Countryside Alliance Grass E-Route

[Venividevenatio]

Grass e-route for 1/3/07.

1. Animal rights' wrongs

2. Docking exemption in Wales?

3. Are conservationists killing through kindness?

4. On top of the world


1. Animal rights' wrongs

Last week's decision by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to withhold grant funding for the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate because of a couple of press releases from animal rights groups was a misguided reaction. By bowing to such flimsy pressure, SNH has effectively invited every pressure group in the land to attack it on one issue or another. Last week's performance would suggest that they are a very soft touch.

SNH had agreed £250,000 in grants for work on the 72,500 acre Deeside estate but ran for cover amidst claims by Advocates for Animals and the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) that the money is being used to 'promote' the shooting of grouse and deer.

The level of intellect involved in this attack can be gauged from the LACS claim that the "cycle of releasing game birds" on grouse moors "creates a completely unnatural habitat".

SNH can "support conservation" and protect the 11,000 Scottish jobs supported by shooting, as it claims, or discriminate against shooting. It cannot do both. Well-managed sporting estates generate increased bio-diversity and economic sustainability. The National Trust for Scotland knows that, which is why its management plans include the promotion and sale of shooting. Its position is entirely consistent with the sustainable management of a model highland estate.

SNH has to decide whether it is more interested in conservation and increased biodiversity or pandering to the tiny, and misinformed, animal rights movement, which has no genuine interest in wildlife management and conservation anyway.

Simon Hart

2. Docking exemption in Wales?

The Countryside Alliance has called on the Welsh Assembly Government to support workable and sensible regulations on the docking of working dogs. Assembly Members will hear evidence on tail docking today, St David's Day, at The National Botanical Gardens of Wales.

The new regulations will form an exemption to the ban on tail docking contained in the Animal Welfare Act* in Wales. It will be permitted to shorten the tails of working dogs such as operational police dogs and gun dogs under strict conditions.

The consultation process must ensure that the new law fulfils Parliament's requirement to provide a practical exemption to protect working dogs from serious tail damage. The Countryside Alliance is especially concerned that a breed specific exemption could exclude Hunt Point Retriever (HPR) breeds, leading to serious tail damage during their working life. The proposals that have been adopted by Defra in England have, after extensive consultation, created a workable foundation for an exemption for all types of working dogs.

We hope that the Welsh Assembly Government will continue to follow a similar positive and principled route to protect the welfare of working dogs.

*The Animal Welfare Act as devolved to Wales comes into force on March 28th 2007. Welsh Assembly is currently consulting on regulations for the docking of working dogs in Wales.

3. Are conservationists killing through kindness?

Millions of listeners to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning heard Shooting Times columnist Robin Page argue for a considered and rational approach towards the control of predators to help ensure the widespread survival of threatened elements of the UK's biodiversity such as lapwing and terns.

The debate saw Mr Page argue his corner against Roger Lovegrove, former director of RSPB Wales and author of a new book, "Silent Fields: The Long Decline of a Nation's Wildlife". In this week's Shooting Times, Mr Page challenges the RSPB and Bill Oddie to a public debate on predator control at this year's Game Fair.




To listen to the Radio 4 debate click here ( Real Player required)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today5_countryside_20070301.ram

To read Robin Page's latest article in Shooting Times, "A challenge to the do-gooders", click here
http://www.shootingtimes.co.uk/news/Robin_Page_challenges_the_do_gooders_article_11143 4.html


4. On top of the world

In the early hours of Thursday 22nd February a 27-strong team of Countryside Alliance supporters completed the six-day trek to the summit of Africa's highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. If you would like to sponsor one or more of them, please click here.






Between them they have raised more than £40,000 for our campaigning work, but there is still time to sponsor them if you haven't already.

This is an amazing achievement by all the trekkers and we are very grateful to them for their hard work and determination.

The diverse age-range of the team (from 18 to 67) and the diverse jobs they do (farmers wives, a GP, a photographer, Hunt Masters, a solicitor, a farrier) proves that there is no such thing as a typical rural person, so please help this group to help us promote and defend the countryside they all love.


This really has been the ultimate challenge in aid of the ultimate cause.

[Venividevenatio]

1. Simon Hart on tackling rural crime

2. Vote on BBC Radio 2's Vehicle poll

3. The Petplan Special Recognition Awards

4. Plumpton Race Day

5. Shop sale/ photographic competition

1. Simon Hart on tackling rural crime

Tomorrow I will be in Birmingham, addressing a conference aimed at local authorities and police forces, to talk about initiatives to tackle rural crime. I will be sharing a platform with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office's Crime Strategy Unit, and this is a great opportunity to communicate with those in positions of influence about how we can combat rural crime.

My comments will concentrate on solutions. The Alliance has polled members recently and it is clear from the results that crime is chief amongst your concerns. For many, whether falling victim to crime or not, simply fearing the possibility of crime can have a detrimental affect on quality of life.

Our law abiding, tax paying, and respectful rural minority would have been badly served by the Government's proposed Police mergers, thankfully now shelved, which would have wiped some forces off the map and left huge areas of the countryside with no service. Instead of mergers, we believe the real answer lies in less control and direction from central government, and more flexibility and freedom to enable Chiefs Constable to deliver local policing arrangements, addressing local concerns and delivering effective policing in rural and urban areas.

Given the well publicised lack of rural police resources it is especially frustrating for rural communities to see their Police allocating time to offences which are not prioritised either in the National Policing Plan or in individual Crime and Disorder Partnership Plans. The risk is that many rural communities will lose confidence in, and respect for, their police forces.

A specific example of where local action is a must is fly-tipping, and this conference has come at an excellent time, falling just before the launch of our "Fly-tipping - scrap it" campaign. In February 2007, we commissioned an independent poll, which has shown that 3 out of 4 people believe fly-tipping is the greatest abuse of the countryside.

Fly-tipping is a crime committed by a diverse range of people: at one extreme there are serious criminals, at the other there are a large number of people who just don't believe it's wrong to unload a car full of rubbish on the side of a quiet country lane. More than 50% of land managers experience more than one fly-tipping incident each year, and report an average cost of £1,000 dealing with each incident. It can't be right for private individuals to have the cost and the hassle of tackling this scourge, and I will be saying so. Local authorities, not Westminster, will be most effective at tackling this problem.

