March 2007

(*)- added since last update

Guardian 31.3.07 I was a vivisectionist - It all started when I was an undergraduate doing a medical degree. We were introduced to it gently; we started by watching videos of experiments on anaesthetised rabbits and recording the results. Later we carried out experiments on frogs' legs and then hearts…. When I had done my three-year research degree, I left. I had become someone who thought it was normal to kill animals on a daily basis and not be affected by it, which was somehow not really the person I wanted to be… (story)

Southern Daily Echo 31.3.07 Food for thought for meat eaters By Ushma Mistry - GIVE vegetarianism a try - that's the message from University of Southampton student, Alexia Weekes, who will be hosting a Southampton Free Veg-Fest today. The event takes place at the Edmund Kell church hall, in Bellevue Road from 10am to 2pm…. Alexia, who became a vegan five years ago, is also a member of Students Against Animal Cruelty…. (story)

CAPS POLAR BEAR LETTER
Sunderland Echo 31.3.07 Animals suffering greatly in zoos - Craig Redmond, Campaigns Manager, The Captive Animals' Protection Society, PO Box 4186, Manchester, M60 3ZA, UK (letter)
Bath Chronicle 27.3.07 SPARE ANIMALS THE MISERY OF A LIFE IN CAPTIVITY - CRAIG REDMOND, Campaigns Manager The Captive Animals' Protection Society, PO Box 4186, Manchester (letter)
Sun 27.3.07 THE plight of Knut the polar bear has reopened a timely debate about keeping animals in zoos… CRAIG REDMOND, Campaigns Manager, The Captive Animals' Protection Society, Manchester (letter)
Manchester Evening News 23.3.07 Should cute Knut live? THE plight of Knut the polar bear at Berlin Zoo has reopened a timely debate about the wide issues of keeping animals in zoos… While the best that this polar bear, and all animals in zoos, can ever hope for is an improvement in conditions, we must ensure that other animals are spared the misery of a life of captivity for entertainment… Craig Redmond, Campaigns Manager, Captive Animals’ Protection Society (letter)

HUNTING ACT CONVICTION
Chester Chronicle 30.3.07 History made as man is fined for fox hunt By Tom Sieber, Chester Chronicle - A MAN has been convicted of using dogs to kill a fox in the first case under the Hunting Act to be brought to court by the RSPCA. Paul McMullen, 36, of Musker Drive, Bootle, Liverpool, was found guilty at Chester Magistrates Court of hunting a wild mammal with dogs…. (story)
Bootle Times 29.3.07 Fox hunter fined by Lyndsay Young, Bootle Time - A MAN from Netherton was convicted for setting dogs to maul a fox to death in the first prosecution brought by the RSPCA under the Hunting Act. Paul McMullen, 36, of Musker Drive, was sentenced at Chester Magistrates Court after helping flush the fox from a badger set before setting dogs on it to kill it… (story)
Western Morning News 27.3.07 HUNTING BAN CONVICTION COSTS DOG OWNER £6,000 - A man was ordered to pay almost £6,000 after he was found guilty of hunting a fox with dogs in breach of the hunting ban.Paul McMullan, 36, was sentenced at Chester Magistrates Court after he was convicted of using a dog on January 11 last year…. (story)
Edinburgh Evening News 27.3.07 RSPCA hails £6000 hunting fine - THE RSPCA has said it is delighted that a man found guilty of breaching the hunting ban was ordered to pay almost £6000…. (story)
Wigan Post/Observer/Reporter 27.3.07 RSPCA welcomes sentence for hunting with dogs - The RSPCA has said it is delighted that a Merseyside man found guilty of breaching the hunting ban was ordered to pay almost £6,000 after he was found guilty of hunting a fox with dogs. Paul McMullan, 36, was sentenced at Chester Magistrates' Court after he was convicted of using a dog to flush out a fox from a badger sett on January 11 last year…. (story)
BBC News Online 26.3.07 Man convicted under hunting act - A man has been convicted of using his dogs to kill a fox in what is thought to be the first prosecution under the Hunting Act in the North West. Paul McMullen, of Bootle, Merseyside, was arrested after a woman reported a group of men with dogs digging into a badger set in the Cheshire countryside. He had denied hunting a wild mammal with a dog but was found guilty by magistrates in Chester…. The RSPCA, which spent about £12,000 to bring the prosecution, was satisfied with the outcome. Ch Insp Ian Briggs said: "We are extremely pleased with the awards that were given out by the court today… (story)

Western Morning News 30.3.07 MANY thanks to John Phelps (March 20) for his honesty. The reason for the Hunting Act, he tells us, is "distaste". Seven hundred hours of parliamentary time that might have been more profitably spent in furthering just about anything else… How can any society that calls itself liberal and tolerant survive if this is the basis of its legislative process? Jonathan Higgins, Totnes (letter)
Western Morning News 20.3.07 ANCIENT BUT WRONG - Half of your front page of March 12 was devoted to hunting with dogs in Ulster as a result of a statement on the website of the Northern Ireland Department saying: "Hunting with hounds is an ancient field sport".The statement may give the impression that the department is supportive of the sport…. The Northern Ireland Department is correct to say hunting with hounds is an ancient field sport, but it is disgraceful that abuse of wildlife continues in Ireland. John Phelps, Exeter (letter)

Great Yarmouth Mercury 30.3.07 Pay to fish plan slated - At long last the Government has come clean on its plans for making sea anglers pay to fish. In a White Paper up for discussion and consultation Labour's Environment Minister David Milliband has revealed he intends to introduce a whole range of sea fishing licences including one for beach anglers, boat anglers and charter boats, writes Roy Webster. The proposal has been universally criticised by the National Federation of Sea Anglers, the Sea Anglers' Matchmen's Federation and the Countryside Alliance…. (story)

Sheffield Star 30.3.07 Action is needed on fly-tipping now as it will only get worse. THE Countyside Alliance report on fly tipping has highlighted Sheffield's poor record on dealing with the problem of fly tipping. This, in my opinion is a well deserved record. Coun Bryan Lodge responds in typical bullish form by criticising the report for 'inconsistencies' in the way it gathered its information and is confident that future 'figures' will show a decrease… I would encourage those who see fly tipping on a regular basis to keep reporting these incidents to the council - only then will the scale of the problem be truly recognised by local politicians. Jim Flanagan, Coronation Road, Stocksbridge (letter)

York Press 30.3.07 MPs sign motion to ban foie gras from UK By Tom Stirling - YORK MP Hugh Bayley has backed a campaign to outlaw foie gras - by tabling a motion in Parliament. The Early Day Motion (EDM) reinforces a call from York councillor Paul Blanchard to ban the sale of foie gras in the UK entirely…. >(letter)

Scunthorpe Telegraph 30.3.07 KEEP CIRCUS TRADITION ALIVE - I Am writing in reply to the RSPCA letter printed in Viewpoint, Scunthorpe Telegraph. We took our grandchildren to the circus at Glanford Park last week.Firstly, the animals both in the big top and the animals on the park were very well cared for and much-loved…. I can't praise the circus staff enough - from the 'pooh cleaner' up to Martin Lacey himself…. Noreen Smith, Blackmoor Road, Haxey, Doncaster. (story)

VIVA! VEGETARIAN LETTER
Bath Chronicle 30.3.07 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS HUMANE SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS - JUSTIN KERSWELL, Campaigns manager, Viva!, Wilder Street, Bristol (letter)
Exeter Express & Echo 27.3.07 BE SCEPTICAL OVER VIEWS ON SLAUGHTER - As one of the people who attend the slaughter house featured in the BBC3 programme Kill It, Cook It, Eat, I must take issue with Justin Kerswell's letter No such thing as humane slaughter, Points of view, March 19.As he was not present at the time, he cannot use such controversial language if he wishes the general public to listen to what he has to say… Beware anyone who uses emotive terms to further their cause. Their comments cannot be trusted as being objective - treat all of them with extreme scepticism. David Soutter, Milwr, Holywell, North Wales (letter)
Exeter Express & Echo 19.3.07 NO SUCH THING AS HUMANE SLAUGHTER - Justin Kerswell, Campaigns manager, Viva! Bristol (letter)
North East Evening Gazette 13.3.07 Bloody whitewash - JUSTIN KERSWELL, Campaigns Manager, Viva! (letter)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 9.3.07 Go veggie to stop animal suffering - The way animals are killed in slaughterhouses is something most of us don't want to think about but the incredible fact that nearly two-and-a-half million are slaughtered in the UK each day means it is an issue we can't ignore…. . By going veggie we stop supporting this brutal business and reduce the number of animals enduring this fate… Justin Kerswell, Campaigns manager, Viva! Wilder Street, Bristol (letter)

Western Daily Press 30.3.07 SHOCKED BY THIS KILLING OF GOATS - I was shocked and saddened to hear about the 15 goats that the National Trust had shot…. A Palmer, Dursley (letter)

Western Daily Press 30.3.07 DON'T RESURRECT THIS CRUEL TRADE - Time is running out for the great whales, and in less than 100 days a decision will come which could seal their fate for good or ill, says FRAN MALLION, of the Wiltshire-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society… (story)

Grimsby Telegraph 30.3.07 ANIMAL CAMPAIGNER'S CIRCUS BOYCOTT PLEA - A Young animal rights campaigner is urging people to boycott the Great British Circus which rolls into town next week. Ryan Day (16), of Aylesby, and a group of other campaigners, will be protesting against the use of animals in the circus before each performance…. (story)

Sutton Coldfield Observer 30.3.07 READERS CAN HELP ANIMALS - Dr John Raines' recollection of the Chipperfields Circus in 1955 (Observer, March 23) shows just how much attitudes towards animals has progressed in the past half-decade…. Fortunately, our five decades of campaigns have encouraged the public to avoid animal circuses so that now most rely entirely on the skills of human performers…. Craig Redmond, campaigns manager, The Captive Animals' Protection Society (story)

