I was planning on doing a blog post about my week in London last week (including work experience at the Natural History Museum and meeting up with my friend, Lizzie Guntrip.) However with the news of the hunting act vote being so soon I felt that the London post had to wait!
Having immersed myself in our natural world since I was little I have come to realise one thing…no matter how much we call some animals "pests" but others 'man's best friend' there is nothing that that actually divides them, apart from our own biased categorisations. When they no longer serve a purpose needed by us they move between these categories and our attitudes towards them change. Take the pigeon for example…records say that over 100,000 pigeons were used in WW1 alone, with a success rate (in terms of the message getting to the right location) standing at just over 95%. In my eyes they were just as important as our soldiers. Yet now-a-days they are the avian version of a rat…a "pest" which we have banished from our towns using spikes on buildings and trained birds of prey. Our attitudes towards foxes are very similar. In Labour's last reign the 2004 Hunting Act was put in place ending the use of hounds to hunt wild animals. Drag hunting (in which a artificial scent is followed) is still legal. For some reason David Cameron feels that the return of fox hunting is the most pressing national issue at the moment…despite the majority of British Citizens wanting to keep the ban as it is. Twitter and Facebook have gone mad with the #keeptheban growing in popularity and beginning to trend. Stories have even made front page news, revealing the truth behind the hunt. (See the articles below)
See the full article here.
One of the things that annoys me most is that people often complain when foxes make a home in our towns and cities, giving the reasoning "they belong in the countryside" - so why is it okay for us to intrude on their habitat? They intruded on ours yes, but at least they're not riding on the back of lions, flushing us out of our homes whilst we're sleeping and then unleashing their bears upon us to mercilessly rip us to pieces. Sounds like a nightmare, right? But if this ban is uplifted this scene will be playing on loop across our countryside every day. So what can you do to help?
Write to your local MP and encourage them to vote against the repealing of the ban on this week. Be concise and polite…here is a draft for you to use:
Dear (name of your constituent MP),
As you may have seen there is an online petition calling for David Cameron to keep the ban on fox hunting. The petition already has over 500,000 signatures, and you as my MP should be representing our constituency.
I am emailing to ask for you to see how horrific it is for Cameron to even think of repealing the ban, and I hope you do the right thing and vote AGAINST REPEALING THE BAN in the vote this week.
Yours sincerely,
(Your name)
Sign the online petition:
On the 15th of July there is going to be a demonstration at 12:30, meeting at Richmond Terrance (opposite Downing Street). Speakers such as Dominic Dyer (CEO of the Badger Trusts) will be there joined by a huge number of supporters. If you're free it would be wonderful if you could attend as every person there will make a difference.
Print out the poster I have made (above) and display it in your local area!
If we all stand together this ban will remain…helping us protect these beautiful creatures for years to come.
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