Tories and Lib Dems dismiss animal cruelty in hunting issue

Radio 4 Todays Programme reveals damming insight into party policy

The Today Programme 26th April 2010

On the show were

Labours Hilary Benn Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Conservative MP Nick Herbert Shadow DEFRA Minister and former Political Director for the

Pro blood sport British Field Sport Society (BFSS)

Lib Dem MP David Heath,  Shadow Leader of the House 

Click on the Radio 4 image to listen to the interview

At a time when people are making up their mind over which party to vote for. A clear divide has been provided by the BBCs Today Programme on Radio 4. The replies given to the questions on the show by Conservatives Nick Herbert and Liberal Democrat Mr Heath are quite appalling. Mr Herbert tries to pretend that the Conservatives do not see repealing the ban as a priority. While Mr Heath speaking we can only assume on behalf of Lib Dem policy can’t even be bothered to consider the animal cruelty that is involved.  

The issue of animal cruelty due to hunting is of great importance to the nation and should not be ignored. Hunting is of course one issue yet one that crosses so many areas. For if a person can see nothing wrong in deliberate animal cruelty. Then why would they care about people and their rights. David Cameron has shown repealing the hunting ban  is central to his thinking. He has made this issue an election issue himself. Many people in the country are shocked when they learn Mr Cameron wants to bring back extreme animal cruelty. If it was not for David Cameron this campaign may not have been needed.

Yet it’s not just David Cameron. Nick Clegg was against the hunting ban being introduced (Channel 4 News) He also seeks with his Party to kill tens of thousands of Badgers just like the Conservatives intend. Only Labour has been constant in their support to introduce the hunting ban and are committed to protecting it.

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The first 3 minuets of the broadcast are very revealing.

Nick Herbert tried to distance himself and David Cameron from appearing to be obsessed with repealing the hunting ban. Yet this is a man who’s has spent nearly all his life involved in blood sport and its promotion. This speaks clearly to us that the Tories are desperate for people to know of just how important they see repeal.

The Tory talks of change, yet one thing we would agree with does need changing with them. They should change their name to the Countryside Alliance Party. For the Conservatives are not the ones who call the shots in that party anymore.

David Heath for the Lib Dems did everything to avoid the question, his attitude sums up what many fear about the Lib Dems that they just do not get it. They fail to grasp how this issue is important to people. Instead of saying how cruel hunting with dogs is they dismiss it as irrelevant. It’s quite staggering that the Lib Dems appear quite relaxed at ignoring the importance of animal welfare.

You will hear him say a typical response of I do not know what my colleagues would do on a free vote? Well Mr Heath is the Lib Dems Shadow Leader of the House. That means he would know as its his task to know what his MPs are thinking. This is just another Lib Dem example of sitting on the fence. Added with Nick Clegg who was against the ban it means you just can’t trust the Lib Dems on this issue.

 

Only Hilary Benn defended the hunting ban and only he raised the issue of animal cruelty. In doing so showing out of all the party’s Labour is the only party that is in touch with real concerns people have. Labour has shown commitment throughout the election to protecting the hunting ban. This commitment Hilary gave is in line with the views of Gordon Brown and the Parliamentary Labour Party. Labour MPs have spent decades campaigning for the hunting ban and want to see it kept and enforced.

Labour also aims to go further to protect our wildlife. In their Green Manifesto  they have also called for a full review of all animal crime law and enforcement. Code if ever needed that the Government wants to get tough on those that break the law. It also indicates  they are willing to challenge the attitudes of the police to enforce the ban better.

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The Free Vote Myth

Making a stand against cruelty

Foxhunting scenes look very picturesque on table mats and on the sort of nostalgic olde worlde prints that you see framed on the walls of traditional country pubs.  All part of our country’s rich heritage, you might say.  But hang on a minute… so were bear baiting and cockfighting!  And making outspoken women wear scold’s bridles with spikes that impaled the tongue should any attempt be made to speak. 

Or deciding that a lonely old woman with a cat was obviously a witch, tying her thumb to her opposite toe and throwing her into deep water to see if she would drown (thus belatedly proving her innocence) or float to the top (indicating her guilt). 

Nowadays we would use words such as bullying or victimisation to describe such tactics.  So much for Merrie England! 

Today our more civilised society quite rightly protests vociferously whenever it sees cruelty, oppression, bullying, victimisation, discrimination, persecution or torture.  In the 19th century the RSPCA campaigned to stop bear baiting and cockfighting, which were finally outlawed by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835. 

