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PROTECT OUR WILD ANIMALS
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WARNING: This site contains images of animals killed and mutilated by Hunts which you may
find distressing.
Seven
years after the Hunting Act, Hunts routinely bend and break the spirit and letter of the law, still chase
and kill wild animals for fun, still bring terror and havoc to our countryside - and almost always escape justice. The
'cynical subertfuge' Judge Pert so disparaged in dismissing the Fernie hunters' Appeal is
the norm not the exception.
It is therefore a priority for POWA to support independent monitors, who bravely seek
to expose Hunt wrong doing and the weaknesses of the current legislation - always at considerable expense and risk
to themselves.
Whilst POWA utterly opposes any attempt to repeal the existing Hunting Act, we regard amendments
to strengthen it as essential if the obscenity of live quarry hunting with dogs for 'sport' is
to be properly punished and prevented.
"It was totally and utterly
barbaric and shocking." Mick Heath, the 'not anti-hunt' resident of Bradfield,
North Essex, after hounds of the Essex & Suffolk FH chased a fox into his garden, savaged it and the Whipper-in then beat
it to death with a blunt object, leaving blood stains on the patio - all in front of the whole family and a guest, on
10-12-11
STOP PRESS See LATEST UK HUNTING NEWS for full articles on each item
..... 14th May - All 3 remaining members of the Crawley & Horsham FH 'Gang'
are convicted Following a seven-day trial, JM Neill Millard was convicted of illegally hunting
a fox and fined £1000 [the highest ever HA fine]. Hunt Secretary Rachel Holdsworth and former Huntsman, now JM of the
Dart Vale Harriers, Andrew Phillis, were both convicted of two such offences. Holdsworth, who becomes the first female from
an organised Hunt to be convicted under the Act, was fined £500 for each offence. Phillis' sentencing was deferred.
The Judge agreed with the prosecution contention that the defendants' claims to be 'trail hunting' were a charade.
..... 14th May - Rape trial of former Tiverton Stag Hounds JM/Huntsman begins Ex Joint Master
John Norrish, 67, who became Huntsman of the Tiverton SH in 1995 and remained so for many years, is accused of raping a 33
year old woman he hardly knew in his car outside the Hunt Ball last July. She contends that he offered her a lift home, then
attacked her. He claims sex was consensual, though he apparently first told police it didn't happen at all because he
was impotent.
..... 13th May - Mid-Devon FH rider summonsed after assaults on 3 sabs trying to stop dig-out
POWA has recently been informed of the details an incident at a meet on Datmoor in early March. Sabs say they'd already
had reason to suspect that illegal hunting had been taking place earlier, when they came upon a dig-out. While they were
trying, peacefully, to stop this proceeding, a rider launched an attack on the sabs - a pensioner, a woman and a young
man - injuring all three of them. By the time police, let alone medical help, arrived, the hunters had left, but sabs happily
report they saw the fox alive before they departed.
..... 6th May - Heythrop FH first Hunt to face
corporate prosecution Multiple charges involve several members of 'Chipping Norton Set's' Hunt
in PM's constituency Following examination of more footage submitted by monitors, the RSPCA
is to lay charges against the Heythrop FH as a body corporate. According to the M-o-S, Hunt Members Vanessa Lambert
[JM and daughter of MFHA Chairman, Stephen], Duncan Hume [whipper-in], Richard Sumner [a former senior JM] and Julian
Barnfield [Huntsman] all also face charges as individuals. Mr. Barnfield is already awaiting trial on two
charges of illegal hunting.
..... 3rd May - Fitzwilliam FH terrierman, father of 2 Huntsmen, heavily
fined for Animal Welfare and Hunting Act breaches John Bycroft [67] long-time terrierman with
the Fitwilliam Hunt in Cambs, has been fined £1,050, with £1,000 costs, after conviction for both
causing unnecessary suffering to an, allegedly pregnant, vixen by confining her in a tiny plastic barrel and, having captured
her as a result of a dig-out using terriers, also of an HA offence - failing to shoot her as soon as practicable. His assistant,
Jamie Round [24] was also convicted of the AWA offence and fined £65. John Bycroft is the father of two professional
Huntsmen, Nick and Mark, both with packs in the south of England.
..... 2nd May - Surrey Police/CPS drop cases
against two Brighton hunt saboteurs The HSA has announced that charges of aggravated trespass aagainst
sabs Aistair Cannell and Gavin Pidwell have been withdrawn. They were arrested when attending a meet of the Old
Surrey, Burstow and West Kent FH - a Hunt noted for past violence towards sabs - some months ago. The HSA say that, among
other procedural irregularities, the police only spoke to the landowner AFTER they had made the arrests. Also, the sab
van was impounded, but police subsequently admitted that this was not justified.
..... 1st May
- Crawley & Horsham hunters trail adjourned. Judge to deliver verdicts in a fortnight By
the time all evidence had been given, the time allotted for the case had expired. Judgement was reserved and will be delivered
on May 14th. 5 of the 11 charges have now been dropped by the prosecution and JM Jamie Hawksfield no longer faces any and
has been discharged.