But I will not be concentrating solely on the bad news. Instead, I will be telling the conference about the future of the countryside and the youngsters we are working hard to inspire. Central to this is the success of the Get Hooked on Fishing initiative, which proves that angling tuition can help cut truancy and youth crime and is helping to tackle youth exclusion. Sports Minister Richard Caborn was waxing lyrical about this initiative at last year's Labour Party Conference, so we know this has broad appeal. Additionally, Fishing for Schools, a new Countryside Alliance initiative, is a course aimed at children who find mainstream education does not work for them. Children are taught about fly-fishing and the environment and they gain points from attending, which contribute towards a Certificate of Personal Effectiveness, which is a GCSE equivalent.

So there will be a serious approach to a wide range of problems, but I will be outlining our hopes for the future and our belief that local concerns dealt with locally is the best possible solution for rural crime. If our local authorities and our Police are willing and able to work with local communities we have every reason to be positive.

Simon Hart

2. Vote on BBC Radio 2's Vehicle poll

Jeremy Vine's radio programme on BBC Radio 2 is running a vote-led campaign this week (click on the above link to vote). The website says:

"With record congestion, dangerous driving and the second highest rate of road rage in the world, there's no doubt we are a nation of angry motorists. But which vehicle is most to blame?... We're asking you to select which of our final eight vehicles you would have banned."

The poll runs all this week and horses, 4x4s and tractors are in the frame for being banned, so please let the programme know where the real problems lie. Also up for banning are white vans, motorbikes and lorries. Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart was on the show on Wednesday morning defending the rights of horse-owners to use our roads. Please use your vote!
(Use this link.)http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/vine/





3. The Petplan Special Recognition Awards

The Petplan website says: "The 2007 Petplan Special Recognition Award is looking for your votes to reward the work of first class vets in the media.. Have a look through the nominations and decide who will get your vote this year. The award will be presented at the annual Petplan Veterinary Awards in Birmingham on 12th April. Voting closes on 2nd April 2007." Contenders include Emma Milne who, the website reminds us, "has a strong belief against hunting," as well as Bruce Fogle, Steve Leonard and Joe Inglis. Vote here
http://www.petplan.co.uk/aboutpetplan/vetawards/veterinaryawards2007.asp

4. Plumpton Race Day

A Countryside Race Day and lunch will be held at Plumpton Racecourse, East Sussex, on Monday 26th March 2007. The Countryside Alliance will have a marquee adjoining the racecourse for the day, opposite the last fence, so you can experience the thrill of jump racing close up.

The day will begin with a falconry display and terrier racing, followed by a two-course lunch. Local foxhound, beagle and bloodhound packs will parade during the afternoon and there will also be a silent auction where lots can be bid for right up until the last race.

Tickets for lunch and racing cost £50.00 per person, but a special offer is open, exclusive to Countryside Alliance members who do not wish to attend the lunch: advance premier enclosure tickets are available at £16.00 each, a discount of £2.00. Please quote your membership number. All tickets are available on 01903 884179 or countryside-raceday@countryside-alliance.org


5. Shop sale/ photographic competition

There's still time to grab a bargain in the sale in our online shop with up to 25% off many ranges including Christmas cards, our Pukka clothing range, and many gift items. But these bargains are only available online, so click here to start shopping.

And don't forget, it's not too late to enter our photographic competition with the chance to have your photograph featured in our 2008 calendar. The main theme of the competition is is Rural Britain but we have set four categories:
· British wildlife
· The British countryside
· Hunting, shooting and fishing
· Rural life
For full details of how to enter and the competition rules click here

http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/our_news_and_comment/from_our_Media_Centre/Our_Photographic_Competition/

[Venividevenatio]

1. The RSPCA's skewed priorities

2. Hear Max Hastings on the Falklands War

3. Farmers Weekly awards

4. Country Life property search




1. The RSPCA's skewed priorities

There was a certain irony in Monday's news. As the RSPCA tried to claim that the welfare of the horses racing at this week's Cheltenham National Hunt Festival were not top priorities for their owners and trainers, Director General Jackie Ballard was having to explain how an undercover investigation on RSPCA assured farms had revealed welfare concerns and animal abuse.

The RSPCA's priorities have long been influenced by factors beyond animal welfare and this was another classic example of its hypocrisy. Thoroughbred racehorses are some of the most pampered and valuable animals on the planet. In the league table of animal suffering, the rare accidents that occur during racing and training hardly register in comparison to other activities, yet this apparently is the organisation's priority. Likewise the suffering involved in docking the tails of working dogs is miniscule compared to the potential for serious tail damage in later life, and is nothing compared to the neutering surgery carried out by the RSPCA on tens of thousands of dogs and cats every year. Yet it continues to expend its resources lobbying for a total docking ban. Then, of course, there is the £30 million spent in pursuit of hunting legislation that has achieved nothing in terms of animal welfare, but has seen a decrease in wild mammal populations.

The frustration is that the RSPCA has many good and honourable employees and millions of supporters who do have the best interests of animals at heart. An increasingly political animal rights agenda threatens, however, to bring the Society into even further disrepute. Given this week's revelations, it will be interesting to see how the RSPCA reacts the next time there are reports that welfare codes other than its own have been broken. In the meantime, Ms. Ballard and the RSPCA would be well advised to refocus on real animal welfare issues.

Simon Hart

2. Hear Max Hastings on the Falklands War

Celebrated journalist, historian and author Sir Max Hastings will be speaking about the Falklands War at a fundraising evening for the Alliance on Monday 23rd April at Kensington Town Hall in London.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War and Sir Max, who was the first Briton to enter Port Stanley after the invasion, will talk about his experiences. Tickets for the talk are just £40 each but they are strictly limited and are selling fast.

Click here to buy tickets online or call Nina on 01672 519470.

Other lectures are being arranged and full details will be on the events section of our website as soon as they are confirmed.

3. Farmers Weekly awards

Farmers Weekly magazine is looking for entrants for the Best Local Food Farmer category of its annual awards. New this year the title of Best Local Food Farmer will be awarded to the farmer or farm manager who the judges feel best epitomises the virtues of locally produced food to customers or markets within a 50mile radius.

The winning farmer must demonstrate his, or her, achievements in identifying and exploiting the local opportunity as well as the impact it has made to their business. The closing date for entries is 21st May 2007. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.farmersweeklyawards.co.uk

4. Country Life property search

Countrylife.co.uk is now the site to visit when searching for your next countryside home. Whether you are hunting for a hidden gem or something more aspirational, www.countrylife.co.uk provides access to thousands of just-on-the-market properties fed direct from leading agents such as Knight Frank and Strutt & Parker, giving you the latest pick of the property crop.




