Debunking Misinformation Around Trophy Hunting

Over the last few months there has been heated debate around the subject of the proposed ban on imports of hunting trophies into the UK. The proposed Private Members Bill is here Importing of hunting trophies banned to protect world’s threatened species – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Controversy around how the evidence has been gathered remains a heated topic of discussion with many scientists concerned they have not been invited to submit evidence and that many Animal Rights Organisations have been heavily involved. You will see in the proposed bill that they have quotes from Eduardo Gonçalves, the founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International UK and Born Free’s Head of Policy Dr Mark Jones.

However there are eminent Scientists, Conservationists and African Leaders who have come out strongly against the proposed legislation being led by Professor Amy Dickman who is a leading expert on the subject. Professor Amy Dickman | Department of Zoology (ox.ac.uk)

‘Poorly conceived’ trophy hunting bill puts wildlife at risk, UK government told | Hunting | The Guardian

The Bill was withdrawn with Government sources citing that they had run out of Parliamentary time to debate the bill. It is uncertain if the Bill will be reintroduced in the new session of Parliament but sources say they are committed to reintroduce the proposed legislation.

Government says it remains committed to banning hunting trophies – BBC News

We thought it would be relevant to provide a resource from Game and Wildlife Conservation | (cic-wildlife.org) that debunks the claims by some of the AR Orgs so people can read up on the subject based on Scientific evidence.

Debunking the Myths surrounding Trophy Hunting.

The published article below by BASC Home – The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (basc.org.uk) also covers the risk that the legislation could adversely affect deer management in the UK.

Trophy Hunting – The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (basc.org.uk)

If the bill is reintroduced we urge people to email their MPs and provide them with this information and ask them to vote against the proposed legislation.

New Welsh General License Changes to come in Force from 1st July 2022

Changes to Welsh General Licences come into force from the 1st July 2022, details can be found below:

Countryside Alliance – New General Licences set to launch in Wales – Have Natural Resources Wales bowed to outside pressures? (countryside-alliance.org)

This extract from the article below clearly shows how Wild Justice have influenced the Consultation.

‘The changes are the result of 18 months of work and a consultation analysis carried out by NRW which received over 600 responses of which only 38.7% came from Wales with the weight of responses, regarding Welsh General Licences coming from England with a total of 61%. Organisational responses including the Countryside Alliance totalled 5% of the total number of respondents with 95% coming in from individuals largely associated with a Wild Justice tick box campaign, carrying no purposeful evidence to back up their responses but were heavily aligned to a personal opinion.‘

We have previously mentioned in this article below about their approach.

https://www.countrysidefightback.online/daily-blogs/guest-blogs/why-should-people-support-the-packham-3-fundraiser/

Quote from this article: ‘He sees the need to infiltrate and influence, to stop fighting and look for fair and effective compromise both in terms of conservation and wholesale care of the environment’.

https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/20055252.chris-

We will say this again, Wild Justice intend to infiltrate and influence by negotiating ‘compromise’ on their own terms and not anyone else’s.

They will not stop until people fight back and fight for rural communities and endangered wildlife.

The fightback starts here:

‘The Packham 3’ Defamation Defence Against Chris Packham (crowdjustice.com)

https://ko-fi.com/packham3

This is more than a court case now, it’s a fight for everyone that lives and works in the countryside.

Pest Control

Countryside vs Packham
Countryside Fightback

The management and ethics of pest control, best practice, methods etc. For example, rats are the main problem around the stables, they spread disease, eat into any feed sacks they can get to and freak the horses out.

Poison is not favoured though due to the high risk of secondary poisoning should a bird of prey eat the rat afterwards. A terrier is one option, or a patient night with an air rifle.

Rats are not the only pests that need controlling of course, and the definition of pest varies depending upon what you do. A fox is a pest to a poultry farmer, but not necessarily a problem to an arable farmer.

What methods do you use, and on what pests? Are there any constraints making it more difficult to manage pests? How can pest management be made more effective?

Hunting

Countryside vs Packham
Countryside Fightback

What are the benefits of hunting in the broader sense, rather than those emotive areas that attract the most attention at home and abroad.

How can we better promote the benefits of hunting, particularly when done properly i.e. ethical and sustainable practices?

Advantages/disadvantages? How do we take into account the rights and welfare of local communities? We may disagree but communities around the world often eat the animals some of us would only ever see in a zoo. Perhaps a licensing system like Canada has would be the best approach?

Why do we need hunting? In some cases it reduces competition for scarce resources i.e. a group that has limits cannot keep growing forever; in other cases it maintains the health of the group as in deer management. We also manage some species to enable others to flourish, foxes are an example of species management – for the benefit of ground-nesting birds.

