Note: Brian May is taking part in a cruelty-free huntstoday.
The Three Counties Bloodhounds meeting sets off at 12 noon today from
Birchgrove Rugby Football Club, Birchgrove, Swansea, South Wales.
DAILY EXPRESS
13 December 2015 by Stuart Winter
ROCK legend Brian May is joining the “hunting set” today… The animal campaigner will be witnessing all the thrill of the chase but without any of the cruelty or bloodlust.
A former leading fox hunter has invited the Queen guitarist to join a “clean boot” bloodhound hunt in Wales later today to see how legal recreational hunts work. Six months ago, Dr May’s campaigning helped derail a Government plan to bring back hunting by the backdoor. He was involved in lengthy talks with MPs across the Parliamentary divide which eventually the SNP pledging to vote against a statutory instrument that would have tampered with the Hunting Act.
It was the advent of the 2004 Hunting Act, which prevents the chasing of foxes by more than two dogs, that saw hunt master Byron John take up legal hunting. He had been the Master of the Carmarthenshire Hunt but decided to take up the cruelty-free sport where blood hounds follow the scent of a human runner.
Clean booters are said to ride longer, farther and harder than traditional hunters, developing higher levels of horse skills, although they can gallop into opposition from both sides of the debate.
Dr May, who set up both the Save Me Trust and Team Fox to contest attempts to dilute the current hunting legislation, said:
“We’re here to learn, and to give these good people some visibility. It takes a deal of courage to be a ‘clean boot’ hunter. They are in a difficult position. They are often abused by sections of the public who don’t understand that this is a purely humane activity, and of course they are routinely abused by the fox hunting set. For us it’s an opportunity to highlight the fact that it is possible to enjoy the exhilaration of riding in pursuit, but without any cruelty to man or beast. Most of the hunt members who will enjoy this activity today with Byron are compassionate riders; they would not be present if there was any chance of killing a wild animal ‘by accident’. And of course, it’s legal. There is no dishonesty, a fact which is helping to attract more and more country folk to this sport.”
Among those taking part will be Byron’s Joint Master of the Three Counties Bloodhounds, Kate Pickard, who hunted for many years with the Belvoir and Quorn Hunts in Leicestershire before relocating to South Wales. Kate has worked for various hunting yards including York, Melton Mowbray and Carmarthenshire, but she is now fully committed to the “clean boot” form. Rock legend Brian May is joining the “hunting set” today…
The animal campaigner will be witnessing all the thrill of the chase but without any of the cruelty or bloodlust.
A former leading fox hunter has invited the Queen guitarist to join a “clean boot” bloodhound hunt in Wales later today to see how legal recreational hunts work.
Six months ago Dr May’s campaigning helped derail a Government plan to bring back hunting by the backdoor. He was involved in lengthy talks with MPs across the Parliamentary divide which eventually saw newly elected SNP MPs pledging to vote against as statutory instrument that would have tampered with the Hunting Act.
It was the advent of the Hunting Act, which prevents the chasing of foxes by more than two dogs, that saw hunt master Byron John take up legal hunting. He had been the Master of the Carmarthenshire Hunt but decided to take up the cruelty-free sport where blood hounds follow the scent of a human runner.
Brian May wants to show support to these humane hunting groups
Clean booters are said to ride longer, farther and harder than traditional hunters, developing higher levels of horse skills, although they can face opposition both sides of the hunting divide.
Dr May, who set up both the Save Me Trust and Team Fox to contest attempts to dilute the current hunting legislation, said:
“We’re here to learn, and to give these good people some visibility. It takes a deal of courage to be a “clean boot’ hunter – they are in a difficult position. They are often abused by sections of the public who don’t understand that this is a purely humane activity, and of course they are routinely abused by the fox hunting set. For us it’s an opportunity to highlight the fact that it is possible to enjoy the exhilaration of riding in pursuit, but without any cruelty to man or beast. Most of the hunt members who will enjoy this activity today with Byron are compassionate riders; they would not be present if there was any chance of killing a wild animal ‘by accident’. And of course, it’s legal – there is no dishonesty, a fact which is helping to attract more and more country folk to this sport.”
Brian May set up the Save Me Trust and Team Fox
Among those taking part will be Joint Master of the the Three Counties Bloodhounds, Kate Pickard, who has been hunting for many years with the Belvoir and Quorn hunts in Leicestershire before relocating to South Wales. Kate has worked for various hunting yards including York, Melton Mowbray and Carmarthenshire, but she is now fully committed “clean boot hunting”.
Save Me Trust’s Anne Brummer added: “More and more hunters are finding that clean-boot offers them so much more than fox hunts and, of course, it is one the right side of the law.”
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WESTERN MORNING NEWS
Queen guitarist and country sports opponent Brian May goes ‘cruelty-free’ ‘ hunting
13 December 2015 By WMNPBowern
Animal rights campaigner and rock star Brian May is going hunting – following a pack of bloodhounds he claims represents the ‘cruelty-free’ future of the sport.
The Queen guitarist, who campaigns against country sports and the badger cull, is joining the Three Counties Bloodhounds meeting on Sunday December 13 to witness first-hand what he says is “the legal side of recreational hunting.”
Byron John, Master of what is know as a clean boot hunt, is a former fox hunter, and former Master of the Carmarthenshire Hunt. He is now the Hunt Master of the Three Counties Bloodhounds which follow a human-laid scent.
According to Mr May’s animal welfare group, the Save Me Trust, Mr John was a keen fox hunter who concluded ten years ago there was no future for his sport after the hunting ban came into force.
He decided the way forward was to hunt the clean boot with a pack of bloodhounds’ which, Mr May’s campaign groups claims, ensures a better riding experience whilst remaining within the law.
Joint Master, Kate Pickard has been hunting for many years with the Belvoir and Quorn hunts in Leicestershire before relocating to South Wales. Kate has worked for various hunting yards including York, Melton Mowbray and Carmarthenshire. She is also now fully committed to the clean boot.
In clean boot, or drag hunting, the bloodhounds follow a pre-set trail left by a human runner; the scents are not animal-based so the hounds have no interest in following wild animals, the Save Me Trust says.
Dr May said: “We’re here to learn, and to give these good people some visibility. It takes a deal of courage to be a ‘clean boot’ hunter – they are in a difficult position. They are often abused by sections of the public who don’t understand that this is a purely humane activity, and of course they are routinely abused by the foxhunting set, including the Master of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), who see them as a threat.
“For us it’s an opportunity to highlight the fact that it IS possible to enjoy the exhilaration of riding in pursuit, but without any cruelty to man or beast. Most of the hunt members who will enjoy this activity today with Byron are compassionate riders; they would not be present if there was any chance of killing a wild animal ‘by accident’. And of course, it’s legal – there is no dishonesty, a fact which is helping to attract more and more country folk to this sport.”
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “I’m sure Mr May will have a lovely time and it will do him good to get out into the countryside. Hunting the clean boot has a long history going back for many years before the Hunting Act. Bloodhounds obviously don’t have, and never have had, any role in wildlife management and the activity is entirely complementary to those forms of hunting that do.
“The Masters of Bloodhounds and Draghounds Association is an active member of the Council of Hunting Associations and plays a full role in the campaign to repeal the Hunting Act.”
The Three Counties Bloodhounds meeting sets off at 12 noon today from Birchgrove Rugby Football Club, Birchgrove, Swansea, South Wales.