Sporting a refreshed and unique search facility, designed with the country dweller in mind, users can search specifically for farms, estates or houses with equestrian necessities. Properties are plotted on a map and indicate the nearest schools and train stations as well as average sale prices for property in the area.

Why not set up an email alert today, letting you know when a property matching your criteria arrives on the http://www.countrylife.co.uk/ ?
All of this plus unrivalled news and views from the Country Life team.

[Ben C]

[QUOTE=Venividevenatio;493103]

Last week's decision by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to withhold grant funding for the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate because of a couple of press releases from animal rights groups was a misguided reaction. By bowing to such flimsy pressure, SNH has effectively invited every pressure group in the land to attack it on one issue or another. Last week's performance would suggest that they are a very soft touch.

QUOTE]


And so it begins.........:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

[HorseBox]

[QUOTE=Venividevenatio;493103]

Last week's decision by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to withhold grant funding for the National Trust for Scotland's Mar Lodge Estate because of a couple of press releases from animal rights groups was a misguided reaction. By bowing to such flimsy pressure, SNH has effectively invited every pressure group in the land to attack it on one issue or another. Last week's performance would suggest that they are a very soft touch.

QUOTE]


And so it begins.........:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

LETS HOPE THAT THE DOUTERS ARE AT LAST PULLING THERE HEAD OUT OF THE SAND

[Venividevenatio]

1. Seeing red over Brown's "green" budget

2. Rally in London on Monday

3. Countryside Rocks - tickets selling fast

4. Give Hunter some welly




1. Seeing red over Brown's "green" budget

Fly-tipping and the 4x4 road tax rise are the main issues of concern for us in this year's budget. Already high levels of fly-tipping across the UK may reach epidemic proportions thanks to a massive hike in landfill tax and the expected rise in road tax "on the highest-polluting vehicles" to £400 will hit many rural people.

Landfill tax has been propelled beyond all previous Government targets. Before the budget the increased burden to business would have been 71% between 2007 and 2011. It is now a massive 166%, making disposal of rubbish increasingly expensive and fly-tipping an increasingly appealing option for some, as our research has shown.

This week we launched a major new report (http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/images/stories/pdf/2007_tipping_point_report.pdf ) and campaign showing that fly-tipping is already costing the taxpayer a staggering £72 per minute by costing local authorities £100million a year. Daily Telegraph commentator Philip Johnston highlighted the report's findings in his Monday column http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/19/ndump19.xml) and many other newspapers followed suit in outrage.


In launching the campaign, entitled "Fly-tipping - scrap it", we are canvassing the views of all interested parties in order to make sensible recommendations to Government to help stop the rot. Please take a look at the fly-tipping pages on our website, take part in our consultation and help us to make a difference. ( http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/images/stories/pdf/2007_Flytipconsultation.pdf )

The rise in road tax "on the highest-polluting vehicles" to £400 was expected. Yet again rural people are at the forefront of the Government's hasty and ill-conceived economic decisions. This rise will punish many people in the countryside for whom 4x4s are a necessity and not a luxury or status symbol. We estimate that only about 250,000 of the UK's 1.6million 4x4s are real working vehicles, and it is the owners of these working vehicles who cannot afford the rise.

What Government needs to do is make fly-tipping less appealing by making the safe and legal disposal of waste easier. It is ironic that this "green budget" will most likely result in more illegal waste dumping. This budget is a double hit for farmers: they already pay £47million a year to clear up fly-tipping at their own expense - they can look forward to paying more in future, as well as paying more for the 4x4s that are necessary tools of their trade.

Simon Hart


2. Rally in London on Monday

On Monday 26th March there will be a rally in Westminster in support of the Sustainable Communities Bill. We have told you about this Bill before; it seeks to ensure that local decisions are taken locally, with the aim of reinvigorating local communities, services and economies. The Bill, if made law, could help breathe new life into many struggling rural communities, and it has the full backing of the Countryside Alliance. The Bill has support from all political quarters: Liberal Democrat Party Leader Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Conservative Party Leader David Cameron MP and Countryside Alliance Chairman Kate Hoey MP are amongst those speaking at the rally.

The campaign for the Sustainable Communities Bill is run by Local Works. The rally will be held in Methodist Central Hall in Westminster from 7-9pm on Monday 26th March. Please come along and support it if you can.

http://www.localworks.org/

http://www.methodist-central-hall.org.uk/location/location.html

3. Countryside Rocks - tickets selling fast

Tickets for Countryside Rocks are selling fast, so if you have not already bought yours then please do so here.
http://www.c-ashop.co.uk/home.php?cat=39

This major musical event in aid of the Countryside Alliance will be held in the spectacular grounds of Highclere Castle near Newbury on Saturday 19th May and will feature the stellar line-up of Bryan Ferry, Steve Winwood, Kenney Jones and the Jones Gang, Mike d'Abo, Eric Clapton, Jon Anderson and Gary Brooker.

4. Give Hunter some welly

Hunter Boot Ltd, suppliers of the iconic green welly, want to develop the perfect, affordable boot for those involved in country pursuits, using the latest technologies & designs. And they want you to help them.

Malcolm Cannon, Managing Director at Hunter, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity to develop a boot using input from the end-users. When the boot is in production, a proportion of the sale price will be donated to the cause - so you're helping us and the Countryside Alliance at the same time - as well as ensuring that the best welly on the market is British!"

All you need to do is fill in a simple questionnaire. Everyone who responds will be entered into a draw to win of one of ten pairs of the newly designed boot so you could be among the first to be seen wearing a great British boot that you have helped design. If you would like to receive the questionnaire please email mark-firth@countryside-alliance.org

[Venividevenatio]

Grass E-Route 29/3/07

1. Widdecombe accepts Hunting Act on borrowed time

2. DEFRA's delusions

3. Sir Max Hastings' Falklands lecture

4. Political momentum for Post Office network

5. The Festival of Falconry

1. Widdecombe accepts Hunting Act on borrowed time

Our old friend Ann Widdecombe MP is as obsessed as ever about hunting. She managed to secure an Adjournment Debate on 'the enforcement of the Hunting Act' in the House of Commons last Thursday night (read the debate in Hansard here). In keeping with pronouncements that hunting is now a Home Office issue, junior Minister Joan Ryan MP was sent in to bat for the Government.