Ham & High 30.3.07 Dark skies gather for Heath parakeets - ANIMAL rights campaigners have slammed plans that could lead to dead parrots and terrapins on Hampstead Heath… One possible solution being examined is Defra's own call to cull the African green parakeets that live on Hampstead Heath… Animal rights campaigner Angela Humphery from Willoughby Road said: "I can understand from an ornithological point of view why they would want to keep native species, but personally I think it is a shame to kill any birds. "I'm a supporter of the RSPB anyway and I fully support its views on this…. (story)

North Devon Journal 29.3.07 LEAGUE ACCUSES PARK AUTHORITY OF BEING HYPOCRITES - The league Against Cruel Sports has accused Exmoor National Park Authority of hypocrisy over its controls on dogs during the ground nesting season.A spokesman for the league said the authority was guilty of double standards after warning people to keep their dogs on short leads during the breeding season, between March 1 and July 31… he League argued that ironically, seven hunts have access to the park on a regular basis: the Devon and Somerset, Quantocks and Tiverton Staghounds, as well as the Exmoor, Dulverton West, Minehead Harriers and Dulverton Farmers Foxhounds… Authority spokeswoman Clare O'Connor said: "The hunt are exercising their rights over which we have no control…. (story)

Guardian 29.3.07 Wild magic - We usually think of urban foxes as pests - smelly scavengers that wreck our gardens and make it impossible to get a good night's sleep. But Blake Morrison has learned to live with them - and even love them… Why the fox came so high on the political agenda in the age of New Labour is as mysterious as the creature itself. As a contributor to the Guardian letters page in July 2003 put it, which wicked practice was it that finally roused Labour backbenchers to vote against the government? Fat-cat pay? Third world debt? Arms sales? The war in Iraq? The vilification of asylum seekers? The gap between rich and poor? No, fox-hunting - "the unreachable in pursuit of the immaterial", as the writer put it. One day, perhaps, historians will make sense of it. For now, the obvious conclusion is that Blair gave in on fox-hunting in order to get his way on issues that mattered more… (story)

Independent 29.3.07 Save our hares - It seems British brown hares will soon be extinct ("Open season on Britain's hares", 26 March). There are arguments for keeping fox numbers down because they kill poultry and can be seen as vermin, but a few hares grazing on arable pasture cannot be seen in the same light… . It's high time a hunting ban was introduced… CLARE MEIKLEJOHN, EXETER (letter)

Evesham Journal 29.3.07 Countryside - BASC welcomes shake-up of game laws - A MAJOR shake-up of the game laws, which will see the scrapping of game dealers' licences and permit game and venison to be sold all year round, comes into force on August 1. Steward Scull, head of gamekeeping and game shooting, for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: "This is fantastic news for everyone who shoots game and those who deal in game… (story)

Scotsman 29.3.07 Legal use of airguns - In my letter (27 March) on airguns, I missed out the word, "most". What I should have written was: "It is also illegal to use an airgun to shoot most wild, pet or farm animals or birds… JOHN F ROBINS, Animal Concern, PO Box 5178, Dumbarton (letter)
Scotsman 27.3.07 Scourge of airgun misuse - Jack McConnell, the First Minister, has decided to give Scottish police forces two years to prove that existing legislation is adequate to deal with the scourge of airgun misuse… If anyone sees someone misusing an airgun they have a duty to dial 999 and tell the police…. JOHN F ROBINS, Secretary Animal Concern Advice Line, PO Box 5178, Dumbarton
Living in a rural area, I strongly disagree with the view that airguns have no place outside gun clubs… ADAM STAVERT, Kersewell Avenue, Carnwath, Lanarkshire (letter)

Rutland Times 29.3.07 Anglers get hooked on clearing canal - Canal-side walks will soon be possible again thanks to the efforts of an angling group. Oakham Angling Society is spearheading a campaign to tidy up Oakham's canal to improve the area for fishermen and walkers…. (story)

Western Gazette 29.3.07 HORSE RACING DEATHS SPARK INVESTIGATION - The death of four horses at Wincanton has led to calls for horse racing to prioritise animal safety. The Horseracing Regulatory Authority has opened an investigation into the incidents on Monday at Wincanton Racecourse…. David Muir, a spokesman for the RSPCA, said: "We keep on saying it, racing has got to put fatalities at the top of its priorities… (story)

Bury Times 29.3.07 Trust 'sorry' after it culls 15 goats By Andy Davey - THE National Trust has apologised for distressing neighbours in Purbeck after culling 15 goats when a trial grazing project failed…. (story)
Western Daily Press 24.3.07 NATIONAL TRUST ORDERS GOATS TO BE GUNNED DOWN BY MARCUS DENBY WDNEWS@BEPP.CO.UK - There was outrage yesterday after the National Trust shot a herd of goats when an experiment to graze them on heathland failed. The Trust put the 18 goats on a patch of coastal scrubland in a trial to keep down growing gorse. Although the animals successfully kept the grass trim they repeatedly escaped from their pens, causing damage to nearby gardens and a golf course… Anita Singh, spokesman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called the culling stupid…. (story)

Bury Times 29.3.07 Sparks flew in Marks' protest By David Thomson - PLACARD-waving animal rights campaigners held a protest in Bury over Marks and Spencer's treatment of pregnant and mothering sows. The demonstration co-incided with a National Day of Action organised by supporters of welfare group Viva (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals)…. (story)

Norwich Evening News 29.3.07 Concerns grow over Animal Welfare Bill - DAVID POWLES - New measures to protect animals against abuse come into force next week - but fears have been raised that a lack of preparation means they will not be effective. The Animal Welfare Bill, the first overhaul of pet law in 94 years, includes harsher fines of up to £20,000 and maximum jail terms of 51 weeks, for animal cruelty… However, fears have been raised by bosses of Norfolk's animal sanctuaries that not enough preparation has gone into ensure the measure is a success… (story)

Guardian 29.3.07 Less squirrel, more seabass - Pet pelts sold as fake fur seem obscene, but we should be consistent in our condemnation - Zoe Williams - "It sounds too grotesque for words. But pelts from slaughtered cats and dogs are being passed off as 'ethical' fur to British shoppers"… I've made being anti-fur sound like adolescent posturing, when it isn't - there is something so uniquely poisonous about the message of this material, combining as it does cruelty, vanity and ostentatious wealth… But let's be honest. Why ban the sale of dog and cat pelts, and not fox? Because they are cuter…. (story)

Ripley & Heanor News 29.3.07 Street collection to help animal charity - A street collection in Ripley in aid of Respect for Animals on February 17, raised £139.83… (story)

ANIMAL AID EASTER BUNNY LETTER
North Devon Journal 29.3.07 CARING FOR YOUR BUNNIES - KATE FOWLER-REEVES, Animal Aid, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent. (letter)
Ulster Herald 29.3.07 Don't give rabbits as Easter gifts - Kate Fowler-Reeves, Animal Aid (letter)
Keighley News 29.3.07 Don't buy Easter bunnies - Kate Fowler-Reeves Animal Aid The Old Chapel Bradford Street Tonbridge Kent TN9 1AW (letter)
Wharfedale Observer 29.3.07 Easter warning - With Easter approaching, rabbit breeders may be hoping to boost their profits by capitalising on the holiday's theme… They require plenty of freedom to run, dig and play throughout the day, every day; companionship of their own kind; safety and security from attacks by dogs and foxes… It is more important than ever that people think twice before taking on a rabbit or any other pet. The new Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006 places a duty of care on pet owners to ensure that the needs of their animals are met… Kate Fowler-Reeves Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1AW (letter)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 28.3.07 A rabbit is for life, not just Easter - Kate Fowler-Reeves, Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent (letter)

Scunthorpe Telegraph 29.3.07 'WILL RSPCA GO BACK TO CHARITY ROOTS?' - The anti-circus venom surrounding the RSPCA seems to have followed me around. Perhaps this has something to do with me working at the Great British Circus…. If only the RSPCA would revert back to caring for sick dogs, cats, and horses etc - a true charity - instead of the political monster it now appears to be. David Bushell, Lincoln Road, Honington Junction, Grantham (letter)

Rugby Observer 29.3.07 Vegetarian diet better for health - I AM astounded to read the total ignorance of one of your readers, a Mr Leckie, in his flawed and somewhat narrow minded approach to a Vegetarian diet… In today’s climate of growing childhood obesity, it is by far and large proven time and time again that a meat free diet for children as well as adults is without doubt a more likely route to longevity, low blood pressure and reduced stress. Carl Roderick, Via email (letter)

Sussex Express 28.3.07 Bank switch stopped over fox hunting ban - A PARISH council has decided not to transfer its cash to the Co-operative Bank - because the bank is opposed to fox hunting. East Chilton Parish Council had planned to move its banking arrangements to the Co-operative Bank because it would be more convenient for the council. But councillors had second thoughts about the move and decided it would not be "appropriate" to go ahead with the switch, in light of the bank's stance on fox hunting…. (story)

Carmarthen Journal 28.3.07 CHARITY BOOSTED BY HUNT - Carmarthenshire Hunt celebrated its closing meet by donating money to charity.A total of £520 was raised by members for Wales Air Ambulance…. (story)

