Ten reasons why 2023 was a good year for wildlife
For those of us who love wildlife, it is easy to fall into despair when we read reports of foxes being killed and birds of prey being poisoned. Many of us will need a reminder that positive events happened in 2023! As the year comes to a close, we give ten reasons why this was […]
The Secret Monitor: Without fear or favour?
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In their latest […]
The Secret Monitor: Partners in crime – who’s enabling the cruelty of stag hunting?
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In the sixth […]
Equipment Fund #11. Cheshire Independent Hunt Monitors – an ‘eye in the sky’ on Cheshire’s hunts
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in Summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘ (and ‘eyes in the sky’!), supporting and empowering people to protect British wildlife. We use the fund to provide equipment like body cams, trail cams, night vision kit, and video cameras to monitors and activists working […]
The Secret Monitor: Curre and Llangibby Hunt and their sweary supporters
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In this post […]
Equipment Fund: Ten out of ten for our wonderful supporters!
We launched our Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund in July this year, and – thanks to our supporters – we’ve already been able to fund TEN groups working on the front line. That’s ’empowering people to protect British wildlife’ in action and we couldn’t be more grateful. In just a few short months our supporters […]
The Secret Monitor: Stag hunting not cruel enough? There’s always hind hunting…
[PLEASE NOTE we have included a short video clip in this post. It shows a running deer and hounds but it is NOT graphic and the hind is not caught. It is used solely as an example of the Quantock Stag Hounds breaking the Hunting Act 2004 by using more than two dogs to chase […]
The Secret Monitor. Want to trespass with a firearm on public land? Join a stag hunt…
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years, and there are always new ones waiting to be told. There is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In the third post of an occasional series, the Secret Monitor is in the west of England. Stag hunting […]
The Secret Monitor: the depraved ‘supporters’ of the Quantock Stag Hounds
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years, and there are always new ones waiting to be told. There is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In the second post of an occasional series, the Secret Monitor is in the west of England. Stag hunting […]
Body Cams and the Law
Body cams and the Law Body cameras (or body cams) are portable surveillance units typically used to document personal interactions and protect the wearers should they need to defend themselves if arrested as they allow officials to look back at the captured footage for a highly accurate account of the events in question. Once almost […]
Protect the Wild – how supporters EMPOWER us!
Before I get into this, can I just say now please don’t let the first two paragraphs below put you off! This short post is written to let you know how grateful we at Protect the Wild are to you (our supporters, readers, and contributors) for helping us feel less powerless and more hopeful…and as […]
The Secret Monitor: Dishing the dirt on stag hunting
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In the first […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #5: Shropshire Wildlife Monitors
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘, empowering people to protect British wildlife. We set the fund up because we know that many people who monitor are largely unfunded volunteers and often have no umbrella organisation to support them. That means they have […]
Grant Shapps is anti-hunting. Will he do the right thing and ban fox hunting on MoD land?
On 31 August, Grant Shapps was appointed as the new defence secretary. Protect the Wild is urging Shapps to use his power to ban hunting on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land. A number of major landowners, such as the National Trust, have already banned hunting from taking place on their land. They have acknowledged that […]
The biggest wildlife genocide of our time is happening right now
It’s the start of September, which means that badgers are being mass-murdered as you read this. If you’re scrolling through this article just as the sun has gone down, badgers will be coming out of their setts in the countryside near you right now. At the same time, government-sanctioned shooters will be lined up, ready […]
Animal Rescue: Charlie’s Place
Run by Claire and Will, Charlie’s Place is a small grass-roots animal sanctuary set on a plot of land in the Peak District which (to quote a flyer we picked up) gives “a forever home to animals in need”.