But massacring wildlife, including the fox population, continued to be a favourite leisure pursuit of the privileged, who did not even have the excuse of needing to hunt in order to feed themselves. Have you ever been offered fox casserole?  Oscar Wilde was quoted as saying, “The English country gentleman galloping after a fox is the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.”  So the Hunting (Ban) Act 2004 was actually long overdue when the Labour Government, in one of their most significant achievements, made it law on 18^th February 2005. Surely nobody in these enlightened times would want to see a return to the bad old days, when a gang of bullies on horseback would pursue a terrified fox for miles until their baying hounds caught up with the exhausted animal & tore it to shreds..?  

What sort  of people would seriously want to indulge in such a barbaric practice in our civilised 21^st century society?!  Well David Cameron for one… & the sort of people who would vote for him. I actually think you can tell a lot about people by asking them their views on foxhunting, so a few months ago I wrote to Newark’s then Conservative MP, Mr Patrick Mercer, and to the Labour candidate, Dr Ian Campbell, to find out what they both thought.

Dr Campbell wrote:

“I believe “fox hunting” is wrong. There is nothing that can persuade me that chasing down an animal over several hours, and allowing a pack of hounds to tear it to death, and all for the pleasure of those in the hunt, can be reasonable. I accept the right of horsemen and women to ride together, where they have permission from the landowners, and to chase after a scent, as some hunt organisations still do. I don’t accept the hunting of foxes in this way. If they are to be regarded as a threat to farming livestock then they could be dealt with by alternative, quicker means. I do therefore support the ban on fox hunting and would not support its repeal.”

Mr Mercer’s Parliamentary Assistant wrote:

“Patrick has asked me to thank you for your email of 13 November and confirm that he supports the repeal of the ban on foxhunting.”

Which led me to the inescapable conclusion that both animals and humans would be safer in the care of a Labour MP!  And that’s why I made the video clip for Youtube to support Dr Campbell’s election campaign. To find out more about Dr Ian Campbell, visit his website:

Protect Wildlife – Vote Labour!

Trish Gurney

Cameron’s shame towards our wildlife

Why as a nation do we have a Prime Minister, Members of Parliament and Pillars of Society? We need this leadership to carry us through modern times, to listen to us, the public and to oppose certain issues.[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=david+cameron&iid=8572356″ src=”f/b/c/d/Britains_opposition_Conservative_d564.jpg?adImageId=12615787&imageId=8572356″ width=”185″ height=”225″ /]Well one would have thought…but this unfortunately is not always the case as we know. For it seems unless you are one of those Pillars of Society or an important person, your views are insignificant.  There are many topics to be considered each year, our education system, the NHS, environmental issues, road and transport and these are to name but a few.

All these subjects relate to our modern day requirements and need to be addressed accordingly. However, one matter that is presently causing grave concern is the future of our wildlife and areas surrounding it if a certain political party is elected.

In 2004, after years of petitioning, protests and continuous pressure from the Labour Party the Fox Hunting Ban was introduced in England and South Wales, to take affect in February 2005.

At last the cruel, barbaric, “rich mans sport”, which had somehow been allowed to continue from the 1600`s, had been stopped.  If not for people in high society, Royalty and MPs, this would surely have been abolished in past times along with other inhumane conduct.

So here we are in 2010 with a small minority of people, primarily the above who are apparently now seeking to oppose the ban.  We are informed that David Cameron of the Conservative Party, a keen hunter himself, is set to bring this savage act of cruelty back into society, if he comes into power.

How can this be happening? 

It has already been established how intensely cruel this blood sport is, despite hunters controversy, i.e. pest control and to quote David Cameron `A nice way to see the countryside`.  How lame and insensitive these people are.

However, what I find almost as frightening is our future could shortly be at the hands of these people.  What faith can caring citizens have in such cold, calculated leadership? Where would a man like David Cameron take us if he can feel no anguish at the sight of an innocent animal being ripped apart, instead just joy?  Along with thousands of hounds and pups shot dead each year, as they are no longer required and fox cubs left to die when their parents do not return?

How can any human being turn this obvious brutal cruelty into so called `fun`, `a day out` or sport?

Immoral and inhumane does not carry enough substance to describe this evil behaviour, that still continues in some areas of the country.  Supposedly law abiding citizens who think they rank higher than most, regularly break the law, but do they get prosecuted?  No.  It seems money talks. If David Cameron wins this forthcoming election I as one of those caring citizens along with my family and friends will be absolutely devastated.