WESTERN DAILY PRESS CAMERON CORRESPONDENCE
Western Daily Press 28.3.07 WHO NEEDS A HOUND PACK? - Having read Delly Everard's letter last week (Your Say, March 13), I agree that the hunting debates and subsequent law were a complete waste of time. Packs of hounds should have been banned altogether…. Drag-hunting is equally suspect at the very least. If hounds are following an artificial scent and disturb a fox, are they really going to ignore it…. Joan Bennett, Ashcott (letter)
Western Morning News 22.3.07 IT'S NOT SO EASY TO REPEAL A LAW - In response to the letter from Delly Everard on the hunt ban "Cameron repeal is all about stopping waste of resources" (Your Say, March 10), what a load of old tosh again…. A Palmer, Gloucestershire (letter)
Western Daily Press 21.3.07 HUNTING ACT HAS POPULAR SUPPORT - Delly Everard, regional director of the Countryside Alliance, insults the intelligence of Western Daily Press readers. David Cameron is a paid-up member of Ms Everard's organisation and comes from a hunting background…. The Hunting Act is a clear and enforceable law, supported by people in town and country alike… Chris Gale, Chippenham (letter)
Western Daily Press 20.3.07 RESPECT BAN TO SAVE RESOURCES - Delly Everard, the spokesperson for bloodsports organisation the Countryside Alliance, informs us that David Cameron's desire to repeal the Hunting Act has nothing to do with the fact that he is a bloodsports enthusiast, but through a desire to save police resources "Cameron repeal is all about stopping waste of resources", (Your Say, March 10). Well, I have a much simpler way for Mr Cameron, leader of the Tory Party, to save police resources. He can tell his arrogant foxhunting friends to stop flouting the law… Helen Weeks, Somerset (letter)
Western Daily Press 17.3.07 REPEAL A GIFT TO LANDOWNERS - Does Delly Everard, "Cameron repeal is all about stopping waste of resources" (Your Say, March 10), think we are all brain-dead?It will take more than a letter stuffed full of Countryside Alliance dogma to convince people that David Cameron's pledge to repeal the Hunting Act is anything other than a Tory attempt to re-establish what they see as the natural order of things, ie, that landowners are the people who matter and must be allowed to do as they like, regardless of how repugnant their activities may be to the general population…. Penny Little Great Haseley Oxfordshire (letter)
Western Daily Press 10.3.07 CAMERON REPEAL IS ALL ABOUT STOPPING WASTE OF RESOURCES - In response to letters commenting on David Cameron and the repeal of the Hunting Act, it seems that readers have completely missed the point of his promise.He is not, in fact, pledging to allow a free vote based on his personal preferences towards field sports, but making a bold and long-overdue comment that it is a bad and unjust law, and should not be allowed to remain on the statute books…. Delly Everard Wessex regional director Marlborough Wiltshire (letter)

Droitwich Spa Advertiser 28.3.07 - Animal care - WILLIAM Wilberforce, currently remembered in the new film 'Amazing Grace', was not only involved in bringing the slave trade to an end - he was also a founder of the RSPCA…. The RSPCA works tirelessly for better treatment of animals - following the example set by William Wilberforce all those years ago… Jackie Ballard, Director General, RSPCA (letter)

Daelnet 28.3.07 Massive support for humane farming - MORE than half of British food shoppers - and even more in continental Europe - would be prepared to swap supermarkets to one which could prove it sold only meat and poultry produced in human conditions. A survey of EU countries conducted by the research company Eurobarometer that 56% of Britons and 62% of mainland Europeans would make the switch, says the animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)…. (story)

Argus 28.3.07 Newborn fox cub returned to its mother By Siobhan Ryan - A three-day old fox cub has been reunited with its mother by wildlife volunteers. The tiny cub, with its eyes still closed, was found at the bottom of a garden in Meadowlands Avenue, Hampden Park, near Eastbourne on Tuesday evening. The owners of the property called the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service for help…. (story)

GOAT SHOOTING HOLIDAYS
Western Mail 27.3.07 Goat-shooting hunts challenged by RSPCA as trophy tourism - HUNTING holidays that offer enthusiasts the chance to shoot wild deer and goats in Wales and England have been branded "morally incomprehensible". The RSPCA, which opposes shooting animals for sport, said it was concerned about inexperienced people shooting animals during short breaks in Wales and England organised by the field sports company UK Custom Shop…. (story)
Birmingham Post 20.3.07 Firm fires back over hunting holidays - A Midland firm has defended its hunting holidays offering gun enthusiasts the chance to shoot wild deer and goats in the UK after they were branded "morally incomprehensible". Field sports company UK Custom Shop provides its clients with short breaks hunting six species of wild deer, as well as feral goats… Andrew Banner, who runs UK Custom Shop, which is based in Bromsgrove, Worcester-shire, said: "This is nothing new, the details have been on the website for the past s even years with no complaints… (story)
Birmingham Mail 19.3.07 Animal shooting holidays slammed - HUNTING holidays organised by a Midland firm which offer gun enthusiasts the chance to shoot wild deer and goats in the UK have been branded "morally incomprehensible"… (story)
Daily Post 19.3.07 Come and shoot goats in N.Wales by Hywel Trewyn, Daily Post - AN ENGLISH field sports company is offering holidays in North Wales for huntsmen to shoot and kill wild goats. The company based in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, advertises trips for people of “all abilities and budgets” to come to Snowdonia and take potshots at the creatures. UK Custom Shop boasts that all the guns and ammunition needed to stalk the animals can be provided…. Animal Aid director Andrew Tyler, who disagrees with all goat culling, condemned the advert…. RSPCA spokeswoman Becky Hawkes said: “The RSPCA is opposed to shooting animals for sport… Tim Lander of UK Custom Shop, which has merged with Wildcat Custom Rifles, last night claimed the firm no longer offered goat-stalking as a service, despite the fact that it appears on the website… (story)
Daily Post 19.3.07 Goat cull is not job for gun-toting amateurs - FROM time to time, the authorities see a real need for humans to give the natural world a helping hand to keep the balance of nature in check… However, there is a point on the issue at which most right-thinking people agree – it is not okay to slaughter the animals in a way that causes unnecessary suffering. If it must be done, there are professionals who can cull goats instantly with a single bullet. This is the most humane way it can be carried out… (story)
Western Mail 19.3.07 RSPCA slam goat shooting holidays - Hunting holidays offering gun enthusiasts the chance to shoot wild deer and goats in the UK were today branded "morally incomprehensible". Field sports company UK Custom Shop provides its clients with short breaks hunting six species of wild deer as well as feral goats…. (story)

Western Mail 27.3.07 Piling more tax on 4x4s 'is another blow for farming and countryside' - Steve Dube, Western Mail - EXTRA road tax on Chelsea Tractors is a symbol of Gordon Brown's blind spot for farming and the countryside, say farming organisations. The farm unions, the Tenant Farmers Association and the Country Land and Business Association all pointed to the tax increase for gas-guzzling 4x4 vehicles as a blow for farmers struggling on low incomes…. The Countryside Alliance estimates that only about 250,000 of the UK's 1.6 million 4x4s are real working vehicles… (story)

Peterborough Evening Telegraph 27.3.07 Animal rights activist in court - AN ANIMAL rights activist was taken back to court after breaching a high court injunction limiting protest activity at Huntingdon Life Sciences. Alan Buttle, 22, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs by Huntingdson magistrates… (story)
Cambridge Evening News 27.3.07 Animal rights activist broke order - AN ANIMAL rights activist who breached a High Court injunction limiting protest activity at Huntingdon Life Sciences has been given a 12-month conditional discharge. Alan Buttle, of Meopham in Gravesend, Kent, was arrested in October during a protest outside HLS in Woolley Road, Huntingdon. The 22-year-old was warned about his behaviour, which breached a High Court injunction, but ignored the warning and continued to breach the court order…. (story)

Aberdeen Press & Journal 27.3.07 Action against grey squirrels - Aberdeen City Council's decision to trap and kill grey squirrels has to be one of the most inhumane and misguided actions taken by this council. Whoever told the officials that the red squirrels were being wiped out by their grey cousins must be clueless… In its wisdom, the council has destroyed the red squirrels' habitat by cutting down pine trees in the Hazlehead woods over the past four years…. Graeme and Angela Smith, 43 Binghill Road West, Milltimber, Aberdeen. (story)

Western Morning News 27.3.07 RECONSIDER SUPPORT FOR AQUARIUMS - It is clearly time to reassess whether any more public money should be pumped into Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium, given recent stories in the Press about its decline in visitor numbers…. Two years ago the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) commissioned a scientific study into aquariums in the UK, revealing for the first time the huge animal welfare problems created by confining aquatic animals for public display…. Craig Redmond, Campaigns Manager The Captive Animals' Protection Society Manchester (letter)

Torquay Herald Express 27.3.07 CAMPAIGNERS HOST CHARITY CURRY NIGHT - Animal lovers are being invited to tuck into a curry night feast to help moon bears. The South Devon Animals Asia Support Group is holding an Indian supper and talk at the Sharpham Buddhist Centre at Ashprington near Totnes on Saturday April 14 in aid of the campaign to rescue moon bears…. (story)

Western Daily Press 27.3.07 TALK TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW, CHRIS - It is about time that Chris Rundle stirred his loins and met some of the people who he writes about from the comfort of a chair. The article "Badger cull on the cards" he wrote on March 7 proves that he does not have a clue about the beliefs and motivation of animal rights activists… He should ask the Forestry Commission and private forestry concerns how many squirrel traps they have lost.He would be very surprised at the thousands of mole traps and fox traps that are destroyed every year. He should also find out how many ferrets disappear and how many times ferreting expeditions are stopped by animal rights activists…. P Richardson, South Cerney (story)

Southern Daily Echo 27.3.07 Help stop seal slaughter - CAN one imagine what it would be like to be skinned alive? This is what often happens to baby harp seals, born on the Canadian ice floes every spring… M MILLAR, Southampton. (letter)

