal rights extremists?... W T Sweet, Helston (letter)
Western Morning News 1.6.06 DON'T DIGNIFY HUNT 'SABS' - Unlike Theo Hopkins, I see no evidence of hunt saboteurs qualifying for "icon" status because their part in the history of the countryside goes back several hundred years. Perhaps that is why there are no 250-year-old engravings of them on the walls of ancient inns. "Sab" is too cosy a term for the terrorists who have sought to interfere with rural life by illegal behaviour, justifying their often crass behaviour by claiming a moral high ground which is at least questionable in the light of some of their excessive actions…. Richard GilesLympstone (letter)

Aberdeen Evening Express 20.6.06 DISGRACE OF POISONED EAGLE - I Hope that the sick person who poisoned a male Golden Eagle on Deeside can live with himself… Shame on those of you who carry out this disgusting practice. You are a disgrace. Irene Bryce Ferryhill Aberdeen (story)

Scotsman 20.6.06 Wildlife in danger - With regard to the poisoned golden eagle discovered on a grouse moor on Royal Deeside, (your report, 17 June), sadly, such incidents are on the increase… The existing legislation is failing Scotland's wildlife, and until we see some eye-watering fines and imprisonments, this vile and selfish practice will continue…. LOGAN D STEELE, Bridgewater Avenue, Auchterarder, Perthshire
There will surely be more than a few sad tears over the poisoning of a golden eagle for which the culprit must be brought to book… WILLIAM SPEIRS, Buccleuch Street, Innerleithen, Peeblesshire. (letters)

News Shopper 20.6.06 Is Blair aware of vivisection facts? - Tony Blair has foolishly reiterated his support for vivisection. I wonder if he cares about the following: 1. The British Medical Journal says five per cent of all hospital admissions are due to adverse drug reactions, killing 10,000 a year…. The Government has admitted it has not commissioned or evaluated any formal research on the efficacy of animal experiments and broke its own promise for a Royal Commission investigation into vivisection. Robert Roach, Address supplied (letter)

Western Daily Press 20.6.06 GILL PURSER, AN APOLOGY - Our "Your Call" column on Saturday, June 17, wrongly attributed comments about animal research to reader Gill Purser, of Cheltenham. We accept that these are not her views and we apologise for the error. (letter)

