What is mink hunting?
Mink Hunting: what is it and what happens on a mink hunt Mink hunting with hounds only began in an organised way after Otters became a protected species across England and Wales in 1978. Otter hunting has a centuries-long history in the UK but has always been a relatively minor pursuit when compared to deer, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bat facts
Facts about British Bats Scientific name: Chiroptera At a glance Seventeen bat species breed in the UK, but many are declining. Declines in bat populations mirror declines in the health of our environment. All bats and their roosts have full legal protection. The only true flying (rather than gliding) mammals, there are more than 1,400 […]
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 […]
Media
MEDIA Here at Protect The Wild we want to do everything we can to make a difference for wild animals. We understand the importance of media content in helping us to inform the public and reach those who may be unaware of the issues wildlife faces right across the UK. That’s why we have a […]
Stoat facts
Facts about the Stoat Scientific name: Mustela erminea At a glance Can live in most habitats provided there is prey and cover to shelter in. The Stoat’s black tail tip may act as a predator-deflection mark. For hundreds of years the stoat’s white winter fur (ermine) was sought-after for ceremonial robes. One of a large […]
Shrew facts
Facts about Shrews Common Shrew: Sorex araneus Pygmy Shrew: Sorex minutus Water Shrew: Neomys fodiens (Greater white-toothed Shrew: Crocidura russula) (Lesser White-toothed Shrew: Crocidura sauveolens) At a glance Britain has three native species of shrew, with two others introduced or invasive. They are key prey items for Tawny and Barn Owls, Stoats, Weasels, and Foxes. […]
Rat facts
Facts about Brown and Black Rats Brown Rat Scientific name:Rattus norvegicus Black Rat Scientific name: Rattus rattus At a glance Neither of our two rat species are native: both were accidentally introduced. To all intents and purposes the Black Rat is now extinct here. Contrary to popular myth Black Rats did not spread bubonic plague […]
Rabbit facts
Facts about the European Rabbit Scientific name: Oryctolagus cuniculus At a glance Native to the Iberian Peninsula, rabbits were brought to the UK by Romans as pets and to eat. The arrival of myxomatosis in the UK in 1953 saw a staggering 99% death rate in rabbits. Rabbits are now so established in many ecosystems […]
Otter facts
Facts about the Eurasian Otter Scientific name: Lutra lutra At a glance Lacking blubber, otters are protected from the cold by their dense fur. Areas can be made more attractive to otters by establishing “otter havens” kept free from human disturbance. Almost wiped out in the UK by the 1960s there may be as many […]
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 […]
Hare facts
Facts about the Brown Hare Scientific name: Lepus europaeus At a glance Introduced by the Romans, Brown Hares were listed as a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan in 1994.Once widespread in the UK, Beavers were over-hunted and became extinct here in the 16th century. In the early 19th century 4 million Brown […]
Deer facts
Facts about Deer At a glance All six species of deer found in Britain have increased since the turn of the century. Deer have no natural predators in Britain – they have all been wiped out by ‘land managers’. Despite the Hunting Act 2004 deer are still being hunted and killed illegally. There are six […]
Cat facts
Facts about European Polecats Scientific name: Mustela putorius A member of the large mustelid family (which includes the Pine Marten, Weasels and Stoats, the Badger, and Otter) the European Polecat is one of the least-known UK mammals. A solitary animal, the polecat occupies a variety of habitats, from farmland to woodlands to coastal sand dunes, […]
Rescue & Care
Wildlife Rescue and Care Wildlife across the UK is in need of help. Over the years, we humans have destroyed the natural habitats that many wild animals call home. Many animals are hunted or persecuted. Many more are injured on our roads. This has put an enormous pressure on the wildlife rescuers and sanctuaries that […]
Raptor Persecution Hilborough Estate
Raptor Persecution on the Hilborough Estate In April 2022, the Hunt Investigation Team (HIT) supported by Protect The Wild, documented illegal raptor persecution on the Hilborough Estate in Norfolk. The Hilborough Estate’s reputation has been built upon and protected by its royal connections and historical conservation credentials. The Van Cutsem family, friends of Princes Charles, […]
Vale of White Horse Hunt expose
