Tag: Wild Justice

countryside

Fall of the ‘Eco’ Trolls

BY BERT BURNETT The Demise of the Online Haters of the British Countryside Ignoring trolls like Chris Packham and George Monbiot, who thrive on triggering emotional responses from Countrysiders and grow increasingly extreme and irrelevant, is not just a matter of personal preference—it’s a strategic necessity. These individuals have built their platforms on divisive rhetoric not science, often targeting the British countryside, its traditions, and … Continue reading Fall of the ‘Eco’ Trolls

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editorial

These Days Nobody Falls for Tingay’s Dead Cat

CSM EDITORIAL The dead cat strategy is the political strategy of deliberately making a shocking announcement to divert media attention away from problems or failures in other areas. In the PR world, it’s the introduction of a dramatic or sensationalist topic to divert attention from a more damaging issue that someone wants to keep hidden from the media, and therefore the public. ‘There is one … Continue reading These Days Nobody Falls for Tingay’s Dead Cat

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Exclusive

Chris Packham, the BBC Extremist: ‘Stick Your Head in a Bucket of Fuel and Set Fire to it’

BY BEN O’ROURKE BBC Presenter Chris Packham used to be known for his peroxide hair and quirky kids programmes then graduated to BBC’s ‘Springwatch‘ and all the spin-off series. As he grew older, so did his audience and the series gained him a new generation of young viewers interested in wildlife. Few people in the UK under 50 don’t know who he is. For the … Continue reading Chris Packham, the BBC Extremist: ‘Stick Your Head in a Bucket of Fuel and Set Fire to it’

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Farming

Corvid Lamb Persecution Now Out of Control

BY EILEEN STUART Warning: Graphic images Following an appeal by the high-profile farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, sheep farmers across Britain have amassed hundreds of images and reports of bird attacks on lambs during this year’s lambing season. Pest birds, such as carrion crows, magpies and jackdaws, are spreading in their millions and face only one enemy: farmers with their shotguns. The problem is, farmers with … Continue reading Corvid Lamb Persecution Now Out of Control

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Fieldsports, Government

Critical Consultation Confusion

BY MARK CRUDGINGTON All UK shooters are eagerly waiting to hear what the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) decide to recommend to DEFRA with regard to the future of lead in ammunition. The HSE is a government agency and this is how they described what guides them on their website: “The fundamental principle of health and safety law is that those who create risks are … Continue reading Critical Consultation Confusion

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countryside, Opinion

Breaking the Hunting Act is “fine” says Avery

BY GILES BRADSHAW The Wild Justice Director Mark Avery has given qualified support to disobeying the Hunting Act. He believes that it is “fine” provided that: I’m going to assume this is also the position of the campaign group to which he belongs. And I think this is a reasonable position to hold. I’d like to give qualified support to Avery’s qualified support of hunt … Continue reading Breaking the Hunting Act is “fine” says Avery

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countryside

A Burning Issue

BY JOHN NASH Country Squire readers will recall Australia’s terrifying Black Summer, 2019/20, when massive bush fires burned some 35 million acres, destroyed an estimated 3 billion vertebrates (perhaps driving a number to extinction), wrecked scores of irreplaceable rock paintings, wiped out 3000 buildings and, sadly, 47 people died. The tragedy may have cost Australia as much as A$80 billion. Now research has revealed the … Continue reading A Burning Issue

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shooting

The Determined Drive to Ban Lead Shot

BY MARK CRUDGINTON Lead shot is the only viable projectile that can be used to humanely kill birds and animals in the UK. Other metals such as “steel “, copper, bismuth, zinc, tin etc can be used but not one of them can hold a candle to the efficiency and lethality of the lead projectile. However, lead is a divisive subject, mainly due to the … Continue reading The Determined Drive to Ban Lead Shot

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editorial

Wild Justice – Lightweight & Vile

CSM EDITORIAL A member of the Great British Public recently wrote to us with copies of a series of extraordinary email exchanges they had with the campaign group Wild Justice, which is run by Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay. The (redacted) exchanges published below will boil your blood. We have given the author of the emails a random pseudonym, Mr Constantine Beavertail. We … Continue reading Wild Justice – Lightweight & Vile

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Country Squire Productions

The Countryside Fights Back

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN It was with some reluctance that I was asked to present on film my take on the current battles over the Great British Countryside. Not my scene at all. Nonetheless I trooped up to Yorkshire with our terrier Angus (our labrador was banned by the producers as they thought he might gobble the microphone muff) and we shot the following three films … Continue reading The Countryside Fights Back

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Fieldsports

Are WWT Concerned About Accurate Science?

BY MARK CRUDGINGTON The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) was founded by men who shot, men who were Wildfowlers, by sportsmen who pursued duck, geese and waders around coastal Britain. Peter Scott, son of Scott of the Antarctic formed the idea for such an organisation whilst still an active wildfowler, though he later decided to give up shooting for moral reasons. The showpiece of the … Continue reading Are WWT Concerned About Accurate Science?

countrysquiremagazine
Animal Rights, Politics

The Cancer at the Heart of Extremist Animal Rights Lunacy

BY JOHN NASH Dear CSM Reader.   You are probably vaguely aware by now that there is something very, very, wrong with this dying government’s attitude to rural matters.  After all, most people who make a living on or from the land thought they could rely on the Conservative Party for its down-to-earth policies – policies that once balanced the touchy-feely, self-centred anthropomorphic dreams of … Continue reading The Cancer at the Heart of Extremist Animal Rights Lunacy

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Moorlands

Managed Moorlands Wildlife Deserts?

BY MARK BIRD In the second week of June I spent a week on and around The Strathy Estate (unmanaged), RSPB Forsinard and The Auchentoul Estate (managed primarily for stalking). The weather was excellent and below is the list of vertebrate species I either saw or heard over that time period. As impressive as the list may be, what was most notable was the sheer … Continue reading Managed Moorlands Wildlife Deserts?

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countryside

Gamekeepers’ Body Cams & Dashcams

BY STEVE GRANT Body cameras and dashcams for gamekeepers. Have things descended to this? As reported last week, BASC revealed the results of a new survey which showed almost two-thirds – 64 per cent – of gamekeepers across the UK have received abuse and threats purely because of their occupation. Among the 1,000 responses to the survey are shocking reports of gamekeepers receiving death threats … Continue reading Gamekeepers’ Body Cams & Dashcams

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countryside

Wild Claims from Wild Justice

BY NIGEL BEAN & PAUL READ Wild Justice have launched a campaign to fight the new and necessary proposed badger cull because they say the Government has backtracked on its original proposal to move to a vaccination-based policy. So it would appear a letter sent to the Minister for the Environment, George Eustice, by the Badger Trust and supported by LACS, RSPCA, IFAW and the … Continue reading Wild Claims from Wild Justice

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countryside

The Blindness of Zealots

BY JAMES BARRINGTON Asking what methods of wildlife management anti-hunting or anti-shooting groups actually support, as opposed to the activities they are keen to condemn, should always be part of any debate surrounding field sports. The usual response is either a deafening silence or an idealistic ‘leave it all to nature’. Practical examples of how these alternative models of the countryside might look tend to … Continue reading The Blindness of Zealots

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countryside

Town V Countryside?

BY JAMIE FOSTER The latest outbreak in the war between the town and the countryside was caused by Natural England rescinding the general licence for shooting pest species of birds after campaigning by anti-shooting group Wild Justice headed up by Chris Packham. The rescinding of the general licence has left farmers and landowners in the lurch with no way of controlling predatory species such as … Continue reading Town V Countryside?

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