PETA BEARSKIN CAMPAIGN
Telegraph 20.6.06 Spy By Jonathan Isaby - Unbearable - Ann Widdecombe is already known as one of those rare political beasts: a Conservative who supported the ban on foxhunting. But now I learn that the Maidstone MP has waded into the ongoing row over the use of bearskins by the five regiments of foot Guards. She has joined the campaign being waged by the animal rights group Peta, and has just written to all Conservative MPs asking them to support a parliamentary motion demanding that the MoD outlaw the practice…. (story)
Independent 17.6.06 Hundreds of black bears face slaughter after Army abandons trial of synthetic fur for Guards' ceremonial headgear By Cahal Milmo - As a show of British military finery, the Trooping of the Colour has had no equal for 258 years. Today, the Guards regiments will parade for the monarch and tourists in their spotless regalia, topped with their lustrous bearskins. But as the Queen takes the salute to mark her 80th birthday celebrations this morning, some 4,000 miles away a group of hunters will be preparing to go into the dense woodlands of Canada and kill an Ursus americanus or Canadian black bear…. The Army confirmed yesterday it would continue to buy between 50 and 100 bearskins a year after it declared a trial to replace the distinctive headwear with hats fashioned from synthetic fur had failed because they got " waterlogged" on rainy days…. (story)
The Sentinel 10.6.06 MP WON'T JUST GRIN AND BEAR MILITARY TRADITIONS - Thank goodness our politicians have their finger on the pulse when it comes to current affairs. With the death toll close to 120 British troops in Iraq, the Staffordshire Regiment set to return there in October, the upset among the close-knit communities in Middleport about the demolition of their homes, and the financial crisis and subsequent job losses facing the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, it might come as some surprise that Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Mark Fisher is backing bears. While you won't see many of those at Bathpool Park, Mr Fisher has signed an Early Day Motion calling for Parliament to recognise that bearskin hats should not be worn by military guards… (story)
The Sentinel 7.6.06 MP CALLS FOR BEARSKIN BAN - Mark Fisher, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, has backed a call for Parliament to recognise that bearskin hats should not be worn by military guards. Mr Fisher has signed an Early Day Motion (EDM), tabled by Labour MP Chris Mullin and supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which calls for the House of Commons to recognise that bearskin hats worn by the five Guards regiments have no military significance and involve needless cruelty…. (story)
Carlisle News & Star 20.4.06 MP Eric backs calls to save bears’ skins By Julian Whittle Political editor - CARLISLE MP Eric Martlew is backing a campaign to stop bear skins from being used to make the hats worn by the five Guards regiments. The Labour MP, who has a track record of fighting on animal welfare issues, has signed a Parliamentary Early Day Motion calling for fake fur to be used instead. The campaign is led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta)… (story)
Nottingham Evening Post 13.4.06 BEARSKIN CALL BY SIMPSON - Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson is backing a campaign to stop military guards from wearing hats made from bearskins. Mr Simpson signed an Early Day Motion tabled by Labour MP Chris Mullin and supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta)…. (story)
Guardian 20.3.06 Who cares about bears? - Tania Branigan - Consensus has broken out all over Westminster under David Cameron's reign as Tory leader…. Fortunately for politicos still spoiling for a fight, there is at least one good row brewing. The unlikely subject of the bearskin hats worn by Britain's five Guards regiments has divided Labour and the Tory backbenchers as effectively as the fate of single mums or state industries once did…. (story)
Lancashire Evening Telegraph 17.3.06 MP Janet bears a grudge - A PRO-ANIMAL rights MP has set up a "grisly" encounter after calling for an end to the army tradition of wearing bearskin hats. Rossendale and Darwen's Janet Anderson is one of more than 45 Labour MPs to sign a Commons motion saying animals are suffering unnecessary cruelty for no military purpose…. (story)
Wolverhampton Express & Star 17.3.06 Fur flies over bearskin hats - John Hipwood - The fur is flying at Westminster over a proposal by a group of MPs to substitute the trademark guards regiment headgear - the bearskin - with a fake fur. MPs, including Wolverhampton North East's Ken Purchase, argued in a Commons motion the bearskin "has no military significance and involves unnecessary cruelty"…. (story)
Edinburgh Evening News 8.3.06 Call for busby bearskin ban - ANIMAL rights activists have urged MPs to back a ban on using bearskin for the famous busby hats worn by some British soldiers. Former Labour minister Chris Mullin called on the MoD to introduce fake fur. (story)

Scotsman 20.6.06 No desire to help RSPB - I was surprised to receive an unsolicited communication recently from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds inviting me to join the organisation… We buy our birdseed for under £5 for 10 kilos, and would rather spend the money on seed than support a multi-million-pound organisation that favours some birds and discriminates against others…. ANGUS MACMILLAN, Meikle Boturich, nr Balloch, Dunbartonshire (letter)

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 19.6.06 EAST OF ENGLAND COUNTRY SHOW: 120,000 join in the celebration of country life and activities… Farriers were demonstrating how to shoe horses, hunting hounds were paraded and there was also a popular birds of prey display…. (story)

Aberdeen Press & Journal 19.6.06 Poisoning of an eagle - I was horrified to read (the Press and Journal, June 17) of the latest reported incident of wildlife poisoning in Scotland - a golden eagle, surely Scotland's national bird…. I would suggest that the Scottish Parliament introduce legislation to ban all shooting for a period of at least five years on an estate where carcases are found and on all adjoining estates… Stephen M.L. Young, La Touveilhe, 34390 Olargues, France. (letter)

