The day after Christmas is traditionally known as “Boxing Day” in the UK. But for a sick minority, Blood Sport Day would be more fitting. Most people will be relaxing with family, friends and beloved pets today. But today, thousands of blood sport enthusiasts took to horseback to watch foxes being ripped apart. The Boxing Day Hunt is one of the highlights of the year for these bloodthirsty individuals. Indeed, David Cameron himself took part in Boxing Day Hunts before he became UK Prime Minister. He may have avoided being seen at a hunt since then but nobody is in any doubt about his feelings about hunting with hounds. And nobody was surprised when he announced his plans to put the repeal of the Hunting Act to a free vote.
Thankfully, we were ready for him. With the help of our supporters, Network for Animals helped to thwart David Cameron’s plans to weaken the Hunting Act this summer. This was an incredible victory for animal lovers, and for foxes, hare, deer and mink. Sadly it wasn’t the end of the story. In fact, we now have two battles to win:
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- We have to derail any further attempts by Cameron to weaken the Hunting Act, which Environment Secretary, Liz Truss has stated is on the cards.
- We have to convince the SNP to strengthen the Scottish Hunting Laws, which are weaker than those in England and Wales.
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Photographs from NFA Hunt Monitoring earlier today
We have had great success this year. We have obstructed David Cameron’s plans to bring hunting in through the back door in England and Wales. We helped convince the SNP to stand up to him. We have had meetings with the SNP to discuss the hunting laws in Scotland, and have further meetings planned with the SNP, and all other Scottish parties who have agreed to meet with us. Now that the review of current hunting legislation has been announced, NFA is keen to work with all parties to ensure that the upmost is being done to protect foxes and other wild mammals in Scotland.
But the hunters are out riding in force today. All across the UK. The battle is far from won.
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Please give a special Boxing Day donation. Together we can make bloodsports a thing of the past.
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