Vale of White Horse Hunt Exposé On January 5th 2022 Protect The Wild supported the Hunt Investigation Team (HIT) with their investigation of the Vale of White Horse Hunt which saw them deliberately and intentionally hunt a fox. VWH member and land-owner Verity Drewett can be seen visibly shouting and identifying the fox to the […]
Moscar Estate files
MOSCAR ESTATE FILES On this page we will be showcasing three separate investigations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJAO1pl6MQ0 Moscar’s wildlife crime and cruelty on National Trust land In spring 2020, Moscar’s gamekeepers were investigated by the RSCPA after using a fatally wounded call bird in a Larsen trap, trapping hypothermic fox cubs and setting traps on badger setts – […]
South Herefordshire hunt investigation
SOUTH HEREFORDSHIREHUNT INVESTIGATION HITStatement In May 2016, HIT uncovered shocking scenes from within the kennel complex of the South Herefordshire Hunt. Members of the SHH were filmed with a supply of caged fox cubs aged around 8 weeks old, which they took one by one into the kennels full of hounds. The hounds were heard […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Volunteer
Volunteer We are a small, dedicated (and friendly) team at Protect the Wild and are always grateful for offers of help. Not sure what you can do? It will help us make better suggestions if you’d be prepared to share a few details about yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve ever volunteered before, but do […]
Major landowners
Major Landowners Landowners across the country continue to allow so-called ‘trail hunting’ on their land. Trail hunting is nothing but a “smokescreen” for the illegal hunting of wildlife and unless decision makers and landowners take a stand, animals will continue to be killed. Towards the end of 2020 a leaked webinar hosted by the Hunting Office showed […]
No defence for hunting (MOD)
End Hunting on MOD land https://protectthewild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PTW-MOD-Land_v14_twitter_facebook.mp4 #NO DEFENCE: END HUNTING ON MOD LAND There’s #NoDefence for fox hunting. Many major landowners including the National Trust and Forestry England have stopped issuing ‘trail hunting’ licences, effectively banning hunting on their land. The Ministry of Defence and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) – the estate expert for […]
Forestry England campaign
FORESTRY ENGLAND CAMPAIGN Forestry England is responsible for managing and promoting the nation’s forests owned by the Government of the United Kingdom. However, what many people do not realise is that up until 2020 Forestry England gave permissions for ‘trail hunts’ to use its land. Following a year-long campaign ran by Protect the Wild and […]
Hare coursing
End Hare Hunting & Coursing When we are talking about hare hunting and hare coursing we are normally talking about the Brown Hare, the once familiar species of hare found in the lowlands and on farmland. Whilst not as well-known as fox hunting and deer hunting, there are still a large number of hunts and […]
End Hunting
End Hunting Protect the Wild is working to end hunting. We’re fighting for a future where hunting no longer exists. Through campaigning, animations, and articles we are informing the public that hunting still takes place. Through our Support Network and Equipment Fund we are providing equipment to front-line groups. Through our free Protectors of the Wild resource we are […]
Two days with hunt sabs stopping grouse shoots
I spent two days with hunt sabs that stopped grouse shoots by Glen Black Each year since 2017, the Hunt Saboteurs Association has co-ordinated a national day of action against grouse shooting on 12 August. This is the so-called Glorious Twelfth, the opening day of the grouse shooting season. For 2022, though, the HSA […]
Grouse Moors and the ‘Licencing Lifeline’
Grouse Moors and the ‘Licencing Lifeline’ The grouse shooting industry is not a ‘glorious’ tradition. It is the slaughter of up to half a million grouse a year, the destruction of countless native predators in traps and snares, illegal raptor persecution and poison baits, and the burning of internationally-scarce habitats. All so that a few […]
Speaking up for badgers at the Court of Appeal
Speaking up for badgers at the Court of Appeal On July 21st I posted a podcast (Badger Culls, Biodiversity, Birds, and the High Court) with ecologists Tom Langton and Dominic Woodfield which looked at the background to a challenge they were taking to the Court of Appeal on July 26th (yesterday). The conversation was complex […]
Hare coursing and hare hunting – is there police bias?