Some may argue that the Labour Party is not perfect either, after all political parties do not always deliver what they promise, but in this case I do not see that we have a choice. If we want this awful, sickening sport to stay a thing of the past and hopefully abolished completely then we have to vote Labour.  They did all the hard work before and have promised to look after our wildlife and I for one have faith in them on this issue, going on previous experience.

For the consequences of David Cameron taking power would be devastating.  How could anyone sleep at night after electing a man that is waiting to instantly inflict pain and suffering to our poor animals and enjoy it?  This is not a way forward this is a selfish individual wanting one of his interests made legal.

He will not listen to us. We will have no say. It takes a certain type of person to hunt for fun and they do not care about others.

Please vote Labour.  This is the only way David Cameron can be stopped.

Karen Collins.

Rage against cruelty

The latest trailer for the film a Minority Pastime

The film receives its premiere on the 4th May

This trailer is acompanied by a new song

You can listen to and download the song here

For more info goto

A Minority Pastime

Camerons self interest against the nation

I was compelled to write this article due to the risks to our wildlife. Both from David Cameron and his Conservative party who are determined to repeal the ban on hunting with dogs. The hunting ban remains popular and well supported it is therefore staggering that David Cameron would seek its repeal. If David  Cameron gets his way it will be a travesty of justice.  Thousands of animals will die in both a horrific and needless fashion.

Hunting with hounds is an out moded and barbaric past time of the rich and the bored. I fail to see how pleasure can be derived, in capturing an animal, taking it miles away from its set. Releasing it, knowing it will be chased by ravenous dogs (ravenous because they have deliberately not been fed for a day perhaps even two before the hunt). If the fox does make it back to its set, exhausted, terrified out of its wits and virtually unable to stand, the creature then discovers a member of the hunt has filled in the set. Therefore rendering the sanctuary of the foxes home unobtainable.

The fox is then torn apart, whilst still alive, by the starving hounds! Any new member of the hunt has the ‘honour’ of being daubed with blood from the fox’s brush. How can this be acceptable in today’s society? The UK voiced their disgust at such heinous behaviour and voted to ban hunting with hounds. Cameron can have no respect for the citizens of The UK, how could he if he is determined to repeal such an important law?  A law that people feel so passionately about?

Cameron and his co horts want to repeal the ban, for personal gain.

Even though it has been against the law to hunt animals with hounds for the last five years in The UK, Camerons hunting supporters have still been blatantly hunting with hounds and thus BREAKING the law in some parts of the country. Some in the hunting world never actually stopped hunting with hounds, flaunting the fact.

Cameron has also said that if the Conservatives get back into power then in the first week there will also be a badger cull of epic proportions. This man is ruthless and vindictive; he has no morals, no scruples, and sees animals as merely a means of entertainment. He is on record as telling voters in Plymouth that he would be willing to sanction badger culling.

Any person and political party who has such scant regard for the wishes of The United Kingdom, who runs rough shod over the unified decisions made by its peoples.

Any person and political party who has shown no respect for the animal’s and human’s, who would be at the mercy of such a party, in my and many others opinions, should NEVER be allowed to govern our wonderful, noble island, and Northern Ireland. I hope that this article will help towards ensuring the continued ban on Hunting with Hounds, that the law is never repealed, and that the Conservative Party never gets back into power.

(ED) We share your views and concerns. It is more clear than ever that Mr Cameron would be the wrong choice to be Prime Minister. Our wildlife and our nation deserve so much more than David Cameron.

Written by  Lisa Huskisson

Putting decency above demands for animal cruelty

 A Minority Pastime

On the 4th May the film Minority Pastime receives its premier screening in London.

Those expected to attend the screening will be a mixture of celebrities, politicians and concerned members of the public.

 

The film will be a powerful statement that reflects the mood of decency within society 

For the 1st time a film will combine the issue of animal cruelty while reflecting the harm that hunts can cause to rural people. Rural people often suffer the brunt of their homes being invaded when hounds run wild in their attempt to catch the fox. They also feel intimidation caused by hunts if they speak out against them. Despite the myths the hunting lobby create 72% of the rural population are against hunting with dogs.

People who watch this film will come to two powerful conclusions.

That deliberate animal cruelty is never justified and that the rights of those who stand up for decency must be heard.

For far to many decades the hunting lobby have ridden roughshod over society. They have bullied and deceived the nation in order to carry on in the way only they see fit. When it comes to democracy it has been viewed with contempt.

Their backers have distorted their influence and importance and colluded to pander to a minority. Far from exposing sickening acts of deliberate animal cruelty they have chosen to concile the truth.

