RADIO AND PRESS ARTICLES

The media interest in the RSPCA as a result of the Heythrop prosecution remains very strong, several weeks after the case closed.  Below are a number of links to newspaper articles and radio interviews which you may find interesting.

Read more: RSPCA Vs HEYTHROP

Stud book foxhounds from registered packs can be shown at a series of hound shows throughout the country during the summer months. Dogs and Bitches are judged separately and there are classes for unentered hounds, entered hounds, and hounds used for breeding. The dates for this summer's shows are:

Warm praise for the newly refurbished Hunting Museum at foxhunting’s historic “capital”, Melton Mowbray, was expressed by Baroness Mallalieu when she performed its official re-launch on October 9^th.

Read more: Hunting Museum Relaunch

RESULTS - PETERBOROUGH ROYAL FOXHOUND SHOW 2012

Read more: Peterborough 2012 Results

PETERBOROUGH ROYAL FOXHOUND SHOW 2012 REPORT

The VWH for the first time won both championships in the modern Foxhound section of the 124^th Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show (July 18^th, 2012).  Martin Scott has continued to breed  this pack since he was Joint Master and huntsman from 1977-83.

The  124^th Royal Foxhound Show was a remarkable display of quality at all levels.  It was notable for the rare absence from the championships of the Greencoats,  Duke of Beaufort’s and Heythrop, but their benign influence on modern breeding was evident.    President of the show was Mr. C.E.W. Saunders who has been a member of the East of England Show Council since 1966, and previously on the Peterborough Show Council.

Special thanks were expressed by the MFHA Director, Major T.R. Easby,  to the Secretary of the Show, Mr David Ralley-Davies, and his staff for the great success of the Festival of Hunting at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, which includes the Royal Foxhound Show.

Read more: Peterborough Foxhound Show 2012 Report

Following successful symposia in 2006, 2008 and 2010 a fourth Veterinary Association of Wildlife Management (VAWM) symposium is to be held at The Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE on Thursday, 15th November, 2012
         
Topics will include:

The “Big society” and conservation
“One health” – integrating human, domestic animal and wildlife health
Life in the Wild – contrasting the life of wild and domestic animals
Disease threats from animal imports and pet travel
Bat disease surveillance
Cetacean strandings
Avian reintroductions and poisoning
 
A number of distinguished speakers have already been secured for what promises to be another influential and important meeting on wildlife diseases and conservation. Full programme and details will be published on the VAWM website

The Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management (VAWM) has updated its report "Hunting, Wildlife Management and the Moral Issue" and is required reading for supporters of hunting with dogs.

The group has 570 supporters who are general veterinary practitioners and are spread across England , Wales, Scotland and Ireland . Many have had years of clinical experience with all common species of domestic and wild animals. Some are, or were, in the pharmaceutical industry, some are academics with a wealth of research experience, five are veterinary professors and six are fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists.The objectives of the Association are to promote the sensible management of British wildlife by methods that are advantageous for the welfare of wild animals and which promote or sustain the health and vigour of their species.

Read "Hunting, Wildlife Management and the Moral Issue" on the VAWM website

Ex-Countryside Alliance Head of Policy Nigel Burke writes in the Daily Express: "My colleague Ann Widdecombe has suggested that animal rights activists should be sent out with video cameras to monitor hunts to make sure that they stay within the terms of the Hunting Act and she paints a picture of them as a benign Neighbourhood Watch for foxes.

"I’m afraid that when she was an anti-hunting MP, valuable to animal rights campaigners, Ann won’t have had the chance to meet activists as they truly are..."

Click her to read the full article

The Ministry of Justice has released new figures on Hunting Act convictions in England and Wales in response to a Parliamentary Question. In 2010 36 people were convicted of Hunting Act offences. None of those was employed by, or connected with, any hunt registered with the Masters of Foxhounds Association. Only one of those convictions relates to a hunt registered with the Council of Hunting Associations, of which the MFHA is a member.

Complete data from the Ministry of Justice from 2005 – 2010 shows that 181 people were convicted of Hunting Act offences. Just three of those people were connected to MFHA packs and three with other with registered CHA hunts. More than 97% of Hunting Act convictions did not involve hunts.

A Countryside Alliance press release on the conviction figures can be viewed here.

The 2011 Masters of Foxhounds Association Annual General Meeting was held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 7^th June. Chairman Stephen Lambert, Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Alice Barnard and Simon Hart MP addressed the 300 Masters and Chairmen in attendance.

The Chairman reported on another successful year for the Association despite the difficulties associated with the Hunting Act. He welcomed the new Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Alice Barnard who described her vision for the Alliance and reiterated the commitment of the organisation to the repeal of the Hunting Act. Simon Hart briefed the meeting on the political strategy for repeal and emphasised the strength of support within Parliament and the Government for hunting and the rural community.

The treasurer, Joe Cowan, reported on the association’s healthy financial position and the Director, Alastair Jackson, briefed the meeting on the work of the Hunting Office over the previous year. The AGM was followed by lunch in the magnificent panoramic restaurant in the main grandstand at Cheltenham.