Hare coursing and hare hunting – is there police bias? During a Westminster Hall debate on a pair of anti-hunting petitions promoted by Protect the Wild, the under-secretary for environment Rebecca Pow said that the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act would bring in new legislation that would “genuinely help [police] as regards any hare […]
Hunting Office backlash continues…
Hunting Office backlash continues… …leading to an even more undemocratic rearranging of the deckchairs Fox hunting had always assumed it was built on solid foundations. Little wonder really. For hundreds of years the ‘nobility’ ran packs of hounds out of stately homes, killing foxes across land their families owned (or rented out to tenant farmers), […]
Revealed: widespread burning of peatlands despite government ban
As an avid hiker, I sometimes stumble across scorched earth in the middle of nowhere: heather moorland deliberately burnt by landowners for grouse shooting. And as an animal rights activist, I’m acutely aware of the way the shooting industry uses vast swathes of land for hunting and shooting. So new statistics about the extent of […]
Mass grave of pheasants found on Duke of Somerset’s land
Protesters on the Duke of Somerset’s land stumbled across a mass grave packed with the corpses of pheasants this May. Protect the Wild joined hundreds of activists to take part in a mass trespass close to the duke’s Berry Pomeroy castle. The action was part of the wider Right To Roam campaign for greater access […]
‘Balaclava wearing thugs”: Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson doesn’t like sabs.
When Wiltshire councillor Jonathon Seed was disbarred from standing for the role of Swindon and Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), animal rights campaigners celebrated. An ex-army major and ex-fox hunt master, Seed has a long history of fox hunting, and was master of two local hunts for 20 years. But Swindon and Wiltshire’s PCC […]
Gamekeeper Archie Watson charged with raptor persecution
Archie Watson: yet another gamekeeper charged with raptor persecution. Yet another gamekeeper has been charged with being a prolific raptor serial killer. Archie James Watson from Manningford Bruce in Pewsey (Wiltshire) faces six charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and three firearms offences and will be appearing before Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday, May […]
Eton and beagling
Daily Mail appears to reveal all about Eton schoolboys and illegal hunting. Yesterday the Daily Mail printed a headline to a ‘news report’ that in just one deliberately-triggering sentence took in privilege, its current obsession with ‘woke’ (it takes a special sort of person, think Clarkson or Botham perhaps, to be proud of an ability […]
Police appeal for identities of terriermen seen in undercover investigation
Police appeal for identities of terriermen seen in undercover investigation Police are searching for two men connected to alleged Hunting Act offences. And they’re asking for your help to find them. BOLTING A FOX Swindon Police are searching for two men seen in Hunt Investigation Team’s exposé of the Vale of White Horse Hunt. […]
We’ve won ‘Campaigner of the Year’!
We’ve won ‘Campaigner of the Year’ in The Great Outdoors Magazine 2021 Readers’ Awards. In 2021 Protect the Wild (formerly known as Keep The Ban) was awarded a gold medal and the title of ‘Campaigner of the Year’ in The Great Outdoors Magazine 2021 Readers’ Awards. With 30 per cent of the public vote, the […]
Exposed: tax-payer funded covid grants given to hunts
Protect the Wild expose tax-payer funded covid grants given to hunts “Families across the country are suffering incredible hardship and having to make tough sacrifices due to Covid-19. Why are hard-working people now being made to subsidise hunts to the tune of £160,000?” Back in 2020 Protect the Wild sent out Freedom of Information […]
Mini the cat killed by out of control Western Hunt
Exclusive interview: Mini the cat killed by out-of-control Western Hunt In March 2021 Mini the cat was chased and killed by hunting hounds in a quiet residential area. The Government should back Mini’s Law (Public and Animal Safety Bill 2021) to ensure the safety of the public and animals from hunting activity, such as trail […]