Classic example of CONservation hooliganism being a huge failure. The
RSPB et al, Nazi inclined obsession with alien species that has led
to the wholesale slaughter of millions of animals from ruddy ducks, to
rare black rats. From forcing unhealthy populations of red squirrels
together in man made colonies, to over breeding of sea birds causing
starvation due to declining foods. It's one big cock up and it's
costing us the tax payer millions.

Isn't it about time we gave the CONservation hooligans the boot and
put real men in to conservation?

Rats! Cull of mink causes new scourge

http://tinyurl.com/2pgjy8

IT IS a prime example of the law of unintended consequences. The
high-profile £1.5m campaign to kill mink and save seabirds in the
Western Isles has led to an explosion in the numbers of egg-eating
rats, say Hebridean crofters.
Although conservationists are claiming the rats are no more plentiful,
only bolder, locals believe that the mink were keeping the rats in
their place.

http://tinyurl.com/2kk8ps

Hunting ban sparks a rural boom

Three years on from the Hunting Act, the traditional trades that many
believed would die out are thriving
Mark Townsend The Observer, Sunday February 24 2008 Article history ·

This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday February 24 2008 on
p26 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:06 on February 24
2008.

Rural businesses have reported a remarkable increase in trade, some by
up to 40 per cent, since the introduction of the hunting ban three
years ago. Far from sounding the death knell for the countryside
economy, the Hunting Act has galvanised trades such as farriers and
saddlers. Some hunting stockists have had their best sales in 50
years.

Interesting story despite the fact farming budget has gone up in real
terms.

For decades farming has needed a kick up the arse to bring it in line
with modern work ethics, and business model.

Is British agriculture so incapable of standing on its own two feet
that it needs to be treated like a lame duck; and if it is lame, does
it need a pair of crutches or a surgical operation.
Body (1982)

We're slowly pulling the crutches away but it's not easy to let go.

DEFRA WRITES OFF FARMING

11:00 - 22 February 2008

http://tinyurl.com/275qp6

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn last night signalled a significant
shift away from supporting farming and rural areas as his
cash-strapped department vowed to focus its funding priorities on
tackling climate change.Support for rural and farming businesses will
be scrapped in favour of funding eco-projects in Africa and
bankrolling inventions to provide alternatives to fossil fuels.

Slaughter of the raptors

IAN JOHNSTON ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (ijohnston@scotsman.com)
THE slaughter of Scotland's birds of prey is at its highest level in
20 years, according to an RSPB report to be published today.

There was a 50 per cent rise in the number of raptors deliberately
killed or poisoned baits found in 2006, with 183 incidents compared to
121 in the previous year.

But investigators at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
(RSPB) said these figures were the tip of a large iceberg with many
killings going undetected. And even when cases do come to light, only
1.4 per cent lead to a conviction.

The hen harrier is described as being in a "critical" situation and
Scotland's golden eagle is also said to be under threat in the long
term.

The society called for every police force in Scotland to have at least
one full-time wildlife crime officer and the full use of penalties
against those convicted of killing birds of prey.

To date, no-one in Scotland has been jailed for the offence which is
punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of £10,000.

THREE ACCUSED OF BREAKING HUNTING ACT
A date has been set for the trial of three men accused of hunting
illegally in the Westcountry. The members of the Minehead Harriers
will appear before magistrates in Taunton on October 8. They face
allegations under the Hunting Act, in a prosecution brought by the
League Against Cruel Sports. It is understood the organisation has
footage which it claims shows the trio hunting illegally.

Papers have been served on Sydney Westcott huntmaster Sydney Westcott,
as well as William Goffe and Gary Bradley. All three stand accused
under the Hunting Act, but Gary Bradley, the hunt's whipper-in, is
also alleged to have committed a public order offence

The allegations relate to an incident in January this year. The
huntsmen have the support of their hunt and of the Countryside
Alliance. The case will be the third brought by the league in the
region. So far, all of them have been in Somerset. The organisation
has succeeded in its two other prosecutions.

In June, huntsman Richard Down and whipper-in Adrian Pillivant, of the
Quantock Staghounds, were convicted at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
They were each fined £500 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

You are what you eat.

http://www.eatthis.org.uk/

So you think you know where your food comes from! But how many people
really know how that piece of meat got on their plate? In the UK, more
than 950 million animals are slaughtered for food every year. The
average meat-eater will consumes about 2000 animals including pigs,
chickens, cows and lambs, in his or her lifetime, plus half a tonne of
fish.

The majority of animals are reared in factory farms, where they are
denied fresh air, proper exercise and the freedom to carry out their
natural behaviour. Throughout the process of forced pregnancy,
fattening, transport and slaughter, the objective of the farming and
meat industries is to obtain maximum profit. When their times comes to
die, slaughter is a brutal, bloody end.

LOOK video

http://www.league.uk.com/video/index.htm

5MB Fox being dug out ready to run for its life again
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip2.MPG

2MB Fox being killed (slowly) by hounds then thrown by hunter
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip3.MPG

5MB Two people tormenting a fox and enjoying it
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip4.MPG

3MB Distressed stag being drowned
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip6.MPG

2MB Stag falling at hedge with hounds upon it
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip7.MPG

2MB Another distressed wounded stag in a garden
http://home.btclick.com/lacs.2/video_mpeg/clip8.MPG

2MB Stag being whipped in a river
http://home.btclick.com/lacs1/video_mpeg/clip9.MPG

3MB Very tired stag - but they enjoy this of course
http://home.btclick.com/lacs.2/video_mpeg/clip10.MPG

Angling
http://www.fishinghurts.com/getActive.asp
Imagine reaching for an apple on a tree and having your hand suddenly
impaled by a metal hook that drags you—the whole weight of your body
pulling on that one hand—out of the air and into an atmosphere in
which you cannot breathe. This is what fish experience when they are
hooked for “sport.”

Many people grow up fishing without ever considering the terror and
suffering that fish endure when theyÂ’re impaled by a hook and pulled
out of the water. Recreational anglers rarely stop to contemplate that
fish are complex and intelligent individuals. In fact, if anglers
treated cats, dogs, cows, or pigs the way they treat fish, they would
be thrown in prison on charges of cruelty to animals. Even when
anglers put fish back in the water after torturing them, many of the
fish die from their stress and injuries. A 2006 study conducted during
and after a Wisconsin fishing tournament found that hundreds of fish
who were caught and released had died within a few days.

Why not let fish enjoy the beautiful day, too, by leaving your fishing
gear at home?

Bird Flu? What do we care?
Posted: 25 February 2008

http://tinyurl.com/yp7ksu
The Cattistock Foxhounds have been caught on film behaving in a manner
which can only be described as grossly irresponsible by the League.
Our monitors filmed members of the hunt drawing hounds through
reedbeds at Abbotsbury Swannery, an area which is currently under bird
flu restrictions.

The restrictions were placed on the area following the discovery of a
number of dead swans. Fears have now arisen that the disease will be
at risk of spreading with the presence of a pack of hounds in the
area.

National Trust Bows to League Pressure
Posted: 26 February 2008

The National Trust has responded to pressure from the League and
removed links to pro hunting and shooting groups, including the
Countryside Alliance from its website