Aberdeen Press & Journal 19.6.06 Angling for all pockets - I was pleased to see (the Press and Journal, March 9) that Maureen MacMillan and fellow-MSPs were showing interest in the worth of sporting salmon fishing to the Scottish rural economy. There was, however, a suggestion in the story that some MSPs perceive such sport to be the exclusive preserve of elitist "toffs" and available only to the wealthy few. This is simply not the case… The Buccleuch Esk and Liddle Fishery offers autumn peak-season salmon fishing from as little as ??9 for a day ticket on its permit beats. Even a "top whack" reserved beat, where you essentially pay to secure a little more solitude and water to yourself, works out at ??79 a rod for the day…. Glenesk, Riverside Park, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire. (letter)

Western Daily Press 19.6.06 CAMPAIGNERS ANGER OVER 'GROTESQUE EXPERIMENTS' - Angry campaigners are claiming 'grotesque' tests are being carried out on animals at a top secret Army base in return for foreign cash…. (story)
Scotsman 10.6.06 Foreign cash used to fund UK military animal tests - JAMES KIRKUP POLITICAL EDITOR - FOREIGN governments and defence companies are paying for British military scientists to conduct experiments on animals, the Ministry of Defence has admitted… Facing questions in parliament about the animal tests, Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, confirmed that foreign governments and companies were helping to fund work at Porton Down…. Mike Hancock, the Liberal Democrat MP whose questions unearthed the increase in testing, said the latest revelations about foreign involvement were "appalling"…. (story)

Independent 19.6.06 Saving the whale - think that those of us who see the hunting and killing of the humpback whales by Japan as a great evil should refuse to buy products from Japan or products made by companies owned by Japan… PAUL BRAZIER, WOTTON UNDER EDGE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE (letter)

Sunday Times 18.6.06 Animal rights militants are paid legal aid - GARETH WALSH - ANIMAL rights militants, including one convicted for a bombing conspiracy, are receiving tens of thousands of pounds in taxpayers’ money to fight plans by Oxford University to set up an animal research laboratory. They have been awarded legal aid to challenge an injunction taken out by the university that bars them from harassing its staff, students and contractors at work or protesting at their homes. It also limits the size and duration of demonstrations…. Among the animal rights activists receiving the aid are: Mel Broughton, a leader of the activists’ campaign…. Robin Webb, official spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front… Amanda King, who was among campaigners referred to by a High Court judge in a separate civil case as carrying out “a form of terrorism” in a campaign to close a guinea pig farm…. (story)

The Sentinel 18.6.06 HIGH COURT STOPS MARKETS SELLING BIRDS - The sale of birds as pets at a Parrot Society show has been ruled unlawful in a High Court test case. The decision, which has implications for similar shows up and down the country, was a victory for animal welfare worker Malcolm Haynes…. (story)
BBC News Online 14.6.06 Parrot show sales ruled unlawful - The High Court has ruled the sale of birds as pets at the Parrot Society show in Stafford is unlawful. Animal welfare worker Malcolm Haynes, from Great Wyrley, Staffordshire, had opposed the borough council's decision to allow sales at last October's show…. Lawyers for Malcolm Haynes, who runs an animal rescue and re-homing charity, said: "The implication of this is that all future pet fairs would be subject to criminal sanctions under the 1951 (Pet Animals) Act."… (story)

Scotsman 17.6.06 Outrage as golden eagle is found poisoned on Deeside grouse moor - LAURA ROBERTS - A RARE golden eagle was deliberately poisoned in an attempt to protect grouse, it emerged yesterday….Tests have confirmed that the carcase contained traces of carbofuran, a pesticide that is banned in the UK. Police and officials with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) believe that the was targeted by a gamekeeper to stop it killing grouse…. (story)