..... 23rd-30th April - Long-awaited trial of Crawley & Horsham FH 'Gang of Four'
Accused of hunting foxes illegaly at three separate meets in January and February last year, three officers of the C&H
- two Joint Masters and the Secretary - and a former Hunntsman have at last appeared on trial. The prosecution, in a
rare case brought by the police and CPS, say a fox was killed at the third meet. The case is based on film and eye-witness
accounts by monitors. The defendants claim they were 'trail hunting' and did not intentionally hunt any foxes.
..... 19th April Welsh 'one man band' Hunt Master, with 'form', heavily fined for firearms
offences Alan Owen, who set up the Nantcol Valley FH foot-pack in 1975 and appears to run it as
a one-man operation, has been fined £3,500 for three firearms offences. He 'lost' two rifles and left a pistol
in his car. Owen was convicted in the '90s of neglecting his own pet dog and of assaulting a neighbour. He also had
his firearms certificates revoked, but clearly these were, it seems unwisely, later restored to him.
..... 17th
April - Hunting fanatic ex-Minister Tory peer exposed as paid lobbyist for Cayman Islands tax haven Lord
Blencathra, aka David MacLean, ex MP for Penrith and a Minister under Major, has been exposed as a lobbyist
for the Cayman Islands government, representing the interests of the financial services industry of that notorious tax haven,
home to 70% of global hedge-fund regestrations. MacLean, who took the name of a Cumbrian fox hunt when elevated to the
Lords, was a fervent opponent of the Hunting Bill and the Conservative Party's main organiser of Vote OK for
the 2005 General Election, helping to mobilise hunters to campaign against anti-hunt Labour and Lib-Dem cadidates.
..... 14th April - Hunt terrierman has his badger sett digging conviction quoshed on appeal
Andrew Bellamy, of the S.Devon FH [also kennelman of the Spooners and W.Dartmoor FH] had his conviction for
digging into a badger sett, when he caught and killed a fox, during a 'trail' hunt set aside. The Judge ruled
there was doubt he was the man filmed by a LACS monitor, and insufficient evidence that the sett was active. Apparently,
he also ruled some statements made by Bellamy prior to charge, which purportedly suggested he was the person filmed, inadmissible
because he had not then been cautioned. Reportedly, the Hunt refused to tell police who was riding the quad bike in question.
..... 6th April - Avon Vale hunt master reported to have admitted to digging in to badger sett last month
On March 8th the Wiltshire Gazette reported that police had been called after a witness claimed to have seen hunt
personnel digging in to a badger sett. At the time the Avon Vale FH denied involvement in any wrongdoing, but a still-to-be
confirmed report to POWA says that a Hunt member, believed to be JM Stuart Radbourne, will be charged with
an offence under the Badger Act.
.... 31st March - Local press finally covers case of female pensioner punBellamy
had always claimed he was notched by CVFH hunt thug
..... 27th March - Cotswold Vale fox
hunters launch vicious attacks on three members of the public, says HSA
..... 27th March
- Badger group claim that an Essex hunt trashed a badger sett in Halstead
..... 25th March
- POWA alert media to fox foetuses find after Cotswold Vale FH killed vixen
..... 24th March
- Coniston FH supporters attack sabs, injure one, block paramedics trying to reach him
..... 23rd March I.o.Wight FH terrierman, the notorious James Butcher, loses firearm licences revocation
appeal
..... 17th March - Second arrest as Ross Harriers attack
sabs again, injuring one
..... 15th March - Axe Vale FH fox killers avoid prosecution
by claming 'accident'
..... 14th March - Council rejects attempt to return 'inhumane'
Boxing Day hunt to Retford
..... 13th March - Charlie Brooks, leading Heythrop hunter and
Cameron pal, arrested with wife in dawn raid
..... 6th March - Terrier men apprehended
by police digging alleged badger sett on Avon Vale FH hunting day
..... 5th March - Defecting
Tory MEP reveals he and UKIP leader Farage used to go hare-coursing together
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4th March - E.Kent sabs sure killed fox they retreived hunted to death at joint meet near Wye
.....
4th March - Cameron DID ride police-horse. Got hunting advice from Heythrop pal Charlie Brooks, says
MoS
..... 3rd March - Supporter run over and leg injured as Cattistock FH hunt
along and across coast road
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The Hunting Bill gained Royal Assent on 18-11-2004
The Hunting Act 2004 came into effect on 18-2-2005
Full
text of the Hunting Act 2004 is HERE
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POWA's main role is to campaign for a complete,
effective and enforceable ban on the hunting of wild animals with dogs in England and Wales. After ten overwhelming Commons' votes,
over seven years, in favour of a complete ban on hunting, the will of the people and their sovereign Parliament finally overcame
decades of resistance and mendacious propaganda from the rich and powerful bloodsports lobby and a largely compliant
media - democracy indeed!