Only one other MP, Bill Olner (Lab), attended the debate and he was clearly confused, reporting that: "hunts talk of disobeying the law but are actually obeying it, and that worries me considerably".


Ms. Widdecombe told the Minister that she was very concerned as she had heard fellow MPs "boasting that they have been hunting since the passing of the ban". Her solution was that the police should use helicopters to monitor hunts, but Joan Ryan was not in any mood to adopt the proposal as "a danger might be posed to both humans and animals".


What was most telling about the debate was Ann Widdecombe's acknowledgement that the Hunting Act is on borrowed time. She said: "hunts are carrying on because they are waiting for a change, which they think will take place at the next General Election. They hope that the legislation will then be repealed, which is even greater reason to make their lives uncomfortable between now and then."

Three years ago any hunting debate in the Commons drew hundreds of MPs. Now few are keen to be reminded of their role in passing one of the most derided pieces of legislation in recent history. Neither the Government nor the public have any appetite for making the enforcement of the Hunting Act a priority for hard pressed rural police forces, and now one of the most prominent advocates of a hunting ban has accepted that the Hunting Act could well be repealed.

The campaign to scrap the Hunting Act has come a long way in a short time.


Simon Hart


2. DEFRA's delusions

Hours before the all party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee used a new report ( http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmenvfru/107/10702.htm) to denounce DEFRA's continuing failure to get Single Farm Payments (SFP) to farmers, DEFRA published its own Departmental Capability Review, (http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2007/070327b.htm ) which claims the Department "is making good progress with an ambitious reform programme which is helping it to succeed in delivering a diverse and challenging agenda". When one of the themes of the review is "delivery" it is impossible to see how the word "succeed" could possibly come into it.

The EFRA committee has reported that the cost of implementing the Single Payments Scheme includes up to £305 million in fines from Europe, £156 million on "fixing" the failures at the Rural Payments Agency and £21 million in interest payments to farmers in the last year alone. Yet DEFRA insists it has a "a clearly articulated business model".

A business model that includes funding cuts for valuable environmental projects? Well, yes. The new higher-level stewardship schemes, maintenance of waterways, water quality improvement, flood defences and bat conservation will all pay the financial price for the SFP catastrophe. Budget cuts for 2006/07 include:

· Natural England - £12.9m
· Food From Britain - £403,000
· Environment Agency- £23.7m
· National Forestry Company - £300,000
· Marine Fisheries Agency - £1.7m
· British Waterways - £3.9m·

It is simply not acceptable that the countryside is expected to pay twice for the incompetence of Defra. The Secretary of State David Miliband must urgently raise the cost of his predecessor's incompetence with the Treasury. Gordon Brown cannot allow the countryside alone to pay the price for this ongoing fiasco.


3. Sir Max Hastings' Falklands lecture

On the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, Sir Max Hastings is supporting the Countryside Alliance by giving a lecture on his experiences there as a front line journalist. Tickets are selling fast but can still be purchased from our online shop at £40 each.

The lecture will take place at 7pm on Monday 23rd April 2007 at The Great Hall in Kensington Town Hall.


4. Political momentum for Post Office network

The Government has, unsurprisingly, delayed announcement of plans for the Post Office network until after the local elections (as predicted by our Chairman, Kate Hoey MP, in an article she wrote for Farmers Weekly earlier this month.) http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/rural_services/rural_services_views/Kate_Hoey_MP_in_Farmers_Weekly/

Strong support from within the UK's political bases is a good way of showing Government the degree of unity that exists in support of our Post Office network. We would therefore ask that you contact your MP and MSP/ AM where applicable and encourage them to support the motions listed below. There is strong cross-party support on the Post Office issue and a show of unity is vital for our communities at this time. Of course, writing to your politicians and utilising your Post Office would be preferable but due to Easter recess and the forthcoming elections it is likely that an email will have more success.

Early Day Motion 902 - Future For Our Post Office (No 2) - submitted to the House of Commons by Kate Hoey MP
http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/rural_services/rural_services_views/Kate_Hoey_MP_in_Farmers_Weekly/
Members Business Motion (Scottish Parliament) S2M-5601# - submitted by Cathy Peattie MSP
Statement of Opinion (Welsh Assembly) - submitted by Denise Idris Jones AM
http://www.wales.gov.uk/cms/2/StatementOpinion/37D6833E000E42E100000F1000000000/6a6e2ec62acc659debb9e108775d66c1.htm


5. The Festival of Falconry

The Festival of Falconry will be held at Engelfield Estate, Nr Reading on 14-15 July 2007.

From the dust of Arabian dunes to the limitless horizons of the Central Asian steppes, from the grouse moors of Scotland to the foothills of Mount Fuji you will find the falconers of the world, and now you can meet them in the deer park of an English stately home.

What is a wakr or a sbuq; or the difference between a shahin and a hurr? Come to the United Arab Emirates hunting camp and find out from an Arab falconer. Why is Kazakhstan one of the major falconry countries in the world? Why do the native peoples fly eagles? How long does it take to train one? Step into a Kazakh village, sit outside a yurt, and find out.

How did falconry start and why is it rooted in the art of medieval chivalry (even today)? Go to http://www.falconryfestival.com/ for more information. You can even book discounted tickets for what promises to be an exceptional day out.


.

[Venividevenatio]

1. Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 comes into force in England tomorrow (6th April), having come into force in Wales last week. We have welcomed the principles of this Act, which enshrines in law a duty of care for animals.

Today's Daily Telegraph hits the nail on the head when it reports that this Act could lead to prosecutions of owners of fat pets, for the spirit of the Act seems to be to improve the lot of urban domestic pets. As we already know, a duty of care towards animals is at the heart of responsible animal ownership and husbandry and is a duty that rural people have always taken seriously. RSPCA figures consistently show that the vast majority of animal welfare cases concern people not looking after their cats and dogs properly.

The Act requires that kept or protected animals (not animals in the wild) are provided with adequate food, care and a suitable living environment - so far, so obvious, but this legislation consolidates the existing mish-mash of animal welfare legislation and clarifies exactly what is expected of anyone with responsibility for an animal. Up to 51 weeks in prison and/ or a £20,000 fine are the penalties for causing unnecessary suffering or failing in the duty of care.

