Are ‘organic farms’ as nature-friendly as we think? Not always…
Organic farms are celebrated for being better for wildlife than conventional farms. This is undoubtedly true, with research showing that organic enterprises support much more biodiversity than other farms. But as a horrified Protect the Wild supporter recently discovered, wildlife persecution still occurs on some organic farms. Protect the Wild breaks it down. On 8 […]
Badger cull shambles: Government set to miss key bTB targets for 2025
When the then Conservative government laid out its plans to move forward with a badger cull in 2014, it set goals to achieve certain targets by 2025. These goals relate to reductions in bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is the disease badgers are being killed over. So, with 2025 upon us, are those bTB goals on […]
BSV hunt filmed trying to wrestle spade from roadworks crew
In yet another example of England’s most notorious hunt causing havoc, a member of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) hunt was captured on camera trying to wrestle a spade from a council worker in early March. The incident occurred as the hunt ‘rampaged through roadworks’, as North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs (NDHS) explained. The BSV […]
Can trail hunting ‘evolve’?
A new hunting association was launched in July 2024 called “Forward with Hounds.” It recognises that a repeal of the Hunting Act is unlikely in the current political climate. Considering this, the association is promoting the ‘evolution’ of trail hunting to ensure that hunting has a future. But can trail hunting evolve? More to the […]
Welcome to Willow Worlds, a ‘wildlife enabling force of nature’
It is too often the case in Great Britain that ‘wildlife management’ ultimately means ‘wildlife persecution’. Deer have not escaped this trend, with culling long being a go-to management technique utilised in the country. As an organisation dedicated to the safeguarding of wildlife, Protect the Wild is always eager to spotlight initiatives which demonstrate that […]
Shooting industry’s voluntary plan to phase-out lead ammunition has failed
Several shooting organisations proposed a voluntary five-year plan for shooting enthusiasts to phase out the use of lead shotgun ammunition in 2020. A new study reveals that the effort has failed. The majority of shooters have not opted to phase out the use of lead shot when killing red grouse, much to the detriment of […]
FOI reveals hunting is being allowed in some of England’s ‘finest’ spaces for Nature
England’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are the “finest sites for wildlife and natural features” in the country, according to the public body responsible for their protection, Natural England. Nonetheless, a Freedom of Information request has revealed that hunting is being permitted in some of these precious Nature sites. Precious pockets of Nature England […]
DEFRA to hand taxpayer cash to NFU for badger vaccination study
Over the last decade, successive governments have used around £22 million of taxpayers’ money to facilitate the largely inhumane killing of more than 230,000 badgers for a ‘crime’ no-one is certain they have committed. Now, the government is apparently on course to hand £1.4m more in public cash to one of the badger cull’s biggest […]
Bird shooting ends on huge Scottish estate after takeover by conservation company
Bird killing in Britain is an incredibly normalised affair. This is evident in the fact that of all the issues Protect the Wild campaigns on, shooting appears to be the only one that the Labour government plans to do nothing about. Recently, however, blasting birds out of the sky became just that little bit less […]
REVEALED: Government discusses badger cull with farming lobbyists in off-the-record meetings
Following Labour’s general election victory in 2024, Keir Starmer said “the fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era.” However, new Freedom of Information revelations related to the badger cull show that his government is doing little in practice to earn the trust of the British people. Protect the Wild submitted a […]
Revealed: Vets Fighting to Bring Back Hunting and Badger Gassing
A group of veterinarians have been banging the drum about badgers in recent years, blaming the wild animals for causing bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cows to an even greater extent than the government typically does. Indeed, they have criticised the country’s bTB policy for not focusing on badgers enough. This policy has seen hundreds of […]
Government fails Nature again, rejecting call for grouse shooting ban
The government has rejected a call from the Wild Justice team to ban driven grouse shooting. In a parliamentary petition, the Wild Justice founders said a ban was needed because the practice is “bad for people, the environment and wildlife.” In response, the government revealed that it has “no plans” to ban driven grouse shooting, […]
REVEALED: Police force releases long-hidden agreement with Warwickshire Hunt
Following months of pressure, Warwickshire Police has released the controversial protocol it entered into with the Warwickshire Hunt. So, what have we found out? Protect the Wild breaks it down. Warwickshire Hunt was given a Community Protection Notice (CPN) in 2022 over anti-social behaviour during hunting, namely “unreasonable and dangerous use of the roads”. CPNs […]
Hunt sabs hold historic meeting in parliament after 60 years of activism
Hunt saboteurs were welcomed into the House of Commons to meet with MPs on 9 January. This is the first time that the activists have attended parliament to talk with MPs in their over 60 years of sabbing hunts. Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan invited hunt saboteurs to meet with a cross-party group of MPs on […]
England’s most flagrant hunt excises all mention of foxes from its founding doc
The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt (BSV) is arguably the poster child for fox hunting diehards in Britain. In a curious sign of the times as the trail hunting ban looms, it has removed all mentions of foxes from one of its founding documents. The BSV is a notorious hunt, accounting for almost 13% of […]
How Protect the Wild fought for wildlife in 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, Protect the Wild is reflecting on our work over the last year. We campaigned hard to secure the change that Britain’s brilliant but beleaguered wildlife so desperately needs. While achieving an end to the persecution of wild animals is most definitely a work in progress, we wanted to share […]