Fundraising Events

Clay Shooting Fundraising Event

We have been working hard in the background and are pleased to announce we are now ready to help support anybody who wishes to host a fundraising event for The Packham 3.

We will be able to advertise the events on here, design posters and also set up the events on the Countryside Fightback Facebook page, Countryside Fightback and also on the Twitter Account CountrysideFB.

Here are some suggestions of events people might want to consider running. Fun Rides, Fun Dog Shows, Open Farm Days, Ferret Racing, Dog Racing on a Lure, Scurries, Sporting Day Shoots, to name just a few.

We are also pleased to announce we now have an inhouse artist who is donating their work for free. We are extremely grateful for their generosity. They will be able to create a scene which depicts the event you want to host.

The artwork shown above is our first commission which is to advertise a Sporting Day Shoot at a Clay Shooting Club. We are just in the process of finalising the details of the event in the next few weeks so watch this space.

All enquiries on events or suggestions of other types of events people might want to consider hosting please contact us here. Contact – Countryside Fightback

If you would like to send someone a copy of this article please use the form below:

    Disneyfication

    Disneyfication and/or anthropomorphism
    Countryside Fightback

    What do people think of Disneyfication, the modern-day tendency to apply safe or human-like characteristics to wildlife and/or livestock?

    Described as Disneyfication, if ‘safe’ characteristics are applied, or anthropomorhism where human characteristics are suggested.

    This can lead to people doing stupid and/or dangerous things.

    For example, the current trend towards picking up lambs for a ‘cuddle’ or attempting to get a ‘selfie’ with an elk in rutting season.

    Rebutting Misinformation

    Packham 3
    Countryside Fightback

    How can we get better at identifying, checking and rebutting misinformation that is often shared to the detriment of rural communities?

    For example, it has often been stated that livestock farming is major contributor to CO² and Methane emissions; that eating meat is harmful to health and UK farming is cruel.

    None of these statements were a true and comprehensive study selecting, as they did, only those elements that suited the narrative of the author.

    In fact, they were neither unbiased nor balanced.

    Information

    Packham 3
    Countryside Fightback

    Why should people support The Packham 3 Fundraiser?

    Here is an interesting article which shows the impacts that have resulted from their legal challenges on the General Licences across the UK.
    https://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/generallicences/amp/
    As you can see it has caused so much disruption and damage to Wildlife and people’s livelihoods .


    Quote from this article. ‘He sees the need to infiltrate and influence, to stop fighting and look for fair and effective compromise both in terms of conservation and wholesale care of the environment’.

    https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/20055252.chris-

    What we feel is that he and Wild Justice intend to infiltrate and influence by negotiating “compromise’ on their own terms and not anyone else’s. They will not stop until people fight back.


    For this reason, it is imperative that their activities be presented with every possible hurdle and the case of the Packham 3 is expected to be a milestone on the rural fightback. A milestone in regaining the strength to promote the great work these groups contribute towards sustainable, ethical, lawful shooting, hunting and extensive conservation efforts across the U.K and also, importantly, secure people’s livelihoods.

    Please support and share it as much as you can, we are firmly behind the 3.

    https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/the-packham-3-defamation-defen/

    https://ko-fi.com/packham3

    Thank you

    Why should people support the Packham 3 Fundraiser?


    You are all aware of Wild Justice. Theirs is a well-funded war of attrition, and you can be sure their future actions will have a significant impact on the countryside. This will be throughout the entire spectrum of country activities including farming, fishing, hunting, stalking and shooting.Here is an interesting article which shows the impacts that have resulted in their legal challenges on the General Licences across the UK.


    https://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/generallicences/amp/

    As you can see it has caused so much disruption and damage to Wildlife and people’s livelihoods.


    Quote from this article. ‘He sees the need to infiltrate and influence, to stop fighting and look for fair and effective compromise both in terms of conservation and wholesale care of the environment’.

    https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/20055252.chris-


    What we feel is that he and Wild Justice intend to infiltrate and influence by negotiating “compromise’ on their own terms and not anyone else’s. They will not stop until people fightback.


    For this reason, it is imperative that their activities be presented with every possible hurdle and the case of the Packham 3 is expected to be a milestone on the rural fightback to regain the strength to promote the great work these groups contribute towards sustainable, ethical, lawful shooting, hunting and extensive conservation efforts across the U.K and also importantly secure people’s livelihoods.


    Please support and share it as much as you can as we are firmly behind The Packham 3.
    https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/the-packham-3-defamation-defen/
    https://ko-fi.com/packham3

    Thank you

    The Packham 3 Fundraising Team