Northampton Chronicle & Echo 27.3.07 Wanted: good homes for 13,500 liberated hens - I was interested to read the article last week regarding the children from a Towcester school who had witnessed the hatching of some chickens in their school. While it is commendable that children are brought closer to nature with the opportunity that living eggs brought to them, I wonder if your readers could spare a thought for the millions of baby chicks that are born into captivity only to be condemned to a life of suffering…. At present there are 13,500 legally liberated hens that are no longer wanted by the poultry industry. These poor creatures are urgently looking for homes… Sarah Beagley, Northampton. (letter)

Aberdeen Press & Journal 26.3.07 Blaming deer for damage - I agree wholeheartedly with Robert Balfour, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, that the widespread misinformation by conservation groups regarding damage to the environment by Scotland's deer population must end… Peter Fraser, East Auchallater, Braemar. (letter)
Aberdeen Press & Journal 17.3.07 CLAIMS OF TOO MANY DEER IN SCOTLAND ARE REJECTED - JOE WATSON - Deer managers have called for a greater degree of commonsense from the next Scottish Executive and for politicians to finally recognise the important economic contribution the sector makes to rural Scotland. The plea from Robert Balfour, chairman of the Association of Deer Management Groups, comes ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections…. "We know the contribution made by deer management to the Scottish economy. This has been estimated at £105million per annum. So will our ministers, MSPs and their advisers please kick the 'lairds at play' stereotype firmly into touch and accept that deer management, the business it sustains and the jobs it generates, are of real value to the rural economy….” (story)

Oxford Times 26.3.07 Animal demo - ALMOST 100 protesters demonstrated about animal rights in the city on Saturday. Campaigners waving placards and photographs of Felix, a monkey used in experiments, in a cage gathered at Martyrs' Memorial and later dispersed in groups to various parts of the city to broadcast their 'Fighting for Felix' campaign…. Amanda Richards, a member of campaign group Speak, said there was growing concern about the increasing use of animals for medical experiments…. (story)
Bicester Advertiser and Oxford Times 24.3.07 Speaking out - ANIMAL rights campaigners have been demonstrating this week to highlight the case of a monkey being used for medical research…. Protest group Speak is demanding the release of Felix, who was featured in a BBC2 documentary called Monkeys, Rats and Me. Campaigners will meet at noon today, at the Martyrs' Memorial, in St Giles…. (story) (story)

Plymouth Evening Herald 26.3.07 NO ANSWER ON GOAT SUB TESTS - Armed forces minister Adam Ingram has refused to give a detailed answer to a Parliamentary question about navy experiments involving live goats.Last month, the Herald revealed that privatised defence research firm QinetiQ was putting goats in chambers which were then depressurised to simulate an emergency aboard a submarine… (story)

Irish Independent 26.3.07 Group urges ban on animals in circuses - ANIMAL welfare campaigners are calling on the Arts Council to stop funding animal circuses amid mounting concerns about the conditions in which animals are kept…. Circus Watch Ireland, the Irish branch of the Captive Animals Protection Society, says the council should redirect funding to human act-only circuses and called for a ban on animals in circuses. “….hippos, rhinos, tigers and elephants can be dragged around the country and no licence is required." said spokeswoman Nuala Donlon… (story)

Irish Independent 26.3.07 Tommy Hilfiger turns his back on fur on the catwalk By Jonathan Owen - Designer Tommy Hilfiger has joined the likes of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein by turning his back on animal skins in his collections… demand for fur is such that more than 50 million animals will be killed for their fur this year, according to the charity Respect for Animals… (story)

Western Daily Press 26.3.07 HORRORS OF THE HARROWING CRATE - Pig ignorant is what pig farmers and people like Pauline Case would like consumers to be as far as pig- farming goes. Thanks to people like Heather McCartney, and organisations like Viva!, this vile practice of farrowing crates is being exposed…. Marie Denston, Highbridge (story)

Observer 25.3.07 Pendennis - Oliver Marre - Well, we always knew Sienna was a foxy lady - Sienna Miller should have seen this coming. Last week, she rode out with Bryan Ferry's son, Otis, and the South Shropshire Hunt, where he is master of foxhounds. Young Otis, you may remember, was one of those who stormed Parliament to protest about the hunting ban. Now, the animal-rights lobby group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tells me: 'In a country which banned hunting with public support, Sienna is at risk of losing fans… (story)
Mirror 22.3.07 FOXY AND THE HOUNDS - EXCLUSIVE SIENNA GOES OUT HUNTING WITH ODIOUS OTIS FERRY - SIENNA Miller clearly has a gruesome idea of a bloody good time - as Odious Ferry takes her hunting. Mud-spattered Sienna, 25, flashed a smile as she turned her hand from Factory Girl to hideous country pursuits…. Odious, master of the South Shropshire hunt, is famous solely for being rocker Bryan's son and storming the Commons in 2004 over the hunting ban…. (story)

ANIMAL AID GRAND NATIONAL LETTER
Wales on Sunday 25.3.07 WITH the Grand National just a few weeks away, the joint favourites to win the race have both been destroyed within days of each other… DENE STANSALL, horse racing consultant, Animal Aid, Kent (letter)
Swindon Advertiser 23.3.07 Racehorses at risk from punishing events - D Stansall. Horse racing consultant. Animal Aid. The Old Chapel. Bradford Street. Tonbridge. (letter)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 21.3.07 Too many horses are racing to death - With the notorious Grand National just a few weeks away, the joint favourites to win the race have both been destroyed within days of each other. Both deaths pose important questions for the racing authorities… We now see that horses not only die while racing in the Grand National but they also perish as their owners prepare them for an event we believe should have been banned long ago. Dene Stansall, Horse racing consultant, Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent (letter)

Bristol Evening Post 24.3.07 MILES OF FUN - A Fun ride covering about 10 miles of the countryside in the Berkeley Vale will be held tomorrow.The event at Frampton-on- Severn has been organised by the Berkeley Hunt Supporters' Club and starts at 10am… (story)
Western Daily Press 27.1.07 THIS RIDE IS JUST FOR FUN - Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club is holding a 10-mile fun ride on Sunday, March 25.The route will include optional jumps and for spectators there will be a barbecue and refreshments to stave off the winter chill… (story)
Western Daily Press 18.1.07 FUN RIDE - Berkeley Hunt Supporters Club is holding a 10-mile fun ride on Sunday, March 25… (story)

Western Daily Press 24.3.07 HUNTING BAN IS A FARCE! - Ms Widdecombe should stick to subjects she actually knows something about.Both criminals and members of the public are flouting just laws every minute of every day. Politicians who put their names to this type of socially divisive legislation have, in my opinion, forfeited all rights to any respect from the electorate, and I am a Conservative…. Andrew Banks North Somerset (letter)

Western Daily Press 24.3.07 PRO-BAN MPS MUST BACK LAW - As a long-time member of the Labour Party who hates cruelty to animals, I think Peter Hain is right to consider the Hunting Act as a proud achievement.The Hunting Act is an act of compassion against cruelty, and it is time more MPs who voted for the ban stood by it, by insisting it be enforced…. Helen Weeks West Coker Somerset (letter)

Western Daily Press 24.3.07 RESPECT DUE TO ALL ANIMALS - Now that Chris Rundle has vented his spleen "Badger cull on the cards" (Western Daily Press, March 7) he should be aware that some of us have respect for all wild animals and do care what happens to them… P M Holder Winscombe (letter)

York Press 24.3.07 Former Bond star backs call to ban foie gras By Gavin Aitchison - HE'S got a licence to kill - but it doesn't extend to birds. The pioneering York-based campaign to ban foie gras has received top level backing - from none other than James Bond. Former 007 Roger Moore has backed City of York councillor Paul Blanchard's drive to outlaw the sale of the controversial French delicacy…. (story)

Lincolnshire Echo 24.3.07 LET SAME RULES APPLY TO ANIMALS - I Have heard animal rights activists are campaigning for a baby polar bear to be destroyed because its mother has rejected it and to domesticate it is inter- fering with natural processes. I wonder if these people believe a child abandoned by its mother should be des- troyed instead of adopted?... GARY HUTCHINSON Newtoft. purethoughts@tesco.net (letter)

Western Daily Press 23.3.07 BY MATTHEW GEORGE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT - A former Home Office Minister last night claimed the hunting ban was being "blatantly and deliberately" broken because police and prosecutors were failing to enforce the law. There have been just three known convictions since the controversial hunting ban was introduced, MPs were told last night. And only one of those was for hunting with a pack of hounds according to Tory MP Ann Widdecombe… Home Office Minister Joan Ryan rejected the attack on police and CPS performance. She said: "It's not for the Government to direct chief constables how to deploy their resources to deal with hunting…. (story)

Western Morning News 23.3.07 CHARITY RIDE ACROSS DARTMOOR FOR PAUL - An army of riders and six Devon hunts will ride out across Dartmoor on Sunday, April 15 in support of Paul Lewis' Son-Rise programme, which helps severely autistic children.Paul's father, Allen Lewis, a former hunt servant for the Spooners & West Dartmoor Hunt is organising the ride for the fourth year to help continue with the outreach sessions which are so crucial to Paul's progress…. Medals will be presented to all riders by Jeffrey Cox MP at the halfway stage. The six hunts taking part are the South Devon Hunt, Spooners and West Dartmoor Hunt, Lamerton Hunt, Mid Devon Hunt, Dartmoor Hunt, Dart Vale and South Pool Harriers. (story)

Western Morning News 23.3.07 EXEMPT HUNTING DATES (story)