Irish Independent 17.6.06 The cruelty of coursing - I fully agree with John Fitzgerald when he states that hare coursing is cruel and should be outlawed, and so do 80 per cent of the population, according to the last independent poll taken on the issue… AIDEEN YOURELL, I.A.B.S., MULLINGAR, CO WESTMEATH (letter)
Irish Independent 10.6.06 The cruelty of coursing - I can asure Ms Carr-Farrelly (Letters, June 7) that my facts in relation to hare coursing were perfectly in order and indeed unassailable… JOHN FITZGERALD, LOWER COYNE STREET, CALLAN, CO KILKENNY (letter)
Irish Independent 7.6.06 Coursing not a cruel sport - I am reponding to John Fitzgerald regarding Irish Coursing (Letters, June 3). I think Mr Fitzgerald has being given misguided information about the welfare of hares when being caught for a coursing meeting. Hares are not mauled at coursing meetings and all greyhounds are muzzled. If an unfortunate hare does get caught by a dog it is taken straight from the greyhound by stewards and is treated by the vet on duty at the meeting… I agree that the coursing club in Co Offaly should lose its licence if they are obstructing the functions of the wildlife ranger… MARY TERESA CARR-FARRELLY, CASTLEBORO, CLONROCHE, ENNISCOTHY, CO WEXFORD (letter)
Irish Independent 3.6.06 Disgrace of hare coursing - As a campaigner against blood sports, I am delighted with the news that a coursing club has lost its licence. It means that hares in that region will this year be spared the horror and trauma of being snatched from their natural habitats, confined in unnatural conditions, and subjected to the terror of being forced to run for their lives from hyped-up blood hungry greyhounds… Obstructing a wildlife ranger in the course of his statutory functions might well be a grave offence in the eyes of the law, but is it any worse than what has been happening at other coursing venues over the decades? I refer to the savaging to death or mauling of countless hares at coursing events nationwide… JOHN FITZGERALD, LOWER COYNE STREET, CALLAN, CO KILKENNY (letter)

Irish Independent 17.6.06 Chickens rearing 'miserably intensive' - Aideen Sheehan - MOST of the 67m chickens raised in Ireland each year are kept in miserably intensive conditions leaving them prone to serious health problems, it was claimed yesterday… , Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) Ireland said yesterday, calling for urgent new measures to protect them. The birds are bred to reach their slaughter weight in just six to seven weeks which leaves them prone to leg and heart problems, said CIWF Director Mary Anne Bartlett…. (story)

Malvern Gazette 16.6.06 100,000 head to show as the sun shines - NEARLY 100,000 people are expected to pour through the gates of the Three Counties Showground this weekend. The main attraction of the three-day Three Counties Show, which starts today (Friday), is the livestock, with Jersey cows returning for the first time since 1979. There will also be displays of country sports and pursuits, including gun-dogs, ferrets and hounds, farriery and blacksmithing…. (story in archive)

Western Daily Press 16.6.06 HUNTING IS NO ENGLISH 'ICON' - Re the Western Daily Press on June 10 and the "icon" as a symbol of Englishness… Hunting wild animals with dogs must end and not be included as an English "icon". Roy Brown Radstock Somerset (letter)

Times 16.6.06 Animal rights? BY SADAKAT KADRI - Until the 17th century, many European countries routinely held animals legally responsible for serious acts of mischief… Such proceedings may have fallen out of fashion, but the legal status of animals remains a matter of lively debate – as shown by a flurry of recent news reports that Spain will shortly be extending legal rights to life, liberty and bodily integrity to chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orang-utans. Reactions have been mixed. Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics at Princeton whose work with the Great Apes Project inspired the Spanish measure, saw it as the start of a trend…. (story)

Gloucestershire Echo 16.6.06 LET'S NOT EAT OUR WILDLIFE - In reply to letter about eating rooks (Echo, June 8). For today's meat consumers, there are an ample number of butcher's shops. We should be encouraged to safeguard wildlife, not to eat it. Name and address supplied. (letter)

