Burnsall
Well-Known Member
Hunters really are getting desperate.
From The Western Daily Press
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The president of the Countryside Alliance accused a former West MP of influencing a police investigation into alleged illegal hunting to wreak revenge on the hunting community for getting her voted out.
Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu levelled the astonishing claim at RSPCA director general and ex-Taunton MP Jackie Ballard at a stormy meeting of hunting folk and police chiefs on Exmoor yesterday.
The RSPCA has angrily dismissed the allegation as "absurd".
While the meeting was ostensibly called to voice anger over the way hunting leaders were arrested and dealt with by police investigating allegations, it was the motives behind the prosecution that have become the subject of controversy.
Baroness Mallalieu, a barrister who rides with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds (DSSH), stuck by her conspiracy theory claim yesterday, demanding to know the details of meetings between anti-hunt campaigners and police chiefs in the run-up to a decision taken earlier this month to mount the first public prosecution of a hunt for breaching the ban.
The allegations against the DSSH were originally dismissed by Avon and Somerset Police, but were controversially reopened in the wake of the successful prosecution of Tony Wright of the neighbouring Exmoor Fox Hounds.
SHE told the public meeting yesterday that police chiefs and officers had told her the case was reopened after pressure from the RSPCA and other groups, and that it was "no coincidence" that all three prosecutions for breaching the hunt ban had been against hunts in Ms Ballard's former constituency.
The ex-Liberal Democrat MP made a name for herself as an outspoken anti-hunt campaigner. She was defeated in the 2001 General Election after a major mobilisation of hunt supporters targeted her seat - and her loss was widely attributed to the hunting issue.
Within months, Ms Ballard was named chief executive of the RSPCA, and the society moved further towards an anti-hunt agenda. It formed the Campaign for the Hunted Animal with the League against Cruel Sports and IFAW, a pact which helped bring about the hunt ban of 2005.
Baroness Mallalieu told the packed meeting in Exford yesterday: "Avon and Somerset Police have been unduly influenced by pressure from animal rights campaigners. The normal independent decision-making has succumbed to political pressure."
She said: "I can think of no other instance where partisan organisations are allowed an involvement in this way. It is no coincidence that all three prosecutions that have been mounted involve video evidence, all three were rejected initially by the police and all three are in Jackie Ballard's former constituency. All three are on hunts which contributed to a task force which lost her her seat.
"The man handling the case, PC Stratton, told me this case had been submitted back in May or June and was dismissed, but it was pressure from the RSPCA that led to it being reopened, and there was correspondence between Ms Ballard and the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
"Until we see what has actually gone on, we won't know, but I would like to know," she said.
AT the meeting, Superintendent Gary Davies said he could not answer points about the case, but sought to reassure Exmoor residents that the police had learned from their handling of the arrests of three DSSH huntsmen and would take on board residents' concerns.
He said: "I am acutely aware how sensitive and emotive this issue is for you and I know we rely on your support. I understand the broad criticism you have today. We will adopt a new sensitive approach."
After the meeting, the RSPCA said in a statement: "The idea that the RSPCA would act to see an animal welfare law upheld purely for personal or vindictive reasons is absurd.
"The RSPCA called, on cruelty grounds, for a ban on hunting with dogs for many decades before the appointment of Jackie Ballard as director general. Since the Hunting Act was passed, the society has been consistent in calling for the law to be enforced.
"While the RSPCA, as the major prosecutor of animal welfare crimes in England and Wales has the respect of the police, we cannot determine their actions in investigating," the statement added.
From The Western Daily Press
________________________________________
The president of the Countryside Alliance accused a former West MP of influencing a police investigation into alleged illegal hunting to wreak revenge on the hunting community for getting her voted out.
Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu levelled the astonishing claim at RSPCA director general and ex-Taunton MP Jackie Ballard at a stormy meeting of hunting folk and police chiefs on Exmoor yesterday.
The RSPCA has angrily dismissed the allegation as "absurd".
While the meeting was ostensibly called to voice anger over the way hunting leaders were arrested and dealt with by police investigating allegations, it was the motives behind the prosecution that have become the subject of controversy.
Baroness Mallalieu, a barrister who rides with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds (DSSH), stuck by her conspiracy theory claim yesterday, demanding to know the details of meetings between anti-hunt campaigners and police chiefs in the run-up to a decision taken earlier this month to mount the first public prosecution of a hunt for breaching the ban.
The allegations against the DSSH were originally dismissed by Avon and Somerset Police, but were controversially reopened in the wake of the successful prosecution of Tony Wright of the neighbouring Exmoor Fox Hounds.
SHE told the public meeting yesterday that police chiefs and officers had told her the case was reopened after pressure from the RSPCA and other groups, and that it was "no coincidence" that all three prosecutions for breaching the hunt ban had been against hunts in Ms Ballard's former constituency.
The ex-Liberal Democrat MP made a name for herself as an outspoken anti-hunt campaigner. She was defeated in the 2001 General Election after a major mobilisation of hunt supporters targeted her seat - and her loss was widely attributed to the hunting issue.
Within months, Ms Ballard was named chief executive of the RSPCA, and the society moved further towards an anti-hunt agenda. It formed the Campaign for the Hunted Animal with the League against Cruel Sports and IFAW, a pact which helped bring about the hunt ban of 2005.
Baroness Mallalieu told the packed meeting in Exford yesterday: "Avon and Somerset Police have been unduly influenced by pressure from animal rights campaigners. The normal independent decision-making has succumbed to political pressure."
She said: "I can think of no other instance where partisan organisations are allowed an involvement in this way. It is no coincidence that all three prosecutions that have been mounted involve video evidence, all three were rejected initially by the police and all three are in Jackie Ballard's former constituency. All three are on hunts which contributed to a task force which lost her her seat.
"The man handling the case, PC Stratton, told me this case had been submitted back in May or June and was dismissed, but it was pressure from the RSPCA that led to it being reopened, and there was correspondence between Ms Ballard and the Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
"Until we see what has actually gone on, we won't know, but I would like to know," she said.
AT the meeting, Superintendent Gary Davies said he could not answer points about the case, but sought to reassure Exmoor residents that the police had learned from their handling of the arrests of three DSSH huntsmen and would take on board residents' concerns.
He said: "I am acutely aware how sensitive and emotive this issue is for you and I know we rely on your support. I understand the broad criticism you have today. We will adopt a new sensitive approach."
After the meeting, the RSPCA said in a statement: "The idea that the RSPCA would act to see an animal welfare law upheld purely for personal or vindictive reasons is absurd.
"The RSPCA called, on cruelty grounds, for a ban on hunting with dogs for many decades before the appointment of Jackie Ballard as director general. Since the Hunting Act was passed, the society has been consistent in calling for the law to be enforced.
"While the RSPCA, as the major prosecutor of animal welfare crimes in England and Wales has the respect of the police, we cannot determine their actions in investigating," the statement added.