Yorkshire Post 23.3.07 Free choice From: Ken Holmes, South Duffield Road, Cliffe Common, Selby. LIKE thousands of others, I am a big believer in freedom of choice. I am a great supporter of foxhunting, although I don't hunt myself. I don't smoke but if people wish to with all its consequences, that is their choice…. (letter)

Scotsman 23.3.07 Top-down conservation management is failing Scotland and its wildlife - The Scottish Environment Link report loss is proof that the centralised, top-down, "command and control" structure of conservation management prevalent in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom and which protects only "key" habitats and species, is not working (your report, 19 March). Politicians and environmental decision-makers are ignoring the most powerful advocates for biodiversity - the people on the ground…. TONY ANDREWS, Chief executive, SCA, Ingliston, Midlothian (letter)

Norwich Evening News 23.3.07 RSPCA defends Freedom Food scheme - DAVID POWLES - The RSPCA is standing by its scheme designed to make sure animals reared for food are being treated properly - despite footage which showed alleged cruelty on three charity-approved farms in Norfolk….Jackie Ballard, the RSPCA's director general, said: “The RSPCA cannot monitor farms 24 hours a day and has never claimed to. Of course in rare cases individual farms or farmers can let us down, but for every animal shown on covertly-filmed video there are millions who have had a better life.”… (story)

Middlewich Guardian 23.3.07 Developers asked to look after badgers By Gina Bebbington - A COUPLE who live near the planned bypass will not fight the plans as long as developers look after their neighbours - a family of badgers. Ken and Margaret Roden regularly feed badgers in their back garden in Cledford Lane and last week told the Guardian they would not oppose the road if they and the Middlewich wildlife were looked after…. (story)

Manchester Evening News 23.3.07 Not animal lovers - THEY call themselves animal rights activists. They go around threatening, attacking and even stealing dead bodies from anyone remotely connected with anything which involves animals with which they disagree…. the news this week about their efforts to have the three-month-old hand-raised polar bear cub at Berlin zoo destroyed because it will never be able to form a natural relationship with other wild polar bears disgusts me.This sums them up… Animal Lover, Poynton (letter)

Western Daily Press 23.3.07 BETTER DEAL FOR ANIMALS - With an ever-burgeoning human population, it's time that more consideration was given to improving the lives of farm animals and, if that means free-range alternatives, I'm all for it… Wendy Beer, North Somerset (letter)

Scunthorpe Telegraph 23.3.07 NEW RULES FOR CIRCUS NEEDED - Regarding the Great British Circus visiting Scunthorpe. The RSPCA would like to reassure readers it is opposed to exhibitions or presentations of all animals, of whatever species, in circuses and travelling menageries. We look forward to the day when performing animals in circuses are a thing of the past…. Sophie Wilkinson RSPCA East Regional Press Officer, RSPCA Regional Headquarters,Peterborough. (letter)

St Albans Observer 23.3.07 Circus defends use of Anne the elephant - BOBBY Roberts Super Circus has hit back at critics, including an animal rights group, over the treatment of its 54-year-old elephant, Anne. The Captive Animal's Protection Society (CAPS) had urged the public to boycott the circus, which will perform at Herts County Showground, in Dunstable Road, Redbourn, this week, over its use of animals…. However, circus manager Bobby Roberts refutes CAPS' and other critics' claims….(story)

Independent 22.3.07 Hunting: we've had the debate - Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance objects to the imposition of morality on those who wish to continue hunting. He calls for an honest debate (Letters, 20 March). But the debate is over…. KIT DAVIDSON, ANIMAL AID, TONBRIDGE, KENT
: Tim Bonner describes the Hunting Act as "imposing morality on people"…. Next thing, the enemies of liberty will be stopping badger baiting… CHRISTOPHER CLAYTON, WAVERTON, CHESHIRE (letters)
Independent 21.3.07 The challenge of deer stalking - While I abhor the concept of the computerised hunting of animals in compounds to which Terence Blacker refers (14 March) , deer stalking in the wild as both a skill, a challenge and a management tool is an essential part of what goes on in our managed countryside…. ROBERT BALFOUR, CHAIRMAN ASSOCIATION OF DEER MANAGEMENT GROUPS, FREUCHIE, FIFE (letter)
Independent 20.3.07 Letters: Hunting and morality - Anti-hunting laws seek to ban 'immoral' enjoyment - Terence Blacker's article "What is so thrilling about killing a deer?" (14 March) raises again the interesting debate of imposed morality in the management of wild animals…. Mr Blacker's argument is that he believes that an activity has an unacceptable impact on humans, or that humans gain unacceptable enjoyment from carrying it out; therefore they should not be allowed take part in it. The Hunting Act is the most prominent example of such thinking… The Hunting Act and Mr Blacker's views on stalking have absolutely nothing to do with the welfare of animals. They are about imposing morality on people. TIM BONNER, COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE, LONDON SE11 (letter)
Independent 14.3.07 Terence Blacker: What is so thrilling about killing a deer? An exciting new sport is becoming popular in America. Enterprising safari owners have realised that there is good money to be made from the internet and are bringing the joys of hunting animals into the home…Although there seems little likelihood that computerised hunting will reach these islands, it does point up why the new popularity of shooting here is cause for niggling concern. Last month we heard that ambitious, fun-loving business folk were increasingly becoming part of shooting syndicates, unwinding and networking with one another while they blast pheasants and partridges out of the sky. Now it is deer-stalking that is said to be all the rage…. I should confess a personal bias - I have shot a stag and disliked the experience… (story)

Evesham Journal 22.3.07 Hunt watch - AFTER the invasion of Batsford Falconry by Heythrop hounds, panicking rare birds off their nests, can we accept trail hunting as a genuine attempt to hunt within the law?... MISS KATHERINE WATSON, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire. (letter)

WESTCOUNTRY GAME FAIR
Western Gazette 22.3.07 GAME FAIR IS A GIANT SUCCESS - Thousands of visitors filled the Royal Bath and West Showground last weekend for the 12th West Country Game Fair…. (story)
Western Daily Press 19.3.07 FAIR GAME... AN EVERYDAY STORY OF THE COUNTRY FOLK - Dry and sunny weather at the weekend made the 12th West Country Game Fair a highly enjoyable event for all…. (story)
Western Morning News 16.3.07 12TH GAME FAIR SET - The Westcountry Game Fair, the region's biggest event dedicated to country sports, takes place at the Bath and West Showground, near Shepton Mallet, this weekend…. (story)
Cornishman or West Briton 15.3.07 SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE OPEN COUNTRYSIDE - The Westcountry Game Fair - billed as the ultimate countryside experience and the first of the great regional game fairs in the calendar - is set to visit the Royal Bath and West showground this weekend…. (story)
Mid Devon Gazette 13.3.07 GAME FAIR CHAMPIONS COUNTRY WAY OF LIFE - The Westcountry Game Fair, the first of the great regional game fairs in the calendar, is staged at the Royal Bath & andWest Showground, Shepton Mallet, on Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18…. on Sunday, several local hunts will parade in the outdoor arena. Culmstock Hunt, Cattistock Hunt, Ilminster Beagles, Purbeck and Bovington Beagles, Taunton Vale Harriers and the Wiltshire & Infantry Beagles will give displays…. (story)
Western Daily Press 10.3.07 HUNTS PARADE AT GAME FAIR - The twelfth West Country Game Fair will take place at the Bath & West Showground on Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18, featuring natural horsemanship and a hunt parade among its attractions…. It's the turn of several hunts to take centre stage in the outdoor arena on the Sunday at 1.30pm. They include the Cattistock, Culmstock, Ilminster Beagles, Purbeck & Bovington Beagles, Taunton Vale Harriers and the Wiltshire & Infantry Beagles… (story)
Western Gazette 8.3.07 CHANCE TO CHECK OUT DOGS AT GAME FAIR - The Westcountry Game Fair will be held at the Royal Bath And West Showground on Saturday and Sunday 17-18 March…. (story)
Westcountry Game Fair 1.3.07 Westcountry Game Fair – the Ultimate Countryside Experience! - The Westcountry Game Fair, billed as the Ultimate Countryside Experience and the first of the great regional game fairs in the calendar, is set to visit the Royal Bath & West Showground on Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th March 2007…. The shooting activities are a popular aspect to the event and there is certainly a wide variety of shooting events and advice available at this year's show… (story)
Western Morning News 23.2.07 ALL SET FOR THE GAME FAIR SEASON - Country sports fans work to their own calendar. Just as farmers march in time to the seasons for ploughing, planting and harvesting, so the minds of those who take part in fishing, shooting, hunting and other rural sports are hard-wired into the seasons set down by law and tradition. Mid-March here in the Westcountry has, for the past 12 years at least, marked the start of the country show season, with the Westcountry Game Fair at the Bath and West Showground, near Shepton Mallet, always falling at roughly the same time each year…. (story)

Financial Times 22.3.07 Environment proposals fail to convince By Fiona Harvey and John Reed - The planning system must be streamlined if environmental measures outlined in the Budget are not to have the opposite of their intended effect, experts warned yesterday. The chancellor raised the standard rate of landfill tax by £8 a tonne to £32 from April 2008…. The Countryside Alliance warned the increase would lead to "an epidemic of fly-tipping" as people sought to avoid the tax…. (story)