Regrettably, POWA believes that the Hunting Act 2004 has manifest deficiencies which, in practice, make
it of very limited utility in preventing organised Hunts carrying on chasing and killing wild mammals for 'sport'. Hunts
are able to do this by exploiting the numerous loopholes and/or by pretending to be ‘trail hunting’ and ascribing
any incident involving wild mammals as 'accidents'. Monitoring reports countrywide appear to confirm that many, perhaps
most hunts, engage in such behaviour.
Nevertheless, the Act, so long and hard fought for, is a lot better than
nothing - and of huge symbolic importance. POWA therefore also campaigns against any attempt to further weaken or repeal the
Act and to ensure, as far as possible, that it is complied with in the hunting field and upheld through the courts.
But
- like its long-illegal fellow bloodsports, cock and dog fighting, bull and badger baiting - the hunting of foxes,
deer, hares and mink with packs of dogs must be consigned to the history books in practice, not just in theory. |
The is how the hunters like to change the beautiful,
sensitive, living creatures portrayed above - for 'sport'
The Hunting Act has slowed but not stopped
them.
Join POWA's campaign to have the Act strengthened
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"WHEN CRIMINALS CIRCUMVENT THE LAW IT
SHOULD
BE STRENGTHENED TO STOP THEM
NOT REPEALED TO REWARD THEM" |
*Click HERE to
read POWA's case to strengthen the Hunting Act,
including our proposed changes
* Click HERE to read more on EDM116 - Hunting Act
2004
* Click HERE to see EDM 122 and MP's
signatures of support |
Read POWA's statement on the High Court Ruling
This confirmed that 'intent'
to hunt a wild mammal must be proved and that 'searching' is not 'hunting'. Following the ruling, the CPS
dropped nearly all their pending cases because the evidential burden was now too great.
These cases included four charges against the huntsman of the Heythrop FH. The Heythrop is the
home hunt of David Cameron and he has ridden with them in the past. It is widely supported by the famed 'Chipping
Norton set', including Rebekah Brooks and husband Charlie, who are reported to be friends of the
P.M.
Press Release
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LATEST POWA PRESS LETTER
27th December
2011
POWA responds to the Boxing Day meets coverage
and Farming Minister Jim Paice's call to repeal the Hunting Act by urging the PM to refuse this - and to
crack down on Hunt's cynical subterfuge' in flouting the spirit and letter of the law. It also requested media
to show the brutal realities behind the 'chocolate box' image of Hunt meets they nearly always portray.
See POWA press letters |
LATEST POWA PRESS
RELEASE
25th March
2012
POWA Press Released to all national, and relevant regional and paprs and to broadcasters with an account
of and comment upon the discovery by monitors of fox foetus remains at the scene of the killing of avixen by the Cotswold
Vale Farmers Hunt on 6th March in Gloucestershire.
See POWA Press Releases |
REQUIRED READING 'Bad
Hare Days" by John Fitzgerald, veteran anti-courser and founder of the Campaign to Abolish Cruel Sports, in Ireland.
The book details the long struggle to try to get hare coursing banned in the Republic - and its effect on the campaigners. Available
free to read/download here
The campaign eventually managed to get coursing
greyhounds muzzled, but this is far from complete protection for the hares against serious trauma and injury. The photo below
shows a hare [top left] that has been batted up into the air by one of the chasing dogs.
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| Hare sent flying high into air by pursuing muzzled greyhounds |
POWA
♥ Hounds Off
Despite the Hunting Act, hunters and their dogs are
still running amok and intimidating law-abiding folk, trespassing on private property. New site Hounds Off is encouraging a countrywide network of hunt-free zones, creating an ever-growing land area where wildlife
has sanctuary. Use Hounds Off to help you ban your homestead to hunters, wherever it is. Support Hounds Off on Facebook
| Stag in Devon desperately fleeing from the hunt |
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| Deer hunting continues using the 'Research' exemption in the Act |
| Beagler cuts off hare's tail to reward his hounds |
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| Hare hunting continues in the guise of rat or rabbit hunting |
OVER 200 MPs SIGN!!!
The Early Day Motion - EDM116 - reaffirming
support for the Hunting Act - has been signed by 209 MPs to date - 6/7/11 - a very large number for an EDM. POWA thanks all those MPs for
their support.
* Click here for info on EDM 116
- Hunting Act 2004
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| Fox hounds are rewarded - by a public road |
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| Fox hunting is disguised as 'trail' hunting - chases & kills are always claimed to be 'accidents' |
Download a copy of the
publication |
| Hare being coursed at the notorious Waterloo Cup |
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| The Hunting Act has succeeded in stopping organised coursing events |
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Protect Our
Wild Animals Limited is a Private Limited Company, registered in England & Wales, number 6687073, registered address 101
Ely Road, Llandaff, Cardiff, CF5 2BZ
Disclaimer:
Neither POWA nor the Webmaster necessarily endorse all the views expressed on this site or the views expressed
in links/downloads on this site. Responsibility cannot be accepted by POWA or the webmaster for statements made by contributors
for publication on this site or on those sites/downloads to which links are given.
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