We have been involved at every stage of bringing this Act to the Statute Book. We worked hard to ensure the tail-docking exemption for working dogs and this is one area we are keen to monitor as the Act takes effect - read our brief on the Act here.
http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/food%2C_farming_conservation/food%2C_farming_and_conservation/Brief_on_the_Animal_Welfare_Act_2006/

The Act will be shaped by codes of practice that have yet to be written. You can be sure that the Alliance, whose members have considerable experience of caring for and rearing animals to high standards, will be fully involved in the development of these codes and we anticipate a continuing common-sense theme to the vital issue of good welfare for our animals.

Simon Hart


2. Renew your rod licence

If you have not yet renewed your rod licence (2006/07 licences expired on 31st March), then please take the opportunity to boost your local Post Office and buy it there rather than online. We are still waiting to hear from Government what their plans are for the Post Office network (some 2,500 sub-Post Offices face closure), so please show your support for your Post Office and use it.

New licence prices for 2007/08 - valid from 1st April 2007 - 31st March 2008


Non-Migratory Trout and Coarse Salmon and Sea Trout
Full Season £24.50 £66.50
Junior £ 5.00 £33.25
8 Day £ 8.75 £21.00
1 Day £ 3.25 £ 7.00


· Children under 12 years of age do not require a rod fishing licence
· Full and Concessionary rod licences expired on 31st March
· Failure to provide a valid Environment Agency rod licence could result in prosecution (maximum fine £2,500)


3. Welsh farm coming to Hampstead

On Easter Monday, 9th April, between 10am - 4pm a Welsh family farm will descend on the Drovers Inn "The Spaniards" at Hampstead Heath in London (check the location of The Spaniards).

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=526639&y=187230&z=0&sv=NW3+7JJ&st=2&pc=NW3+7JJ&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf


A cow, sheep, lambs, sheep dogs and a mountain pony will all be part of the event, which will also include a Welsh BBQ. This is a great chance for Londoners to connect with the countryside and its produce, and everyone is welcome.

Elwy Valley Welsh Lamb and William's Butchers of Denbigh will have a counter where visitors can purchase the premium quality meats that are sold to over 70 of London's top restaurants. http://www.absolutelamb.co.uk/


Activities will include sheep dog handling demos, ferret roulette, an Easter egg hunt and lamb-feeding.


4. Photographic competition

Easter is the ideal time to get out and get snapping with your camera and, don't forget, you've still got just over three weeks to enter your photographs into our 2007 Photographic Competition.

The winning entries from the competition, which closes on Friday 27th April, will be featured in our 2008 Calendar.

Find out more about the competition and where to send your photographs here http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/our_news_and_comment/from_our_Media_Centre/Our_Photographic_Competition/

[Venividevenatio]

!2th April 2007


. "Stealth tax" on sea angling

2. Mediawatch: Meet the Foxes

3. Fly-tipping Awareness Week

4. Silent Auction in aid of the Hunt Staff Benefit Society

5. The Great Milk Debate

1. "Stealth tax" on sea angling

You may have read on the front page of the Daily Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/10/nfish10.xml ) on Tuesday that the Alliance has taken a strong stand against yet another Government stealth tax in the form of a proposed sea angling licence that has been tacked on to the forthcoming Marine Bill. The proposal is that anyone over 12 years of age who participates in sea angling - whether from beach, pier or vessel - must have a sea angling licence. In terms of enforcement and administration across the tens of thousands of miles of UK coastline, this proposal is a bureaucratic nightmare and we fail to see how it can be of any benefit to the recreational sea angler.

The revenue raised by the licences has been earmarked for a range of initiatives such as protecting shore access and improving parking, which seems laudable. However, where inland rod licence revenues are ploughed straight back into conservation and the benefits are tangible, this proposes that sea anglers underwrite facilities for all coastal users - which seems at best unfair. Everyone using the coast should play a financial role in improving and protecting it, not just sea anglers, who appear to be a soft target.

It is unclear how much licences are going to cost or how much the implementation of this scheme is going to run to, but sea anglers know full well that it is commercial rather than recreational angling that is the biggest threat to marine conservation. Penalising sea anglers whilst not addressing the wider issue of commercial fishing's impact on fish stocks and conservation would not lead to any meaningful improvements, and a buoyant sport would find itself under threat from bureaucracy.

The sea angling industry is worth £538m to the economy, and we should be looking to increase participation and welcome people to the sport, especially coastal tourists, rather than scare them off with a layer of bureaucracy that simply cannot deliver benefits. The Government is currently consulting on the proposals, and a petition has been launched on the Number 10 Downing Street website, aiming to strike the sea angling licence proposal from the Bill - you can add your support to this petition here. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/anglers/

Simon Hart

2. Mediawatch: Meet the Foxes

On Monday 16 April Channel 4's Cutting Edge programme will be entitled "Meet the Foxes". The programme, which will be broadcast from 9-10pm is, as the Radio Times reports: "An innovative blend of wildlife film and modern fairytale reflecting the experience of urban foxes in Britain through the story of a year in the life of a fictional fox family. Using footage of dozens of foxes and archive material, the film follows Miss Fox and her four cubs as they struggle to survive on the streets of London, offering a fresh perspective on the clash between nature and modern civilisation."

3. Fly-tipping Awareness Week

The Alliance's Fly-tipping - Scrap It campaign was given a kick-start earlier this month with the publication of Tipping Point - ( http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/images/stories/pdf/2007_tipping_point_report.pdfspecial ) a investigation undertaken by the Alliance to expose the true extent of the fly-tipping problem across the UK. It also marks the start of a period of consultation by the Alliance and we are inviting a wide-ranging group of organisations and individuals to respond, including members - so if you feel strongly about this great scourge, take ten minutes to fill in the consultation. http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/rural_services/rural_services_campaigns/Consultation_on_fly-tipping/

Meanwhile, a series of events up and down the UK have been organised for National Fly-tipping Awareness Week between 23 - 29 April - to raise the profile of the problem in rural areas, the burden it represents to landowners and bolster support for the campaign. We are encouraging all members to get involved, so please get in touch today to get details of your Regional Director to find our what's happening near you. Email fly-tipping@countryside-alliance.org for more information.

Please participate in this campaign in whatever way you can - either by getting involved in the Awareness week or replying to the consultation ( http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/rural_services/rural_services_campaigns/Consultation_on_fly-tipping/) today and helping us to move this great problem further up the agenda to tackle it once and for all.

4. Silent Auction in aid of the Hunt Staff Benefit Society

There has never been a more important time to support our Hunt Staff and a good way of doing so is to bid on the wonderful selection of "promises" available on the Silent Auction which is on-line on www.chunt2.org/hsbs and will be finalised at the Cheltenham Evening Hunter Chase Meeting to be held on Wednesday, 2nd May, 2007.