ANIMAL RIGHTS GRAVE ROBBERS' SENTENCES UPHELD
Lichfield Mercury 22.3.07 FARM BLACKMAIL TRIO SEE SENTENCES UPHELD - Three animal rights extremists convicted for their part in a six-year campaign of terror against a farm breeding guinea pigs have had their sentences upheld by the Criminal Court of Appeal… (story)
Burton Mail 16.3.07 Body theft activists fail to get prison cut by Ed Hill- ANIMAL rights fanatics who stole a grandmother's body from her grave have failed in a bid to get their prison sentences reduced. Jon Ablewhite, 37, John Smith, 40, and Kerry Whitburn, 37, were caged for a total of 36 years in June last year for conspiracy to blackmail the owners of Darley Oaks Farm… Just weeks after being jailed the prisoners were boasting about their luxury life behind bars. Writing this week on the abolitionist-online.com website, which bills itself as the voice of animal rights, Ablewhite — a vicar’s son and former teacher — said he had "all the luxuries I dreamed about" at Lowdham Grange prison… (story)
Aberdeen Press & Journal 16.3.07 EXTREMISTS LOSE JAIL APPEAL - Jail terms of 12 years imposed on three animal rights extremists for their parts in a terror campaign against guinea pig breeders - in which an 82-year-old woman's body was stolen from her grave - were "fully merited", the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday…. (story)
Derby Evening Telegraph 16.3.07 SENTENCES UPHELD FOR EXTREMISTS - Police have welcomed a decision to uphold prison sentences imposed on animal rights extremists who desecrated the grave of pensioner. Jon Ablewhite, John Smith and Kerry Whitburn, who waged a six-year campaign-of-terror against the owners of a guinea pig breeding farm to whom Gladys Hammond had links, appealed against their 12-year sentences…. (story)
Leek Post & Times 16.3.07 COURT OF APPEAL UPHOLDS ANIMAL RIGHTS PRISON SENTENCES - Staffordshire Police have welcomed a decision by the Court of Appeal in London yesterday, to uphold 12-year prison sentences given to three animal rights extremists.Jon Ablewhite, John Smith and Kerry Whitburn were jailed for a total of 36 years in May 2006, after admitting their role in a six-year campaign against David Hall and Partners, at Darley Oaks Farm, in Newchurch. Their crimes included the desecration of the grave of Gladys Hammond… (story)
Times 16.3.07 Sentences upheld - Three animal-rights extremists jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to blackmail had their sentences upheld…. (story)
Daily Record 16.3.07 BODY THEFT APPEAL LOST - APPEAL Court judges have upheld jail sentences for three animal rights extremists who stole a woman's body from her grave…. (story)
Derby Evening Telegraph 15.3.07 ANIMAL RIGHTS EXTREMISTS' BID TO CUT JAIL TERMS - Three animal rights extremists involved in a six-year campaign of terror against the owners of a guinea pig breeding farm, which culminated in the theft of a body from a grave, today launched a bid to cut their jail terms. Jonathan Charles Ablewhite, Kerry Deanian Whitburn, and John Smith brought fear and misery to the Hall family, their friends and associates…. In 2004 they dug up the remains of Gladys Hammond, the 82-year-old mother-in-law of one of the co-owners. (story)
Wigan Observer 15.3.07 Animal extremists' jail sentences upheld - Manchester animal rights extremist who was jailed for 12 years after terrorising a Staffordshire guinea pig breeder has had his appeal rejected by the High Court. John Ablewhite, 37, of Hawley Street, was sentenced for his part in a hate campaign which saw an 82-year-old woman's body stolen from her grave… (story)
15.3.07 Grave-theft case sentences upheld - Three animal rights activists jailed for waging a terror campaign against a family have had their sentences upheld by the Court of Appeal…. Jon Ablewhite, 36, of Manchester, Kerry Whitburn, 36, and John Smith, 39, both of the West Midlands, were jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to blackmail. The campaign included digging up a grandmother's grave. The body of Gladys Hammond, the mother-in-law of one of the Hall brothers, was taken from her grave in Yoxall in October 2004…. (story)
Birmingham Evening Mail 15.3.07 Animal rights grave robbers sentences upheld - JAIL terms of 12 years imposed on three animal rights extremists for their parts in a terror campaign against guinea pig breeders - in which an 82-year-old woman's body was stolen from her grave - were "fully merited", the Court of Appeal ruled today. Three judges in London rejected sentence appeals by John Ablewhite, 37, of Hawley Street, Manchester, Kerry Whitburn, 37, of Summer Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, and John Smith, 40, of Leicester Street, Wolverhampton…. (story)
ViewLondon 15.3.07 Grave desecrators have sentences upheld - Three animal rights activists jailed for their part in a campaign of terror against a Staffordshire guinea pig farm have had their sentences upheld. Jon Ablewhite, John Smith and Kerry Whitburn are all serving 12-year jail sentences after being convicted in May last year for their role in the campaign against the David Hall and Partners at Darley Oaks Farm in Newchurch, near Burton…. (story)

Torquay Herald Express 22.3.07 VET BEARS UP AFTER MARATHON - Vet Andrew Smerdon completed a gruelling coastal marathon to raise cash for a South Devon support group that helps rescued bears. Andrew, 43, a Dartmoor-based veterinary surgeon, ran in the challenging Coastal Marathon and raised £750 for the South Devon Animals Asia Foundation Support Group… (story)

Western Daily Press 22.3.07 FIGHT THE SEAL-KILLERS BY NOT BUYING CANADIAN PRODUCTS - In a few weeks' time the Canadian government will begin the annual slaughter of harp seals, some only a few days old… When shopping, refuse to buy Canadian fish products… Mrs Pat Parkinson, Monmouth (story)

HEATHER MILLS' PIG FARM RAID
Central Somerset Gazette 22.3.07 FARMER INVESTIGATES 'TRESPASS' - A mid-Somerset farmer is reported to be alleging that his land has been trespassed by Heather Mills-McCartney during her recent protests on animal welfare. Michael Underhill only found out about the alleged trespass at his farm in Greylake, near Street, when it was reported in a national newspaper, but he is described as horrified that Mrs Mills McCartney walked on to his farm and starting filming his pigs without his permission… (story)
Bridgwater Mercury 20.3.07 Farmer fury over Mills' undercover protest By Dan Sales - A FURIOUS pig farmer has blasted the wife of Sir Paul McCartney after she filmed covert protest footage at the dead of the night in his buildings. On Thursday (March 15) it was revealed Heather Mills and a camera crew had snuck into Briarwood Farm at Greinton, near Bridgwater, to make a video highlighting the use of farrowing crates…. (story)
Independent on Sunday 18.3.07 Editor-At-Large: What did the poor old sow do to deserve Heather Mills? - Janet Street-Porter - You've got to feel sorry for the pig, haven't you? One minute the poor sow is standing there, minding her own business, feeding her litter of tiny piglets, when any chance of a peaceful night's sleep goes out of the window with the noisy arrival of Heather Mills McCartney wearing Wellingtons, an all-in-one suit, and a groovy peaked hat, spouting away about animal rights to a film crew under a blazing battery of lights…. I would like to ask the animal rights organisation Viva! - which got Heather to break into Briarwood Farm, near Bridgewater, illegally and film at night - what it thinks Mrs McCartney's true motives are…(story)
Western Morning News 16.3.07 PIG FARMERS CRITICISE HEATHER PUBLICITY STUNT - MARK CLOUGH - Pig farmers have condemned a publicity stunt by Heather Mills, the estranged wife of Sir Paul McCartney, in which she raided a Westcountry pig farm. Miss Mills, who is currently undergoing a bitter divorce from Sir Paul, went to the farm near Bridgwater with activists from vegetarian group Viva! to highlight the use of farrowing crates, which she called "cages and prisons" and which are used for sows when they are giving birth and suckling their piglets. But farming leaders in the South West said that methods used by pig farmers in the UK complied with the law and offered higher animal welfare standards than in other EU countries…. (story)
Daily Mail 15.3.07 Heather Mills in pig farm raid to highlight 'cruelty' - Heather Mills has revealed she entered an industrial pig farm at the dead of night as part of a campaign to highlight alleged animal cruelty. She led a team from the vegetarian group Viva! in a raid on a Somerset farm two weeks ago…. And last night the owner of the farm she visited threatened to take her to court for trespass and suggested the Viva! team might have brought disease on to his property. Miss Mills will is launching a campaign calling for the Government to outlaw the crates. She will also make a specific attack on Marks & Spencer for accepting meat from farms which use the crates. She will use the message: "This is not just torture – this is M&S torture."… The filming took place at Briarwood Farm, at Greinton, near Bridgwater. But owner Michael Underhill knew nothing of it until contacted by the Daily Mail…. (story)
Sun 15.3.07 Mucca breaks into pig farm By BEN ASHFORD - HEATHER MILLS broke into a PIG FARM to highlight alleged animal cruelty, it emerged last night. Lady Mucca crept in under cover of darkness with a team of activists from vegetarian group Viva! to draw attention to the pigs’ “plight”… (story)

Rugby Observer 22.3.07 Computers could help stop cruelty of actions - I WOULD like to agree with Janet Cummings comments made in the Observer last week… Janet's suggestion to use computers for auctioneering seems ideal. Less stress for the animals and less risk to the public from a terrified animal making its last bid for freedom…. Mrs V Green, Pickard Close, Brownsover (letter)

Scunthorpe Telegraph 22.3.07 RESCUED FROM CERTAIN DEATH - This shocking picture shows a swan entangled in discarded fishing tackle in a Scunthorpe lake… RSPCA volunteers found it in a highly distressed state and had to launch a rescue boat to retrieve it from the water…. The swan is now being nursed back to health by Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital based at Brandsby, near York. Dan Sidley, co-founder of the charity, said: "This could have been so easily avoided with a little common sense from anglers by taking their tackle home… (story)

Yorkshire Post 22.3.07 Evidence against culling of badgers From: Jean Langford, Lime Garth, Upper Poppleton , near York. The report by your agricultural correspondent Robert Benson (Yorkshire Post, March 17), that said that "most people would support a cull of badgers infected with TB" failed to point out that it is impossible to distinguish a badger that has TB from one without – unless you have already killed it…. The only way to stop the spread of bovine TB from herd to herd is to have very strict movement control on cattle. (letter)