The chief backer in all of this is now David Cameron, who has allowed underhand and undemocratic practices to aid his bid for election. His reliance on pro hunting Vote OK to campaign for him in key seats threatens more that just defenceless animals. Rural policy of all kinds is now easy access for the hunting lobby. His commitment to seeking the repeal of the hunting ban shows his judgement is flawed. It clearly raisess a serious question.

Is David Cameron fit to be the leader of the nation? The answer must be no. For how can a man who sees nothing wrong in violence to animals be representative of the needs of decent society.

 

Visit the Minority Pastime website

Support the Hunting Act (Ban) UK and Fox in Parliament are pleased to be supporting A Minority Pastime. Be sure to look out for our film review and coming interviews.

Decency means saying no to Cameron

In the coming weeks many of you will say, oh it’s just an election, I’m not interested or I can’t be bothered with all that. What’s the use of voting their all the same? Yet while there are always endless excuses not to vote our wildlife will pay the price.

No Party or government is perfect and nobody ever gets all they want or think they should. Political Party’s are a collection of people brought together who believe society is important. They seek to mend and to inspire yet they go further. Their views have an impact on all you do. Be it your job, your lifestyle your future all our interconnected.

So the notion that politics does not affect you, well that’s never been the case. Governments also create laws and it is within those laws that we see their true thinking. It is here we can see if a government is decent or one that is selective on what priorities it supports.

Our wildlife depends on people being decent in government in order to reflect the wishes of society. For them there are no choices, they have no ability to vote against hunting. They can not petition or lobby to achieve the outcome that will protect them. They rely on you. Such is the horror they face with a Cameron win that it is hard to imagine this is 2010. 

David Cameron has shown again and again that he cares nothing for our wildlife. His obsession with hunting with dogs has been the backbone of his thinking since entering Parliament. Never before has there been quite an opposition leader who thinks of society as only in terms of a hunting season. The harm to our wildlife and Britain’s standing in the world hangs in the balance.

As a nation we pride ourselves on decency and fairness. Something however that seems unimaginable to David Cameron. What he considers decent is beyond mere mortals like us.

If we lose the hunting ban we lose our ability to speak out against animal cruelty. How can we in the UK say it is wrong of Canada to kill seals or Spain to kill bulls when we allow legal dog fighting? Can you imagine the reaction the UK would receive if they objected to consumption of Cats and Dogs in the Philippines?

The damaging effects of Vote OK

Labour MP Tom Levitt MP has demanded openness and transparency about the activities of a group called Vote OK. This is a national organisation of  people who support hunting with dogs which is backing pro-hunt Conservatives in 26 seats at the general election.

“It should be the people of High Peak who decide which candidate to support. My record on fox hunting is clear: I oppose hunting with hounds, hare coursing and stag hunting and I always have. I am glad that they are now banned and I believe that the Conservatives are out of step with public opinion for wanting to bring it back.”

High Peak is one of the 26 seats where Vote OK is seeking to unseat anti-hunting MPs by pouring money and resources into the Conservative campaign, according to the Independent newspaper (28 March).
 Mr Levitt has written to the Conservative candidate in High Peak, Andrew Bingham, as follows:

“Following the revelations in yesterday’s Independent that High Peak is one of the constituencies being targeted by organised fox hunters through an organisation calling itself Vote OK, I am calling on you to make your association with them clear.

“The article reveals that Vote OK are directly flooding key constituencies with resources in a bid to help pro-hunting members of the Conservative Party get elected to Parliament, while being instructed to keep quiet on the issue of hunting itself. By posing as Conservative campaigners – while actually being fox-hunters only motivated by bringing back the barbaric practice of animals ripping each other to shreds – I believe they are misleading the public.

“In light of this, and in the interests of transparency for voters, I feel you have a duty to make clear your links with Vote OK or other hunt-supporting organisations.

“I am therefore calling on you to make public:

• Weather you have accepted any assistance from Vote OK or other hunt supporting organisations or would if it were offered in the future?
• Whether you do support a repeal of the ban on fox-hunting and, if so, whether you intend to make this clear to voters during the campaign?

“Given the recent record of the Conservative Party on campaign funding, I am appalled at the lack of transparency around Vote OK’s activities. I feel it is entirely wrong that a tiny group of hunters without any local connections is trying to get its supporters into Parliament by the back door.

“And given that polls show 75% of the electorate opposes a repeal of the ban on fox-hunting, I call upon you to be open and honest with the electorate on this issue.”

