Two men have been found guilty of using dogs to drive badgers out of their setts in Shropshire.
Paul Billington, 32, of Wrexham and Gerard Monk, 27, of Wheelton, nr Chorley, Lancashire, were found guilty after a two-day trial brought by the RSPCA.
The pair faced a variety of charges including attempting to kill a badger, digging for badgers, interfering with setts and hunting with dogs.
An RSPCA spokesman said the pair were digging at the setts near Whitchurch.
The majority of Conservative Party supporters back the ban on fox hunting and do not want the Hunting Act repealed, according to a new poll published today - views that are in direct opposition to leader David Cameron's pro-hunting stance.
The poll by Ipsos-MORI was conducted on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). It shows that twice as many Tory supporters favour the ban as want it repealed. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) say they want to retain the Hunting Act, with just three in ten (30%) wanting to repeal it.
Michael Gerald Nicholson, Huntsman for Coniston Foxhounds, smashed the window of a Ford Escort with three anti-hunt campaigners inside. After the incident was reported to the police, Nicholson was arrested and interviewed. He admitted to being the man involved in the incident.
Nicholson, 40, pleaded guilty to criminal damage when he appeared before South Lakeland Magistrates’ Court.
Just days after a seven year girl tragically died after the quad bike she was driving hit a Range Rover, pro-hunt fanatic Nicholas Soames MP is filmed driving a quad bike on a road overloaded with children and adults supporting the notorious Crawley and Horsham hunt. [REALCA for full story]
They are sold in luxury stores and appear on the menus of top restaurants, with customers assured that the birds are reared on specialist farms with the highest welfare standards.
But the gourmet packaging in which thousands of quail are shipped each week belies the cramped and grubby conditions in which many birds are kept, according to investigators working for the League Against Cruel Sports.
Footage recorded in the poultry farms of Britain's biggest quail and quail egg producer, Fayre Game, and seen by the Guardian, shows hundreds of birds packed in filthy, multi-level wire cages in dim lighting. Many have virtually no feathers left on their bodies. Dead birds lie among living and dying birds, with eggs falling on to trays below. Mesh netting alongside is encrusted with dirt and feathers. [Full Story including Video]
You can help the League Against Cruel Sports undercover work by making a donation today.
The unrelenting wet summer made it fairly pointless holding demos at Hoghton Tower but plans are well underway for 2008. As Eddie Coupe says, "I won't spoil it by tellng you everything." but supporters will be notified shortly. Shoot observers are regularly checking the estate and will continue to do so until the end of the season.
25.12.07: Another Victim of 'Conservation'
A distressed Thornton couple were left horrified after their cat was trapped in an illegal "barbaric contraption" and had to have its leg amputated.
RSPCA inspector Bryony Jones says they are keen to speak to anyone with any information into the incident which happened on November 21, 2007. [Source: National Anti-Snaring Campaign]
19.10.07: GAMEKEEPER'S E-MAIL WE RECEIVED TODAY
why dont you jst think a minit and realise that if we didnt control foxes and vermin you wudnt have any of these litle garden birds and hedgeogs. so why dont u leve your impions to your self and stop turning people against us top class gamekkepers.
League Snare Video
Anger at Countryside Alliance Call to Sabotage Video Footage
Hunt leaders have urged their supporters to pretend they are being harassed or assaulted by anti-hunt monitors in a bid to sabotage video evidence.
The West's director of the Countryside Alliance said the astonishing tip came from a police officer. More...
Huntsman Guilty of Assault
A Dulverton Farmers huntsman has been found guilty of assault after he rode his horse at hunt monitors.
Anthony Allibone, 49, of The Kennels, East Anstey, had pleaded not guilty to assault on pensioner Yvonne Nichola, 66, who was monitoring the hunt near Brushford when the incident happened in March last year. More...
Drink Drive Fox-Hunter Escapes Ban
FOX hunting buffoon Otis Ferry got off a drink drive ban yesterday claiming he did not know his mates had plied him with treble vodkas. More...
Another Hunt Monitor Attacked
A 60-YEAR-OLD hunt monitor said she was violently knocked to the ground by a supporter as she tried to film a hunt taking place in Oxfordshire. More...
Huntsman Guilty of Vicious Attack
A Devon huntsman has been found guilty of attacking an International Fund for Animal Welfare hunt monitor.
Christopher Marles, 44, of Farringdon, repeatedly punched Kevin Hill who was filming the hunt's activities.
Vigil at the "Sanctuary of Death"
Local Greyhound Action supporters and other dog lovers held a vigil outside Leigh Animal Sanctuary after the Sunday Times revealed the mass-slaughter of greyhounds at the "Sanctuary".
NORTH WEST CAMPAIGN NEWS
Warburtons Bakery Duck Shoot Demo
Supporters of the North West League Against Cruel Sports staged protests at Warburtons original grocery shop and bakery Headquarters in Bolton urging Warburtons Chairman to use his influence on his brother-in-law to save the Hoghton Tower ducks. Petition: Coming in May 2007
One of the bloodsporters’
key arguments — that foxes need to be
destroyed — has been undermined, however,
by the discovery of a letter sent by the Master
of Foxhounds Association to masters and hunt
chairmen. Complaining about “a
shortage of foxes”, it berates
landowners who did too little to encourage the
animals to breed. The letter comes to light
following the leak of documents from the Countryside
Alliance. It is referred to in an e-mail from
Simon Hart, chief executive of the alliance,
to Lord Daresbury, the chairman of the foxhounds
association. Hart warns the letter would be
damaging if it were made public.
Michael Gerald Nicholson, Huntsman for Coniston Foxhounds, smashed the window of a Ford Escort with three anti-hunt campaigners inside. After the incident was reported to the police, Nicholson was arrested and interviewed. He admitted to being the man involved in the incident.
They are sold in luxury stores and appear on the menus of top restaurants, with customers assured that the birds are reared on specialist farms with the highest welfare standards. 
The unrelenting wet summer made it fairly pointless holding demos at Hoghton Tower but plans are well underway for 2008. As Eddie Coupe says, "I won't spoil it by tellng you everything." but supporters will be notified shortly. Shoot observers are regularly checking the estate and will continue to do so until the end of the season. 