Hemel Hempstead Gazette 22.3.07 Call to boycott 'unfair' circus By Louisa Felton - Animal rights campaigners are urging residents to boycott a circus at Redbourn showground this week because it uses a 54-year-old arthritic elephant. Anne the Asian elephant is the last touring circus elephant in the UK and was bought over from Sri Lanka by Bobby Roberts Circus 50 years ago…. Craig Redmond from the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) explains: "We are not opposed to circuses - only the use of animals…. (story)

Northern Echo 21.3.07 Annual ball raises £5,000 for local hunt - THE fundraising Bilsdale Hunt Ball has collected more than £5,000 to help cover the hunt's running costs…. The dogs are kennelled with the Hurworth Hunt's hounds, at West Rounton, near Northallerton, and the money from the ball covers the upkeep of the kennels and provides food for the hounds…. (story)

Western Morning News 21.3.07 ALISON HAWES (March 10) tells Western Morning News readers that the Hunting Act took 700 hours of parliamentary debate, and she then goes on to say that the legislation was motivated by pure prejudice…. only hunting with dogs for sport has been banned, as most people are no longer prepared to tolerate hunting wild animals to exhaustion and killing them for fun. John Phelps, Exeter (letter)
Western Morning News 10.3.07 HUNTING ACT IS A BAD LAW - In response to the letter from Sheelagh Darling commenting on David Cameron and the repeal of the Hunting Act, it seems she has completely missed the point.He is not in fact pledging to allow a free vote based on his personal preferences towards field sports - he is making a bold and long overdue comment that it is a bad and unjust law, and should not be allowed to remain on the statute books…. Alison Hawes, Ivybridge (letter)
Western Morning News 6.3.07 DRAG HUNTING SEEMS TO BE SUCCESSFUL - Why does David Cameron want to repeal the Hunt Law? Drag hunting seems to be taking place quite successfully…. Sheelagh Darling, Marwood, North Devon (letter)

Bath Chronicle 21.3.07 ANTI-WAR, ANTI-HUNTING, ANTI-SPA, ANTI-ID CARDS . . . Keith Davis is actively involved in several major campaigns, both local and national, and is a vocal supporter of many more.At the top of the list is the ongoing protest against wars all over the world…. He's also a big anti-hunting activist…. (story)
Bath Chronicle 21.3.07 A BIG NOISE WHEREVER HE HAS LIVED - Born in London, Keith Davis has lived in many different parts of the country throughout his adult life, from Essex to the Lake District, and has played an active role in public life everywhere he has set up home.While living in Windermere he was an active animal rights campaigner, worked with a charity which found new homes for cats and was a volunteer with the local mountain rescue team…. (story)
Bath Chronicle 21.3.07 THE THOUGHTS OF KEITH DAVIS ON . . We aren't human if we can treat other creatures like that. It has all the overtones of black magic, daubing the newcomer's face with blood - Keith on hunting… (story)

Daily Post 21.3.07 Humane shoot - THE Daily Post has in my experience always reported on country sports issues in a fair and unbiased way. I believe you erred from this on Monday in your comment piece. Shooting sportsmen and women, amateur or professional, whether shooting for the pot or to control pests, pride themselves on their marksmanship…. Barry HendersonCountryside Alliance Regional Director North Wales & Cheshire (letter)

Wirral Globe 21.3.07 We don't go hunting polar bears - Exclusive By Justin Dunn - A WIRRAL man has denied tabloid newspaper claims that he runs polar bear safaris for wealthy hunters. Ex-policeman Robert "Bob" Glynn, 52, says a report in a Sunday newspaper that he offered rich businessmen the chance to shoot the endangered bears in Canada was the result of "a stitch up"…. The News of the World claimed on Sunday that he had offered an undercover reporter the chance to hunt polar bears on specially arranged trips to Canada… a spokesman for the League of Cruel Sports told the Globe: "It beggars belief that anyone can be so callous as to think it is perfectly acceptable to make money from the slaughter of wild animals." (story)

COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE SCOTTISH ELECTION HUSTING
Telegraph 21.3.07 Tories and SNP back rural fight for services By Kate Devlin, Scottish Political Correspondent - Scotland's politicians clashed yesterday over whether rural communities should receive safeguards to ensure they do not lose local schools and hospitals…. Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative leader, said that if elected in May her party would begin a "review" into the closure of local health and education services in rural areas. She told a pre-election hustings organised by the National Farmers Union Scotland and the Scottish Countryside Alliance that it was "ironic" that one of the results of devolution was that Scotland "has less local provision for health care than in 1999"…. (story)
Glasgow Herald 21.3.07 Rural lobbies outline agenda to politicians - MSPs took time out from Holyrood yesterday to attend an election husting in the nearby MacDonald Holyrood Hotel. Jointly organised by the Scottish Countryside Alliance, NFU Scotland and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association in association with 20 other organisations with rural interests, the event was a rare opportunity to get the similar point of view across to politicians…. (story)
Scotsman 21.3.07 MSPs make play for the rural vote - DAN BUGLASS RURAL AFFAIRS EDITOR - IT WAS flagged up as a "hustings meeting" for the forthcoming elections to the Scottish Parliament on 3 May. No less than 23 rural organisations in Scotland yesterday convened at a gathering in Edinburgh where the very considerable audience was addressed by all of the main political parties who fancy their chances of having a major influence on the composition of the next administration, which will almost certainly be a coalition…. (story)
Farmers Weekly 20.3.07 Call for Scotland to generate 100% of electricity from renewables within 50 years - Scotland should generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources within 50 years, according to the Scottish Countryside Alliance. Unveiling its 'manifesto' for the 2007 Holyrood elections, the SCA said climate change was a crucial issue for rural Scotland and its country sports, and called for a massive increase in Executive funding for research and development into all forms of renewable energy… (story)
Edinburgh Evening News 14.3.07 Beat a path to see hustings on rural affairs - COUNTRYSIDE campaigners aim to put politicians on the spot at a pre-election hustings in Edinburgh next week. Representatives from Scotland's five biggest political parties are due to set out their rural policies at the event, organised jointly by National Farmers Union Scotland, the Scottish Countryside Alliance and the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association…. (story)

Bromley Times 21.3.07 Animal rights protest at M&S - PROTESTERS gathered outside a supermarket to campaign against animal cruelty. Members of the Bromley branch of Viva handed out leaflets and collected petition signatures outside the Marks & Spencer store in West Wickham on Saturday…. Viva supporter Jan Yarker said: "A company that claims to have animal welfare standards second to none should not be using a contraption that would look more at home in a medieval torture chamber…. (story)

Western Daily Press 21.3.07 CATS TARGETED WITHOUT CAUSE - Thousands of cats are being shot, a spiteful action fuelled by biased journalism like the three-day campaign of misinformation by the BBC Today programme… As usual, all Radio 4 has done is give the cruel- sports lobby an excuse to justify another quarry…. D Thomas, Near Westbury, Wiltshire (letter)

Southern Daily Echo 21.3.07 Giraffes are not endangered - SO Marwell is again breeding non-endangered species - yet more giraffes… Remember, animals will remain captive with sad eyes and empty lives only while people pay to see them… MRS S CLAYTON, Southampton United Animal Charities (story)

Reading Chronicle 21.3.07 Did you know your tax props up bullfighting - I HAVE received hundreds of emails in recent weeks asking me to support a declaration in the European Parliament calling for the abolition of bullfighting in Spain and Portugal… I believe, while we should not tell another country what to do, we should not be unwittingly subsidising bullfighting through our taxes. I would be eager to hear what your readers think… RICHARD ASHWORTH MEP, Conservative MEP for south east England European Parliament, Brussels (letter)

Western Morning News 20.3.07 KILLJOYS WILL STOP US ALL FROM DOING ANYTHING - Regarding the letter headed "All forms of motor sport should be banned" (name and address supplied), how small-minded and self- centred can some people be?I presume the author is a horse and dog racing supporter; both sports, to me, are cruel to animals…. Let people get on with doing what they enjoy and shut up before the let's-ban- everything mob join in. Ken Barker, Dartington (letter)

Sheerness Times Guardian 20.3.07 Demo as live animal exports switch to another port by Stuart Somers - A PROTEST demonstration was held at a Kent port handling live animal exports for the first time…. Angela Walder, chairman of the Isle of Sheppey branch of the RSPCA, presented the wreath which had a card on it stating "God Bless All Suffering Animals."… (story)

Western Mail 20.3.07 For the welfare of badgers, and cattle - Badger Trust Cymru would like to make it clear that bovine TB is not a "matter of welfare for the badger"… Evidence from England shows that better TB testing also stops cattle infecting badgers. That's a far more sensible approach to both cattle and badger welfare and one which all the public can support. Steve Clark, Spokesman for Badger Trust Cymru, Chepstow (letter)

Argus 20.3.07 We're so grateful - The Animal Protection Agency (APA), a Brighton-based organisation campaigning to stop the trade in exotic wildlife for the pet industry, would like to thank everyone who supported its street collection in Brighton city centre on Saturday, February 10… Greg Martin, development manager, Animal Protection Agency, Middle Street, Brighton (story)

Horse & Hound 19.3.07 DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH’S HUNT INVITED BACK TO SELKIRK - Anna Tyzack - The Duke of Buccleuch's News Year's Day meet in Selkirk Market Square could be re-instated after a 12 year break. Selkirk Community Council stopped inviting the hunt to the town on New Year's Day in the late seventies…. (story)
Selkirk Weekend Advertiser 16.3.07 Welcome mat to be rolled out for hunt - Andrew Keddie - AFTER a break of nearly 20 years, Selkirk could once again echo to the clatter of horses' hoofs and the baying of hounds on New Year's Day. This week community councillors voted 7-2 to invite the Buccleuch Hunt to re-instate their traditional January 1 Market Place meet…. (story)