A ‘nation of animal lovers’, more like a nation of wildlife killers
In the UK, we pride ourselves as being a nation that loves animals. We donate readily to the Dogs Trust or to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, while 53% of us has a pet. Our pets are protected from abuse under the Animal Welfare Act, and a person can be prosecuted if the animal’s needs […]
Natural England’s Tony Juniper: overseeing the devastation of England’s biodiversity
The chair of Natural England (the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England) has hypocritically argued that England “is going to have to work much harder” if it wants to meet biodiversity targets. In his role, Tony Juniper is actively responsible for the loss of biodiversity. The Tories’ biodiversity targets have already been called […]
Farming industry reports cattle-to-cattle transmission ‘most common form’ of bTB spread
A recent study in Northern Ireland has found that cows are more likely to transmit bovine tuberculosis (bTB) through contact with each other, than through contact with badgers. The research was conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), and the findings were published to the public on 25 May 2023. The researchers used samples […]
Arrests and the Law
Arrests and the Law The police have powers to arrest an individual anywhere and at any time, including on the street, at home or at work – but to arrest someone the police need reasonable grounds to suspect they are involved in a crime for which arrest is necessary. Arrest is usually the first stage […]
Protect the Wild: a new chapter
Protect the Wild: new chapter in the fight to end wildlife persecution I set up Keep the Ban as nothing more than a Facebook page with 0 followers in 2015. I was sickened and angered by the possibility of fox hunting becoming legal again and the ban on hunting wild mammals being overturned.Fast-forward over seven […]
FAQs
Protect the Wild FAQs What is Protect the Wild’s mission statement? Our mission statement is to empower people to protect British wildlife. We do that in different ways including: supporting front line groups; providing information through our Substack, animations, and social media; and campaigning hard for legislative change. Ultimately our aim is to end hunting, […]
News
NEWS Breaking news on our work and issues affecting wildlife. We update our site regularly so check back here or subscribe to our newsletter. You can also follow us on our socials to keep up to date. Latest newsFoxShootingRaptor PersecutionBadgerDeerInvestigateCampaign Latest news Cat found nearly ‘cut in two’ after a snare wrapped around his stomach […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘, empowering people to stop hunting with hounds, tackle bird shooting, and halt the badger cull. We know that many groups or individuals who monitor or patrol are volunteers. They often have […]
Undercover Investigations
Undercover Investigations A key element of our mission to expose wildlife criminals and end the persecution of wildlife in the British countryside is through supporting hard-hitting exposés. That’s why undercover investigations and covert operations are at the heart of what we do – and always will be. We ringfence funding to support ground-breaking operations uncovering […]
Our Campaigns
Our Campaigns Our campaigns will continue to push to end hunting and shooting in the UK and empower people to protect British wildlife. End Hunting We want a proper ban on all hunting with hounds End Hunting We want a proper ban on all hunting with hounds Learn More End Shooting We want to end […]
Defra refusing Woodcock the protection they need
Defra and Woodcocks – government won’t protect Woodcock so we must The government recently responded to an online petition to ‘Limit the Shooting Season of Woodcock’ launched by Wild Justice (Mark Avery, Ruth Tingay, and Chris Packham). I’ve already blogged about this petition and my hesitancy to sign it but in case you don’t have […]
July fox hunting update: The hypocrisy of pro-hunt puppy shows
As the British countryside breathes a sigh of relief at a short Summer respite from fox hunting (and commercial bird shooting), many hunts are using this time to promote themselves and fundraise for next season. One regular fixture in the pro-hunt calendar are the annual puppy shows and hound shows, where hunting dogs are shown […]
‘Friendliest golf course in North London’ kills foxes
There was public outcry in Enfield last week after the Metro ran an expose about Enfield Golf Club – which calls itself the ‘friendliest golf course in North London’ – shooting foxes on their grounds. But, sadly, the culling of foxes and other animals is the norm for businesses in the UK, not an aberration. […]
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. […]
Equipment Fund: Keeping up the pressure on Cheshire’s hunts
Twenty years after the passing of the Hunting Act there are still several hundred hunts going out with packs of hounds (and more often than not with a hardcore of badger baiters and dog fighters that make up hunt ‘terriermen’). Having tried to bludgeon the public and the authorities into submission and force repeal of […]
Animal abuser King Charles becomes new patron of the RSPCA
The RSPCA is “immensely honoured” that King Charles has become its new patron. Protect the Wild argues that this man, who abuses animals, should never have such a role in an animal welfare charity. This article explores Charles’ bloodlust for killing mammals and birds, and details how his vast estates are shooting playgrounds. The RSPCA […]
The Gentleman’s Vinnie Jones: it’s all an act for this keen shooter
Netflix’s The Gentlemen is currently ranking in the streaming service’s Top 10 most-watched TV shows. Footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones has a starring role as an animal-loving gamekeeper of a wealthy 15,000 acre estate. But in real life, Jones is infamous for killing wildlife. Crows, pigeons, rabbits, foxes, boar: you name them, Jones has shot them all. And he’s bragged about it too.