Hastings Observer 16.6.06 Calf exports - I AM horrified that the trade in calf exports has started again from Dover…. I would ask readers to please write to David Miliband, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR, and ask him to enforce the law with a complete ban on both the export of calves for veal and the import back into this country of a ‘product’ obtained from suffering and misery that is illegal to produce in this country. ANN BEAL, London Road, St Leonards (letter)

Sutton Coldfield Observer 16.6.06 NURSE AIMS TO RAISE MONEY FOR BEARS - A Sutton veterinary nurse is organising a fundraising event to highlight the plight of endangered Moon Bears. Stephanie Lynch, aged 28, of the Veterinary Clinic on Chester Road, is hoping to raise funds which would be used to rescue the bears, which are often imprisoned in factory bile farms in their native China and Vietnam… (story)

Leicester Mercury 16.6.06 BADGER HONOUR - It's national badger day tomorrow. Lee Marlow goes in search of the much-maligned mammals… There are, officially, 436 badger setts in Leicestershire - and that's just the ones that are recorded. There are probably many, many more, says Pam, secretary of the Leicestershire Badger Group… (story)

Horse & Hound 15.6.06 HUNTS WARNED TO STAY SQUEAKY CLEAN - Michael Clayton - Hunts throughout England and Wales were congratulated on a "great start" since the Hunting Act, but warned practices must stay "squeaky clean", at last week's AGM of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA)… (story)

Western Morning News 15.6.06 SHOW BEST IN THE FAR WEST FOR YEARS - Thousands of visitors, many from North Devon and Torridge, ventured down to Wadebridge in North Cornwall to enjoy the splendours of the Royal Cornwall Show 2006…. in the main ring, was a whole array of entertainment from music from the RAF band, the Tigers parachute display team, the parade of fox hounds with inter-hunt relays… (story)

Western Daily Press 15.6.06 IS THE FIGHT TO OUTLAW FOX-HUNTING REALLY AN ICON OF GREAT BRITAIN? - I was one who nominated hunting as an icon and spoke up for it; in no way did I ever advocate the ban as an icon - indeed, where I live, we never see an anti!... Andy Rural England
…being a foreigner I had never heard of morris dancing until the icons project was launched. Nevertheless, I know of fox-hunting since my early childhood…. Dr C C Willinger Fieberbrunn
Hunting has been around since the late 18th century… Hunt saboteurs are, to the best of my knowledge, a creation of the late 20th century… The suggestion that saboteurs from around the 1960s onwards are equally significant exposes the corruption at the heart of this cynical political manipulation. David Stocker Lancaster
Why am I not surprised by the Culture Department's shabby trick? This awful Government is completely immersed in spin and dishonesty. I voted for fox-hunting because I believe it is a true British icon. I certainly do not wish to be associated with the ban, or the masked thugs who for years tried to disrupt hunting… Peter Hampshire (letters)

Scotsman 15.6.06 Ban on animal mutilation - I note that the Scottish Parliament has just voted the Animal Welfare Bill into law…. Interestingly, the legislation will carry an amendment making it an offence to "take an animal out of Scotland with the intention of having a prohibited procedure carried out elsewhere". I presume this amendment seeks to prevent Scottish breeders from taking their "working" dogs to England to have their tails docked legally under English legislation. This amendment raises a serious legal issue because the Scottish Parliament is seeking to extend its legislative powers to ban activities outside its borders and jurisdiction… JOSEPH HOLMES, Waltham Veterinary Clinic, Grimsby Road, Waltham, Lincolnshire (letter)

Lancashire Evening Post 15.6.06 BE AWARE OF SNARES - Animal rights campaigners will be in Chorley this weekend to highlight the dangers of using snares. The League Against Cruel Sports will have a stall on Market Street in the town on Saturday, showing people how animals are captured in the traps… (story)

