Animal Rights

Animals have feelings too
this is the mantra I was brought up with by my parents

I was born and brought up in the country side. From a child I've loved animals and I hate what some people do to them. Even as a child in the country I hated that some people classify hunting and killing animals as sport. As a school pupil in a rural country school I took part in a debate about fox-hunting, obviously opposing it. We won the debate.

The pro-hunt lobby, the hunting/shooting/killing brigade trot out the line that those of us in opposition are townies, that we don't know the ways of the countryside. Sorry - that's bollocks. Many of us are from the country, were born and brought up in rural areas. We know plenty of farmers and landowners who oppose the hunt. I hate all blood sports - dog fighting, cock fighting, hare coursing, bear baiting, badger baiting, bull fighting, and those wildlife killing competitions in the USA!!

I suppose it was only natural that I'd go vegan at some point. Just wish I'd done it sooner - one of the best things I've ever done.

Most of this page will be about fox-hunting because, even though it's illegal, it still goes on, the fox is still persecuted and demonised by those who like killing.

Don't let the Countryside Alliance tell you they represent country people. They don't! They ONLY represent that small subset that enjoys killing wildlife.

I'm not a hunt saboteur. My role in an organisation is information, communication, education, however to further my own education I have accompanied sabs in the field on a number of occasions. In my mind they are heroes. I couldn't believe how restrained they were in the face of aggression, intimidation and violence. Don't let the hunts tell you sabs are 'the masked thugs of the countryside' - that is the hunt support and their soft-underbelly, the terriermen.

The hunts keep making accusations against sabs and monitors but despite having more cameras out than the sabs and monitors there never seems to be any footage to back up these accusations. On the other hand, week in, week out, we see photos and footage of sabs being assaulted and intimidated, having their equipment stolen and vehicles attacked.

Sadly, Yorkshire seems to be an epicentre for animal cruelty - so many hunts in North Yorkshire, and West and South Yorkshire seem to be hotspots for badger cruelty, and raptor persecution right across the County.

Foxhunting

I've always hated all blood sports but being born and brought up in rural North Yorkshire fox hunting was the one that was most in my face. There were kennels (now happily long gone) in the small market town where I lived.

I was delighted when fox hunting was made illegal in the Hunting Act - but it still carries on as if nothing had changed. The hunts just use 'trail hunting' as 'smokescreen' (their own words). Ever since the Hunting Act came into force we've known that trail hunting was a lie, a device to cover up their true activities. The leaked webinars showed this really was true as they confirmed what we have known all along.

And don't fall for the usual hunt lies - they are myths and untruths to try to legitimise their psychopathic blood lust.

All the other blood sports have been made illegal - bear baiting, dog fighting, cock fighting, badger baiting, otter hunting, hare coursing - supposedly fox hunting has, too, but it still carries on as if there were no ban. Why? because they have rich and powerful friends. It must be stopped.

Hunt Lies

Useful Anti-Hunt links

If you have any other relevant, useful links that you think should be included, please let me have them

Action Against Foxhunting website - excellent informative page from a national organisation

Action Against Foxhunting on Facebook

Keep the Ban website

Keep the Ban on FaceBook

Easingwold Against Foxhunting on Facebook

Fox Hunting Evidence - website. Another excellent, informative page

Fox Hunting Evidence on FaceBook

League Against Cruel Sports website

Hunt Saboteurs Association website

Hunt Saboteurs Association on FaceBook

Hunting Leaks website. This is an awesome page exposing internal documents the hunts really don't want you to see

Fox Cubs Cruelty blog. If you doubt police and judicial bias, then this is a must-read. It is about the case where fox cubs were thrown, alive, to packs of hunt dogs in the kennels.

The Hunt Investigation Team website - these are the people who exposed the horrors of the hunts throwing live cubs to the dogs

The Hunt Investigation Team on FaceBook

Country Folk Hate Hunts on FaceBook. As I keep saying, this is NOT a town v country issue. Lots of us in the country hate the hunts and other bloodsports.

the various sab groups also have their own FaceBook Pages and some have youtube channels. Here is a selection.

If you are part of a sab or monitor group and have a link you want including please let me know

West Midlands Hunt Sabs on YouTube

West Midlands Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

York Anti-Hunt League on FaceBook

Jorvik Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

West Yorks Hunt Sabs on YouTube

West Yorks Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

North London Hunt Sabs on YouTube

Cambridge Hunt Sabs on YouTube

North Cambs Hunt Sabs on YouTube

Northumberland Hunt Watch on FaceBook

Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs on FaceBook

West Cornwall Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Mendip Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Liverpool Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Devon County Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

South Coast Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Norwich Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Peterborough Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

North Dorset Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Humberside Against Blood Sports on FaceBook

Lancashire Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Nottingham Hunt Sabs on FaceBook

Some useful videos

Battle in the Country - the Hunt Saboteurs. BBC3

I am a hunt saboteur - Keep the Ban

Hunt Saboteurs - 40 Minutes. Documentary from 1982

The Hunt Sabs - documentary by Marcia Rumsey

Ten Minutes with a Hunt Saboteur - Keep the Ban

The Dark Side of the Country - the Hunt - UniLad original documentary

Animal Frontline - a film about hunt sabs

Veganism

There was a lot of unlearnng to do. OK I was brought up with the mantra 'animals have feelings, too' but we also at meat and consumed dairy. 'It's OK because they are bred for food' - that's what we were taught. You need meat, you need milk.

I was taught to fish - the first fish I caught (I'd be 5 or 6) we killed it and we ate it and even at that age I hated myself. I can still picture it.

The older I got the more I had problems with the fact that an animal had had to die to feed me. I stopped eating veal. Very soon after I stopped eating lamb. Then red meat went. In the end it was the livestock lorries that did it for me. I started to look online. When we were out I would always choose a vegetarian option. Then I stopped eating meat and became vegetarian - but within a couple of weeks the rest of the dominoes fell and I became almost vegan (I hadn't given up honey - but that went a while back now ).

I wish I'd done it years ago. I feel so much better for having made that change.

I did it for the animals - the health benefits and environmental benefits are great but I went vegan for the animals.

I don't feel I'm missing out on anything - I LOVE vegan food. We are very lucky nowadays - there is so much available. Things are moving very fast and there are more and more options. Things have even changed a lot since I went vegan but I admire so much those people who were vegan many years ago when there just wasn't the stuff available. Hats off to you guys.