The forty promises include holiday accommodation, several shooting days and a day at the Grand National with Aintree Chairman Lord Daresbury. A private lesson with your horse from Olympic Gold medallist Ginny Elliot, tickets for several West End Shows and two shares in a successful racing partnership are also available - log on now.


5. The Great Milk Debate

The Great Milk Debate will take place between 23rd April and 4th May 2007. This initiative by the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) will take the form of a series of debates across the country.

Dairy farmers are currently being paid an average of 17p per litre (ppl) for their milk while it costs them on average 21ppl to produce. 10 years ago they were receiving 24.5 ppl when the cost of production was lower than it is today. It is not surprising then that 1,000 dairy farmers have gone out of business in the last year alone.

Over three quarters of the country is farmland and our countryside looks as it does because of the way it is farmed. At present 80% of the liquid milk consumed in this country is home grown and is also used by our cheese and dairy products industry. If dairy farmers continue to go out of business then we will have to rely on homogenised imports. This country has one of the highest standards in the world for milk production both in terms of quality and animal welfare standards.

The debate needs to be between the dairy farmers, industry and the major supermarkets. Unfortunately many of the supermarkets approached to send representatives to these debates have failed to respond positively.

For information about the initiative or to find your nearest debate please contact Noelle at the NFWI on n.virtue@nfwi.org.uk

[Venividevenatio]

19/4/07

1. Firearms ownership a huge responsibility

2. National Fly-tipping Awareness Week

3. A Marathon weekend

4. Falklands War lecture

5. Countryside Alliance photographic competition

1. Firearms ownership a huge responsibility

Amongst the most shocking details of the horrific shootings in Virginia earlier this week was the ease with which the guns used were purchased. To the holder of a shotgun or firearms certificate in the UK, the idea that a foreign student with a history of mental health problems, living in a university dormitory was able to buy a semi-automatic handgun in a half hour trip to a gun shop is completely extraordinary.

It is impossible to legislate for every risk, or to ensure that every piece of legislation is properly enforced, but it must be possible, through sensible legislation, to lower the risk of the misuse of legal firearms. Of course restriction can go too far, and the Alliance has lobbied against recently introduced air gun legislation and the ludicrous ban on some of the Olympic shooting team training in the UK, but sensible firearms legislation has to be better than none at all.

It is in the interest of the whole community, especially legitimate and responsible firearms users, that the law makes it as difficult as possible for the criminal, irresponsible and insane to gain access to guns. Our culture is very different to that in the US. There is no right to bear arms, but instead an understanding that firearms ownership is a responsibility which is available to those who accept it. The Alliance will always argue against unnecessary restrictions, but for the UK this is undoubtedly the right starting point.

Simon Hart

2. National Fly-tipping Awareness Week

National Fly-tipping Awareness Week, which runs from 23 - 29 April 2007, is a key part of the Countryside Alliance's national 'Fly-tipping - Scrap It' campaign.

During the week, Countryside Alliance representatives across the country will be revealing the true cost of fly-tipping in their region and pushing the issue further up the political agenda. There are several events taking place to highlight the cost, blight and injustice of fly-tipping, so if you want to get involved please contact fly-tipping@countryside-alliance.org. For more information look at the fly-tipping pages on our website.


3. A Marathon weekend

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Countryside Alliance, so it is appropriate that a 10-strong team is poised to run the Flora London Marathon this Sunday to raise funds for our continuing campaigning work.

The 2007 team brings together a diverse range of interests. A dog trainer for hearing dogs for deaf people, a computer software engineer, a Huntsman, a criminal barrister, and a chauffeur are just some of the characters taking part in this challenge, and a love of the countryside has brought them all together.

You can still sponsor any of the members of this year's team - click here to read more about them and sponsor them.

4. Falklands War lecture

There are still a few tickets left to hear Sir Max Hastings speaking about the Falklands War next Monday at Kensington Town Hall.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War and Sir Max, who was the first Briton to enter Port Stanley after the invasion, will be speaking at 7pm on Monday 23rd April. Tickets for the talk are just £40 each.

Tickets can be bought on the door on the night or you can click here to buy them online until 12 noon on Monday. Alternatively, call Nina on 01672 519470.

5. Countryside Alliance photographic competition

There's just one week left to get your entries in to our 2007 Photographic Competition. The winning entries from the competition, for which entries close next Friday (April 27th), will be featured in our 2008 Countryside Alliance calendar.


You can enter your photos into four different categories - Rural Life, the British Countryside, British Wildlife and Hunting, Shooting and Fishing. Find out more about the competition and where to send your photographs here.
http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/our_news_and_comment/from_our_Media_Centre/Our_Photographic_Competition/

[Venividevenatio]

GRASS E-ROUTE for 26/4/07.

1. Fly-tipping unites the UK

2. Don't miss a new farming documentary

3. Flora London Marathon

4. The British Falconry & Raptor Fair

5. Environmental Prize for salmon champion

1. Fly-tipping unites the UK

This week, National Fly-tipping Awareness Week, part of our "Fly-tipping - Scrap It" campaign, has caught the attention of the public, media and politicians across the UK. It has tapped into the public consciousness not just across rural Britain, where frequent eyesores are getting worse, but across urban Britain too, where the problem of illegal rubbish dumping is rife. "Fly-tipping -scrap it" joins our Post Office campaign in showing that the perceived urban/ rural divide is nonsense, and that a united front is necessary for the good of communities and the environment across the UK.

This new found unity has created some unlikely alliances: Kate Hoey MP and I shared a platform with Tony Benn at the National Post Office rally in London in February and now, in an attempt to fight the fly-tipping blight, our campaign has been backed by Labour MPs not previously sympathetic to our campaigning objectives. Diane Abbott MP has tabled an Early Day Motion calling on Government to "step up its campaign against fly-tipping and street rubbish, including working with groups such as Keep Britain Tidy and the Countryside Alliance," whilst West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has declared on her website that she is "supporting the Countryside Alliance's campaign to tackle illegal fly-tipping".

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=33030&SESSION=885

This is encouraging whichever way you look at it - the campaign is being heard about, it is being talked about and it is being supported. The more people speak out about fly-tipping and the more they stand up and say "this is unacceptable," the more likely we are to find a solution. And could it matter less where those voices come from, whether Southwark or Sutherland?