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Anti Hunt. Anti Shoot. Anti Cull. About Us Facebook Tiktok Youtube Instagram Linkedin-in Icon-Threads Icon-Substack Icon-X What we do We Campaign We Campaign Learn More We Inform We Inform Learn More We Support We Support Learn More News Read our latest articles and blogs News and Opinion August 24, 2025 Durrell Trust refuses to engage […]
Tell Chesterfield FC not to host the Barlow Hunt
Chesterfield Football Club is due to host the notorious Barlow Hunt’s annual ball, a fundraiser for a hunt that has a string of violent incidents to its name and which has been caught numerous times hunting foxes and breaking the law. The SMH Group Stadium’s facilities will be hired out to the hunt on 27 […]
Inside Protect the Wild: why write news articles?
At Protect the Wild, we don’t just campaign to end the hunting and shooting industries. We also keep our supporters informed with news articles. For the past two years, we have covered news on a range of topics, including the criminal acts of fox hunters; how the shooting industry is responsible for lethally poisoning birds […]
Punching a horse is atrocious, but so is murdering fox cubs
Most people reading Protect the Wild already know this, but it bears being said. The media circus around Sarah Moulds highlights Britain’s broken relationship with other animals. When Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs filmed Moulds attacking a horse in November 2021, the footage went far and wide. Not only across anti-hunting social media but across the headlines […]
Defra cosies up to grouse shooting industry
Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), the government department “responsible for improving and protecting the environment”, has announced the appointment of a grouse moor owner to what it describes as a ‘key role’. Heather Hancock (pictured above), a former Food Standards Agency chair and former Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park […]
A visit to Secret World Wildlife Rescue
“Oh, the weather outside is frightful But the welcome is so delightful…” With apologies to Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, but as Storm Mathis threatened to drown the Somerset Levels and blow me into the mud-brown swollen dykes along the sides of the road (mental note to self, the M5 isn’t so pretty a route […]
Cruelty Timeline
Cruelty Timeline Cruelty takes place all year round in the countryside. Snares and traps are being used in every month. Foxes are being shot and killed every day of the year. Someone, somewhere, will be breaking the law. Killing certain species of wildlife is legal though and here is a timeline showing when ‘seasons’ start […]
Spring Traps and the Law
Spring traps and the Law Spring traps are most commonly used to kill (or ‘control’) small mammals on shooting estates by breaking their backs. They consist of a treadle plate and a ‘strike arm’, a spring-powered smooth (not toothed) ‘jaw’ which is triggered by an animal’s weight on the plate. The arm snaps across the […]
Deer and the Law
Deer and the Law There are six species of deer in the UK: native Red and Roe Deer; Fallow Deer (first brought to Britain during the Roman period but now considered to be naturalised), and invasive, non-native Sika, (Reeves’) Muntjac and Water Deer. Deer populations are probably higher now than ever before. They are an […]
To survive we have to change the narrative
Headline statistics from the 2022 Biodiversity Conference (or COP15), which starts in Montreal today, are shocking. Over 1 million species are on the brink of extinction (an under-estimate as no-one knows how many species there actually are). Species are dying off at a frequency rate 1,000 times higher than before the arrival of humans. Wildlife […]
Mammals
Mammals Some of the most diverse and recognisable wildlife in the world lives in the British countryside. However every year wild mammals in the UK suffer as a result of human activity, both deliberately (such as hunting, snaring, and culling) and accidentally (in road accidents and by ingesting litter for example). At Protect the Wild […]
Hedgehog facts
Facts about the European Hedgehog Scientific name: Erinaceus europaeus At a glance Found across a wide range of rural and urban habitats, preferring woodland edges and hedgerows. Many sites in England and Wales that reported hedgehogs in the 1980s had stopped reporting them by the 1990s. Following long-term declines here hedgehogs were Red-listed as Vulnerable […]
RSPB predator control
RSPB PREDATOR CONTROL HITStatement 2018 Whilst working on the Barlow Hunt Investigation in spring 2018, HIT was contacted by a a whistleblower about the RSPB’s Curlew Management Trial Programme. The whistleblower was highly concerned about the scale of Larsen trapping and employment of a bloodsports enthusiast on a Peak District RSPB reserve. They asked HIT […]
Who we’ve supported
Who we’ve Supported Not all heroes wear capes! There are extraordinary people doing extraordinary things every day, often suffering insult and injury doing their utmost to protect foxes, birds, badgers and other wildlife. Brave individuals working tirelessly in the field to save and protect animals. We regularly offer funding to those who need support and […]