Supporters of the ban on hunting are invited to show that support on the web site www.backtheban.com

(ED says) In addition Fox in Parliament is also well placed to show opposition to David Cameron, so do contact us if you would like to be involved.

We also looked through Tory PPC Andrew Binghams website We could not find any mention of Vote OK or even his views on hunting with dogs for his constituents to read. Yet he is quite happy to have the hunting lobby helping in his campaign out of sight of the public.

For your eyes only, when reality hurts.

Seeing images or video that show cruelty can be hard. You want to look away. You know that a part of you will always remember those images. Yet you also know that sometimes reality has to be seen. We all do it. When it comes to seeing animal cruelty we feel anger, yes. Yet bringing ourselves to see what is happening. Is just as important in order to work out why? Well knowing something is not the same as seeing the reality.

The League Against Cruel Sports have released a video that dose exactly what it says on the tin. It shows the reality of hunting. Yet is shows it in a way that all can understand. This powerful video is a must see. Now I can hear some of you thinking it will be gory. Well the directors and the Bright Young Things who put this together are one step ahead of you.

They have put together a group of celebrities and it is they who see the reality. You however will still feel the horror and anger at what they see. The video being shown shows the deliberate cruelty hunting inflicts on our wildlife. The terminology is traditional hunting? The hunting lobby love words that disuse horrific acts of cruelty.

They can’t disuse the disgust and distress on the faces of the celebrities. Yet  the tried. Jim Barrington the pro bloodsport apologist for the hunting lobby has had a go. He claimed that as the celebrities were actors, that therefore they were overacting. Well when you watch the video, you will see how stupid that claim is.

The celebrities who reacted to the reality are people you know. They are just like you and me. For like you they can’t believe that anyone could see hunting with dogs as right or civilised. Our society is a good society. Our people are some of the fairest and compassionate people in the world. Yet we are let down by a tiny minority again and again. Those that seek bloodsport have placed themselves outside of decent society.

Recently David Cameron was challenged to ditch his policy to bring back animal cruelty. Labour’s Hilary Benn and the thousands who co-signed his letter await a reply. For this matter is about animal welfare. It’s also about decency. Something that Cameron has been lacking. The moment he thought hunting was right is when he let the nation down.

 

 Tony Robinson compares fox-hunting to “hoodies picking on an asthmatic.”

 The celebrities where Gemma Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Uri Geller, Tamara Ecclestone, Colin Baker, Peter Tatchell, Bill Oddie and Annette Crosbie.

 

We are now at the 5^th anniversary of the hunting ban. Despite the passage of time since the ban came in. Not withstanding the normal tribulations with the Courts. The hunting ban is working…Yes there is always more to do. However we should be proud. We should not let the biased press tell us what to think. When we brought in the hunting ban, the world took note. It shouts out loud that the British people will not tolerate animal cruelty.

It gives our country leadership on the issue of animal welfare globally. It raises our standing and it encourages other countries to reduce harm to their wildlife. Having a hunting ban is a major achievement for animal welfare. Your voice and our good MPs made it happen.

We can not go back; you have seen the reactions of people to cruelty. Let’s not allow hunting to place a stain on our nation again. Cameron must be stopped and he can lose the election.

Reading shoppers queue up to support Labour’s ban on fox-hunting

On Saturday afternoon, shoppers in Broad Street Reading were queuing up to support Labour’s ban on fox-hunting. The local Labour Party organised a survey to find out peoples’ views on whether the ban should be removed (as proposed by the Conservatives) or retained.

No less than 100% of people who participated in the survey stated that they supported Labour’s ban on fox-hunting. Yet the Conservatives’ leader, David Cameron, has pledged to dedicated Government time, if elected, to a bill abolishing the ban. Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Reading East, stated:

“It seems that Reading people are, if anything, even more supportive of Labour’s ban on fox-hunting than the population as a whole. Nationally around 75% of people support the ban- in Reading, it seems, virtually everyone agrees with it. Getting rid of the ban on fox-hunting is one of the very few policies that the Conservatives have come out with – alongside cutting tax for the 3,000 richest estates”.

And Councillor Bet Tickner stated: “I’ve always supported a ban on fox-hunting. This barbaric ‘sport’ belongs to Medieval days, not the 21st century. We must campaign to ensure that the ban stays in place and against the Conservatives’ objectionable plans to devote parliament’s time to abolishing it”.

Picture: Anneliese, Bet, and a fox (!) on Broad Street.  

Dr Anneliese Dodds is the Labour PPC for Reading East.