Simon Hart

2. Don't miss a new farming documentary

BAFTA award winning documentary maker Molly Dineen has turned her attention to the UK farming sector for an important new work. "The Lie of the Land" will be screened on Channel 4 on Thursday, 3rd May, from 9-10.30 pm.

The Radio Times says: "Documentary by award-winning director Molly Dineen demonstrating how in recent years Britain's farming industry and countryside have been decimated by disease, development and legislation. For Britain's farmers and agricultural workers, and the livestock and landscape we claim to cherish, the consequences have been dire."

3. Flora London Marathon

All ten runners in the Countryside Alliance's 10th anniversary team for this year's Flora London Marathon successfully completed the course last Sunday and hope to have raised at least £20,000.

Despite the record breaking temperatures in the capital last Sunday, the eight-man, two-woman team all made it round the gruelling 26.2 mile course through the city's streets.

The team's individual times were as follows:

Robert Nichols from Hampshire 4hrs 08mins
Simon Hobson from Hampshire 5hrs 25mins
Jane Livingstone from Yorkshire 7hrs 34mins
Robert Hutchinson from Co Offaly, Ireland 4hrs 54mins
Gail Warren from Bedfordshire 5hrs 35mins
Philip Bennetts from East Sussex 4hrs 42mins
Charlie Watts from Dorset 4hrs 58mins
Karl Baker from Surrey 4hrs 46mins
Ben Sargeant from Buckinghamshire 4hrs 55mins
Mark Elliott from Wiltshire 3hrs 22mins

There's still time to sponsor the team for its amazing achievement. To pledge some money, call Jessica Garton on 01672 519500 or sponsor the team online

4. The British Falconry & Raptor Fair

The British Falconry & Raptor Fair, which has been described as the ultimate flagship event of its kind in the falconry world, will be held at Chetwynd Park, Newport, near Telford in Shropshire on Sunday 6th and Monday 7th May.

As well as events and displays by the biggest names in falconry, and exhibitions from all over the world, there's plenty of family fun and activities for all to enjoy, including gundog events, a shooting school, archery, flycasting demonstrations, a beagle show, ferrets and stickdressing.

For more information visit the Fair's website here.
http://www.countryfairs.info/BFF/default.htm

5. Environmental Prize for salmon champion

The world's most prestigious environmental prize, The Goldman Environmental Prize, is being presented to North Atlantic salmon Fund Chairman Orri Vigfusson, for his successful campaign on behalf of the Atlantic salmon.

Orri Vigfússon, from Reykjavik, Iceland, is one of six recipients of the international Goldman Environmental Prize, which is being awarded for his 17-year campaign to protect North Atlantic wild salmon. Since he founded the North Atlantic Salmon Fund, commercial open-sea fishing in the Atlantic has fallen by over 75 per cent, and more than five million North Atlantic salmon have been saved. To build on this success, Vigfússon is now calling on Scotland and Norway to end commercial net fishing for Atlantic salmon.

Find out more about the North Atlantic Salmon Fund at www.nasfonline.org

[Venividevenatio]

Grass E-Route for 3/507



1. The plight of Baronsdown's deer

2. Mediawatch - The Lie of the Land

3. Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials

4. Countryside Rocks - tickets still available



1. The plight of Baronsdown's deer

Sadly there is nothing new in reports ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1720027.ece) of dead and dying deer being found on the League Against Cruel Sports' (LACS) land at Baronsdown, near Dulverton in Somerset. For years, Baronsdown has been the focus of press reports detailing the shocking suffering of the red deer that are unfortunate enough to reside there. Baronsdown is a totemic issue for LACS and its supporters. They see it as the front line of their campaign against hunting.

The ridiculous thing is that all the suffering is not about hunting or the exclusion of the staghounds from Baronsdown, but LACS' fundamental opposition to proper deer management of any sort.

Shooting deer can be difficult on some parts of Exmoor, but there is no reason that the deer on Baronsdown could not be managed safely from high seats. LACS, however, does not just oppose hunting: it opposes the management of deer per se. This is a position that could only be held by an animal rights organisation. It certainly has nothing to do with protecting the welfare of the deer.

The result of this non-interventionist ideology is an unsustainably high density of deer on its land. The deer suffer from internal parasites and disease; most worryingly, bovine TB, and many die slow and painful deaths as a result. In 2002 Gordon Pearce, who had been employed by LACS for 30 years, revealed that in a 12-month period he had found 107 deer, from an estimated population of 350, to be dead or dying at Baronsdown.

Many organisations, led by the British Deer Society, have attempted to persuade LACS to take responsibility for the management of the deer and stop the suffering, but logic cannot breach the animal rights ideology.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1720027.ece

It is easy to take the hypocrisy of LACS for granted, but for the sake of the deer of Baronsdown we will continue to expose it. If Baronsdown were enclosed by a fence, LACS would be committing an offence under the Animal Welfare Act; in Scotland the Deer Commission could authorise a cull, but as it stands LACS is committing no crime by neglecting the deer of Exmoor to this appalling extent.

We have asked LACS 10 questions about the deer filmed on Baronsdown in early April and their management of deer on their land. The questions are straightforward and any responsible land manager who is really interested in the welfare of deer should be able to answer them. We do not, therefore, expect a reply.
http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/hunting_campaigns/hunting_views/Countryside_Alliance_demands_answers_over_deer_man agement/
Video clip:http://www.friction.tv/index.php?vid=269

Simon Hart


2. Mediawatch - The Lie of the Land

A reminder that on Channel 4 this evening at 9pm, a new film on farming by BAFTA award winning documentary maker Molly Dineen will be broadcast.


In today's Daily Telegraph, commentator Alice Thomson says of the film: "...it should have been called The Killing Fields. It is disgusting, revolting and important to watch. Here is a self-confessed townie telling us that genocide is going on in the countryside, that farmers are so poor they are struggling to feed their livestock and that Britain is in danger of becoming a grey and unpleasant land."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/05/03/do0302.xml

Watch "The Lie of the Land" on Channel 4 tonight, Thursday, 3rd May, from 9-10.30 pm.

3. Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials

The Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials is one of the toughest and most exciting equestrian events - the pinnacle of the world's three-day event calendar.

The Countryside Alliance will, once again, have a large presence at the event, offering an opportunity to stock up on the latest products from our catalogue, displaying a range of countryside activities on our stand, providing further information on all our current campaigns and climaxing in a "meet" of the Duke of Beaufort's Hounds at our stand on Sunday after the show jumping final.