‘Hounds were on her straight away’: South Wales sabs report another fox kill
South Wales Hunt Saboteurs reported that Sennybridge Farmers Hunt’s hounds caught and killed a female fox on 14 December. Unfortunately, the incident happened very suddenly, too quickly for foot saboteurs to intervene. But sabs did retrieve her body and ” laid the lovely fox to rest in a peaceful place far, far away from hunt […]
After an ‘autumn of suffering’ for stags, hinds now face a winter of suffering
England’s remaining staghound packs, which operate in the southwest of the country, typically hunt mature stags between August and October before moving on to targeting hinds (female deer). This year, saboteur groups have reported that packs like the Quantock Staghounds began targeting hinds in November. However, they continued to hunt stags too. This means that […]
YOUGOV: survey shows Brits’ mixed views on hunting wildlife
A recent YouGov poll attempted to gauge the British public’s views on hunting. The findings will be a blow to hunters who want to be recognised as a protected minority group in the UK so they can enjoy their pastime in peace. The poll results suggest that if the hunters’ demand were decided by a […]
Snares, hunts, and shoots: Billionaire duke’s vast estate no haven for wildlife
The Green Britain Foundation recently obtained undercover footage of a fox trapped in a snare on the Duke of Westminster’s estate in Cheshire. As the Mirror reported, activists who discovered and filmed the snared fox, released it. But they said many other snares were set in one wood alone on the 11,000 acre Eaton Estate. […]
Dozens of Britain’s top gardeners join pro-shooting media platform
The pro-hunting media site Scribehound recently launched a gardening ‘channel’. It lists some of the country’s most well-known gardeners among its contributors, including “the nation’s gardener,” Alan Titchmarsh, as Gardens Illustrated has described him. Scribehound is listed in Protect the Wild’s bloodbusiness database due to its overtly pro-hunting and shooting output and its founder being […]
Bolting foxes: Exposing the real face of hunting
Hunts across the country have held their opening meets in recent weeks as yet another fox hunting ‘season’ gets underway. To mark the season’s start, the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) released three videos – recorded by hunters themselves – that demonstrate the despicable practice of ‘bolting’. The main fox hunting season runs from the end […]
Government condemns 10,000 more badgers while decrying nature crisis
When the Labour Party was elected earlier this year, many people concerned about the nature crisis hoped the change of governance would mean an end to England’s badger cull. After all, the party branded the now over a decade-long massacre of badgers as “ineffective” in its manifesto and pledged to end the cull. These hopes […]
Open letter to Steve Reed: It’s time for action to end the hunting of wildlife once and for all
In an open letter signed by several British stars, Protect the Wild calls on the Labour government to make good on its commitment to ban trail hunting. The letter comes as the latest hunting season gets underway, which will undoubtedly see many wild animals chased and killed in the absence of the promised ban. Dear […]
Kent wildlife rescue centre appeals for help as closure looms
A wildlife rescue centre in Tunbridge Wells has warned that it may have to close due to a shortage of funds. In an attempt to avoid shutting its doors, Folly Wildlife Rescue recently launched a fundraising campaign. Writing on X, the rescue centre said that support is required for it to continue its essential work for […]
45 years of Bern: The Convention that let down our badgers
The Bern Convention celebrated its 45th anniversary on 19 September. This treaty broke new ground when countries began signing it back in 1979, as it was the first international agreement to protect both wild species and their habitats. Through the years, Bern has proved instrumental in delivering protections to wildlife. It has also rolled out […]
Hunt-hosting rugby club axes member after Boxing Day parade demo
Castle Cary Rugby Union Football Club in Somerset has terminated the membership of one of its longstanding supporters after she protested against its hosting of a hunt. The rugby club hosted the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt (BSV) on Boxing Day in 2023. The hunt used to hold its parade in Castle Cary town centre. […]
DENIED: Council rejects Boxing Day parade for Dunston Harriers
Wymondham Town Council in Norfolk has rejected a request from the Dunston Harriers to hold a Boxing Day parade in the town centre this year. Councillors cited various reasons for the decision, including public opposition, damage to the town’s image, and health and safety concerns. The overwhelming feeling amongst those present – councillors and members […]
Labour government bins inherited badger cull plan
In some rare good news for badgers, the Labour government has binned proposals it inherited from the Conservative government that involved further potentially large-scale killing of the iconic mammal. The move is undoubtedly a welcome one for the conservationists, veterinarians, and organisations, that have been calling for an end to the badger cull. But what […]
SHOCKING MOVE: Labour expands badger cull?
Ahead of winning the recent general election, the Labour Party wooed nature-loving voters by vowing to “end the ineffective badger cull” in its manifesto. However, it appears the government is now considering expanding the cull, after just over one month in power. The badger cull, which has now been running for over a decade, has […]
Chris Packham needs your help to get trail hunting banned
Chris Packham is calling on the public to raise a voice for nature by urging the Labour government to ban trail hunting. This is a type of hunting that is meant to serve as an alternative to chasing and killing wild animals. But as the wildlife TV presenter and conservationist points out, there is ample evidence […]
Flawed science to take centre stage in Brian May’s explosive badger cull doc
The BBC will air the documentary Brian May – The Badgers, the Farmers, and Me on 23 August. The landmark film, which was four years in the making, promises to expose the flawed science behind the controversial badger cull. This years-long policy has seen over 230,000 of the beloved mammals killed in the English countryside. […]