Western Daily Press 19.3.07 WHY THIS CRUELTY? - Antony Brassey claims since the hunting ban, the fox is being poisoned, shot, wounded and trapped. Can he explain why this is happening and who is committing these acts of cruelty?... Paul Emrey, Midsomer Norton (story)
Western Daily Press 28.2.07 CLASS WAR RULING - The hunting ban was totally detrimental to the fox which is being poisoned, shot and wounded, run over and trapped. It was a piece of class-war legislation which Tony Banks admitted to in the Commons…. Antony Brassey, Bristol (letter)

Lincolnshire Echo 19.3.07 BEWARE OF THE HARE - Walkers are being asked to tread carefully during the brown hare breeding season. The British Brown Hare Preservation Society said people would now start seeing leverets - baby hares - hidden in vegetation as the breeding season began…. (story)

ANIMAL AID ANTI VIVISECTION LETTER
Wigan Observer/Reporter/Post 19.3.07 Campaign against animal testing - Kate Fowler-Reeves, Head of Campaigns, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent (letter)
Lancashire Telegraph 2.3.07 No reason for animal cruelty - RE the letter Help stop animal experiments. I fully agree with Kate Fowler-Reeves' comments about cruel and useless experiments…. MRS J HULL, address supplied. (letter)
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 26.2.07 Stop monkeying with science - Kate Fowler-Reeves Head of campaigns, Animal Aid The Old Chapel, Bradford Street Tonbridge, Kent (letter)
York Press 26.2.07 End ape testing - Kate Fowler-Reeves Head of Campaigns, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent (letter)
Southern Daily Echo 24.2.07 Testing on animals is unacceptable - KATE FOWLER-REEVES, head of campaigns, Animal Aid (letter)
Lancashire Telegraph 24.2.07 Help stop animal experiments - ANIMAL Aid supporters were on the streets in 50 towns and cities across the UK last Saturday, building public support for a ban on monkey research…. KATE FOWLER-REEVES, Head of Campaigns, Animal Aid, Tonbridge, Kent. (letter)

Bath Chronicle 19.3.07 M - Animal rights protesters wore plastic noses and carried a giant pig as part of a national day of protest against retail giant Marks and Spencer.Campaigners from the group Viva! gathered outside the company's Stall Street store on Saturday to demonstrate against what it claimed was the firm's use of metal cages to transport pregnant and mothering sows…. Viva! spokesman Justin Kerswll said: "We are calling on M &S to move all mothering pigs into the open air and consign the cruel farrowing crate to history, where it belongs…. (story)
ThisIsSomerset 15.3.07 - Protesters will be dressing as pigs in a demonstration outside Bristol's Marks and Spencer store this weekend.Campaigners from the animal welfare group, Viva, who are based in the city's Wilder Street, will be taking part in a protest outside the Broadmead store on Saturday… (story)

Scarborough Evening News 19.3.07 Protest at M&S caging of mothering pigs - A PROTEST was held outside Marks & Spencer in Scarborough on Saturday as part of a national day of action against cruelty to pigs… Nick Rennison said campaign organisers Viva! had singled out M&S because its new ethical image was at odds with the way much of its pork was produced. Fellow protester Helen Whitehead said: “We are calling on M&S to respect motherhood this Mother’s Day and move all mothering pigs into the open air and confine the farrowing crate to history, where it belongs.”… (story)

Exeter Express & Echo 19.3.07 WE MUST STOP THE CANADIAN SEAL HUNT - The Canadian seal hunt looms just around the corner and hundreds of thousands of seal pups, as yet unborn, are doomed to die brutally… Frances Wicks, Alphington Road, Exeter (letter)

Liverpool Daily Post 19.3.07 Meat-free cuisine proves a hit as hungry visitors get a taste for vegan fare by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post - LIVERPOOL’S Vegan Food Fayre spread its message of “have your cake, eat it, and love the planet” at Lark Lane’s Old Police Station this weekend. Organised by Merseyside Animal Rights, the free event, which was held on Saturday, promised samples of meat-free and dairy-free alternatives… (story)
Liverpool Daily Post 13.3.07 Try vegan dishes by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post - LIVERPOOL’S famous Vegan Food Fayre will be cooking up an irresistible banquet of ethical treats at Lark Lane’s Old Police Station on Saturday March 17. From 12noon to 4pm, visitors can try out free dishes in a relaxed environment and learn more about healthy eating and animal-free living from the chefs and local vegetarian and vegan groups… (story)

Independent on Sunday 18.3.07 Open season on Britain's hares By David Randall - Tens of thousands of hares will be shot across Britain this March in one of the country's last great wildlife scandals…. Professor Stephen Harris of Bristol University, one of Europe's leading experts on the hare, said: "It really is quite disgraceful. The hare is the only game animal in Britain that is not protected."… Backing for a close season for hare shooting is slow to materialise. A petition supporting one from February to September, drawn up by the British Brown Hare Preservation Society and put on the Downing Street website, attracted just 493 signatures… The one bright spot for hares this March concerns coursing, illegal since the 2005 Hunting Act…. police launched Operation Dornier in September 2004, with confidential hotlines, all-terrain vehicles and a helicopter. Within a year 191 people were facing court proceedings, and, by late summer 2006, incidents had been reduced by 96 per cent. (story)

TRIAL OF DAVID SMITH
Aberdeen Press & Journal 17.3.07 GREYHOUNDS DISPOSAL MAN FINED £2,000 - TOM WILKINSON - A Builder's merchant who admitted killing and burying sick and injured greyhounds on his allotment for £10 a time was fined £2,000 yesterday. A Builder's merchant who admitted killing and burying sick and injured greyhounds on his allotment for £10 a time was fined £2,000 yesterday…. Sentencing Smith, judge Armstrong said he had received 20 references from local people in support of the builders merchant, who also ran a newsagent's. Police officers also backed him, saying they would take injured animals to Smith for him to humanely destroy. (story)
Northern Echo 17.3.07 Greyhound killer given fine for disposing of bodies unlawfully - AFTER fining a businessman £2,000 for burying slaughtered dogs on his land without a permit, a judge said the case may prompt a change in the law…. Fining Smith £2,000 and ordering him to pay £2,000 costs, Judge Peter Armstrong said he would have imposed a prison sentence if it had been an animal cruelty case - but accepted that Smith's activities had been investigated both by police and the RSPCA…(story)
Northern Echo 17.3.07 A world of racing out of reach of rules to protect animals - With David Smith throwing the greyhound industry under the spotlight, attention has now turned to smaller, independent tracks with the sport's own regulatory body admitting it has no control over them. Stuart Arnold reports…. Janice Lakey, a North-East spokeswoman for the Greyhound Action Trust, said: "The same safety net for dogs at NGRC tracks doesn't apply to flapping tracks. They are totally unregulated… (story)
Newcastle Journal 17.3.07 Dog-killer fined for 'disposing of waste' By Neil Mckay, The Journal - A former champion dog breeder who caused national outrage when he admitted killing and burying sick and injured greyhounds on his allotment was spared jail yesterday. David Smith was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay the same amount in costs…. Jan Lakey, of Greyhound Action North East, said the exact number of greyhounds buried by Smith - estimated by some to run into thousands - had not been established… (story)
Sun 17.3.07 Anger as dog killer is let off By ROBIN PERRIE - ANIMAL rights protesters were furious after a man thought to have killed 10,000 greyhounds avoided jail. David Smith, 57, faced up to five years behind bars after admitting killing the former racing dogs for £10 a time and burying them on his land…. (story)
Sky News 16.3.07 Dog Killer Walks Free - A builder's merchant accused of killing more than 10,000 greyhounds at £10 a time has walked free from court. David Smith, nicknamed the 'Seaham Slaughterer', was fined £2,000. He had faced up to five years in jail…. Jan Lakey, of Greyhound Action North East, said: "The sentence is no deterrent and no punishment. I am extremely disappointed that the RSPCA did not prosecute…. (story)
BBC News Online 16.3.07 Racing 'strain' on animal welfare By James Lynn - The sheer number of sick or injured racing dogs is putting a strain on animal welfare organisations, according to a greyhound protection group. Greyhound Action said most are forced to retire by the age of three and about 15,000 dogs disappear each year…. The welfare of greyhounds has been placed in the spotlight by the case of David Smith… Spokeswoman Jan Lakey said the case was a "terrible way" to bring the problem to public attention…. (story)
Northern Echo 16.3.07 Man fined £2,000 over greyhound deaths - A RETIRED builders' merchant has been fined £2,000 for burying hundreds of greyhounds behind his home…. (story)
Sunderland Echo 16.3.07 Dog killer fined - A dog killer who said he was doing society a favour by slaughtering hundreds of greyhounds and burying them on his land has escaped jail. Newsagent and builders merchant David Smith was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs after admitting breaching Environment Agency regulations by burying the dead dogs. Animal rights protesters in the packed court room at Durham Crown Court gasped in horror as the judge announced his sentence. But the court had heard how more than 20 people, including retired police officers and Smith's neighbours, had spoken out in the 47-year-old's support and that the RSPCA had found there was no case of animal cruelty to answer… Smith said he had disposed of the dead animals with the knowledge of the RSPCA, police and local council. Judge Peter Armstrong, sentencing, said: "Had you a permit, apparently his activity would have been perfectly lawful… (story)
Sunderland Echo 16.3.07 Dog protesters at court - Animal rights protesters gathered outside Durham Crown Court today where dog killer David Smith was due to be sentenced… (story)