Come and meet our Wessex Regional Director, Delly Everard, and her team on Stand 85 from Thursday to Sunday.

To book your tickets, please see www.badminton-horse.co.uk or call the Box Office on 0870 2423436.


4. Countryside Rocks - tickets still available

There are still tickets available for the Countryside Rocks concert, to be held at Highclere Castle in Hampshire on Saturday 19th May - so if you want to see Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, Kenney Jones and many others rock the countryside at a picnic concert in aid of the Alliance, then click here to buy tickets - long-range weather forecasts are good!

http://www.c-ashop.co.uk/home.php?cat=39

[Venividevenatio]

Grass E-Route 10/5/07


1. Blair's rural legacy

2. Mediawatch, 14th May: The Invasion of Islington

3. Newmarket Countryside Race Day

4. Animal Welfare Act update

5. The Elephant Conundrum

1. Blair's rural legacy

Tony Blair will leave office on 27th June. Now that this particular chapter is drawing to a close it is worth reflecting that not only has Mr Blair presided over a decade of neglect of the countryside; his rural legacy will be the Hunting Act: the most ridiculous and derided law of modern times. For his Deputy, John Prescott, the legacy is simply one of contempt.

It is actually with sadness that I can find almost nothing positive to recall by way of Blair's achievements for rural people, apart from perhaps his appointment of the ever-sensible Jeff Rooker and a glimmer of hope offered by David Miliband at DEFRA.

The Countryside Alliance was created ten years ago in response to fears that the new Labour Government was hostile to, or ignorant of, many rural concerns. The role of the Alliance has proved all too necessary. From the disastrous handling of the Foot and Mouth outbreak to the disgraceful fiasco of the Rural Payments Agency, Blair's decade has been marked from first to last by chaos in the countryside.

But it was the appointment of Margaret Beckett and Alun Michael to DEFRA that showed the true extent of Blair's misunderstanding of rural issues. The problems and frustrations faced by rural communities were amplified by the appointment of urban-minded ministers who were drafted in to a Department that has failed to prove itself fit for purpose. Changing the name of MAFF to DEFRA in 2001 was a case of changing the plaques on the door of the London-based HQ - the remorselessly metropolitan outlook remained the same.

In the end the only rural policy that Mr Blair's Government will be remembered for is the pointless and derided Hunting Act, described by his mentor, Roy Jenkins, as 'the most illiberal act of the last century'.

It is shameful that Mr Blair allowed 700 hours of Parliamentary time to be wasted on a pointless law, which has failed at every level, when the countryside deserved so much more.

In 1997 many people thought that Blair was a fresh hope but that hunting was on borrowed time. What a difference a decade makes. Ten years on the hunting community remains intact, and repeal a real possibility. Meanwhile, Tony Blair will be remembered for creating tension, division and unhappiness in the countryside. The illiberal, unjust and vindictive Hunting Act will be his rural legacy.

Simon Hart

2. Mediawatch, 14th May: The Invasion of Islington

On Monday 14th May on BBC2 at 9pm, a bold new documentary entitled "Power to the People: The Invasion of Islington" will be broadcast. According to the BBC, "presenter Tim Samuels joins an entire Cornish village as they pack up the sheep, travel en masse to London and seize the Frappuccino-swilling New Labour heartland of Islington.

"The village of Lanreath is on the brink of extinction: they've lost their post office, shop, pub, bus service, farms - and now their beloved primary school is under threat. Pushed to breaking point, the countryside comes to town to get its voice heard - and annexes Islington.

"The film shows how a whole British way of life is under threat. But the picturesque village of Lanreath is determined not to go down without a fight. The threat to the primary school is the final straw for the villagers, who want the power-brokers and politicians in London to see what is happening to the countryside.

"This is more than just a fight about one school or one village. It is a fight to keep a way of life going in Britain. And it's a fight which the village brings right to the heart of London. But will the villagers manage to seize the trendy London suburb? The Women's Institute lead the Morris Dancers, sheep and cows into battle."


3. Newmarket Countryside Race Day, Sunday 27th May 2007

Do come and support the Countryside Alliance, East Anglia's Children's Hospices and Newmarket Day Centre at this fantastic day out. You can order tickets in advance at a reduced rate by ordering online at www.ncrd.co.uk (please quote NCRD-07). This ensures the beneficiaries receive the monies that Newmarket so generously donates for advance bookings but only with the reference.

There is a lot to see and do before racing starts, including terrier racing, birds of prey, sheepdogs and geese all in the Parade Ring from 11.30am onwards. Or why not visit the shopping village, which has over 40 trade stands. In the afternoon, hounds will parade after the third race and there will be ferrets, long dogs and hounds on the Hyperion lawn. If you would like to see what is on offer in the silent and main auctions go to www.ncrd.co.uk for a full list, where you can also make advance and absentee bids. If you don't have any luck on the betting then visit the bottle stall where the odds are in your favour.

4. Animal Welfare Act update

The Animal Welfare Act is now in force in England and Wales and the Alliance has written briefs on the enforcement and the secondary legislation which will inform this Act.

As Simon Hart said when the Act came into force, "We already know that a duty of care towards animals is at the heart of responsible animal ownership and husbandry and is a duty that rural people have always taken seriously, " but the Alliance is keen for members and supporters to be fully aware of what the Act means in practical terms.


http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/food%2C_farming_conservation/food%2C_farming_and_conservation/Enforcement_of_the_Animal_Welfare_Act_2006/

http://www.countryside-alliance.org.uk/food%2C_farming_conservation/food%2C_farming_and_conservation/The_Animal_Welfare_Act_2006_-_Secondary_Legislation/


5. The Elephant Conundrum

A lively evening of illustrated lectures and informed debate, The Elephant Conundrum, will be held at The Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London from 5:30pm on Wednesday 30th May, 2007.


The evening will focus on the escalating problem of elephant overpopulation in southern African game parks and will be of interest to anyone interested in land and animal management. Tickets are free and can be obtained by emailing efu@tesco.net or calling 01638 662 491. The evening will consist of:

Headaches and Heartaches: The elephant management dilemma
Dr Ian Whyte BSc, PhD
Research Manager : Large Herbivores
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Population Control: Inaction leads to disaster
Professor Twink Allen CBE, ScD, FRCVS
Jim Joel Professor of Equine Reproduction
University of Cambridge