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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE
May, 1999
In one of the stranger examples
of recent RSPCA behaviour, its Forest of Dean Inspector has called out
the local hunt to put down an emaciated pony. It even sent the hunt a
£20 cheque - a token amount suggested by the hunt to cover costs - in
an envelope stamped 'Ban hunting with dogs'!
Earlier in April, the RSPCA
called upon the Cotswold Vale Farmers Hunt at Mitcheldean to go to a paddock
in the Forest where a pony was known to be in distress. The hunt officials
responded immediately, using a humane killer (the type of weapon favoured
by vets for this task) to put the pony out of its misery. However the
whole episode left the hunt perplexed. The RSPCA has supported multi-million
pound campaigns to close down hunts for good, and yet calls upon them
to deal with cases like this.
Commenting on this
odd set of circumstances, Simon Hart of the Countryside Alliance said:
"This behaviour is hypocritical even by RSPCA standards. On the one hand
they spend thousands of pounds of their members’ money on a political
campaign to ban hunting, and on the other they solicit hunt help to put
an animal out of its misery. Fortunately hunts are well able to help with
‘merc
y missions’ of this nature,
and regularly do so. They collect over 400,000 casualty animals annually,
including road victims, and at no cost to the taxpayer. We have always
supported the important welfare work of the RSPCA, but oppose vigorously
its flirtation with the murky world of the animal rights movement. It
is encouraging though that that this local branch has recognised the important
service hunts provide, and their place in the local community." /cutting
ends