Church of England Newspaper 15.6.06 The rights and wrongs of animal experimentation - The debate about animal experiments has been particularly prominent in the media recently and has tended to focus on whether animal experiments are useful. Along with this has gone, very often, an assumption that human beings are more important than animals, so that if we benefit from such experiments then they are justified…. Barry Miles is a semi-retired History teacher and a member of the committee of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals. He is willing to be contacted for further information. (story)

OXFORD INJUNCTION PROTECTING CONTRACTORS
Cotswold Journal 15.6.06 Moreton in Marsh: Animal rights protest limited to one a week - ANIMAL rights protesters are being penned in over their campaign against Oxford University research laboratory building workers being accommodated at Moreton Fire Service College. The University has been granted an extension to its injunction, which already applied in Oxford, to provide legal protection from intimidation, harassment and abuse for Moreton contractors… (story in archive)
Telegraph 13.6.06 Judge bans animal rights protest at builders' digs By Rosie Murray-West - Animal rights activists have been banned from demonstrating in a Cotswold village where construction workers from Oxford University's new research laboratory are being accommodated…. (story)
BBC News Online 10.6.06 Village made no lab protest zone - Oxford University has won a further High Court extension of its injunction against animal rights activists. A judge imposed an exclusion zone around a village where workers involved in the construction of the university's £20m biomedical research lab are based…. (story)

HOME SECRETARY PRAISES DARLEY OAKS POLICE INVESTIGATION
Lichfield Mercury 15.6.06 MINISTER PRAISES GRAVE CASE COPS - The Home Secretary has praised Staffordshire Police for its investigation into the Yoxall grave desecration of 2004, the culmination of a six-year campaign of hate against the Hall family of Darley Oaks Farm… (story)
Derby Evening Telegraph 10.6.06 REID PRAISES POLICE OVER ANIMAL RIGHTS PROTESTS INQUIRY – Home Secretary John Reid has commended Staffordshire Police for its investigation into animal rights activists who spent six years terrorising people associated with a guinea-pig farm. John Reid wrote to Chief Constable David Swift, expressing his appreciation over the inquiry into the case that involved petrol bomb attacks, hate mail and weekly protests outside Darley Oaks Farm, in Yoxall. The animal rights fanatics also stole the body of Gladys Hammond, who was the mother-in-law of Chris Hall, the co-owner of the farm where, until January this year, guinea pigs were bred for medical research… (story)
Wolverhampton Express & Star 8.6.06 Probe over grave theft is praised - The Home Secretary has hailed a police investigation into the desecration of a grandmother's grave near Lichfield as a model for other forces to follow…. Home Secretary John Reid has hailed it as "one of the most robust and determined investigations ever taken by the police service into animal rights extremists". Gladys Hammond's body was stolen from St Peter's Church in Yoxall in October 2004 because of her family links to Darley Oaks farm owners Chris and John Hall, which then bred guinea pigs for research… (story)

Gloucester Citizen 15.6.06 ANIMAL TESTING HAS A VITAL ROLE - I Agree with Chris Dowdeswell (Letters, June 9) that not all animal rights protesters are violent, but that is where our agreement ends. Research using animals is a small but vital part of medical discovery and drug development… JO TANNER, Coalition for Medical Progress (story)
Gloucester Citizen 9.6.06 ALL PROTESTERS AREN'T VIOLENT - Who cares whether medical research works? Are animal rights campaigners more of a threat to the general public than disease? That's what we should be afraid of. I hope that one day we will finally get to see a proper public inquiry so that we can all see that animal research is flawed and just because it creates many jobs in the UK doesn't warrant legal torture of millions of creatures… CHRIS DOWDESWELL, via e-mail (letter)

Gloucester Citizen or Gloucestershire Echo 15.6.06 ACTION DAY HIGHLIGHTS BADGERS' ENEMIES - A national day of action is set to highlight the plight of the badger. National Badger Day is aimed at generating funds for and raising awareness of threats to badgers….