The below email was sent from a Farmer who rears chicken and sheep on his Farm to Conservatives Against Fox Hunting and his Conservative MP- Mel Stride on the 27th March, the day after David Cameron stated that he ‘ regretted that the coalition has been unable to agree on a move to allow Farmers to use large packs of dogs to flush out foxes’: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10724214/David-Cameron-abandons-bid-to-relax-hunting-ban.htm
Subject: Hunting
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2014
Dear Mr Stride
I am pleased that the government will not be proceeding with changes to the 2004 hunting act.
The government will do well to accept that in all matters is that the will of the majority is more important than the interests of a minority.
In my own case I will continue to vote Conservative but I will not be tolerant to any attempt to weaken the current law.
I take great delight in observing the foxes free and safe on my farm.
There are other matters which need attention:
1. The introduction of a closed season for hare shooting/breeding.
We need to rebuild the numbers of our native hare.
I would dearly love for there to be hares on my farm but unless the current level of persecution stops and the numbers increase significantly it won’t happen.
2. The abandonment of and permanent cessation of badger culling.
Again we have the vast majority of the public against such activity, the public are reasonably well aware of the effects of TB on farmers costs and their own pockets.
Humans activity caused the problem and it is somewhat immoral to take it out on the badger.
Tighter control of cattle movements, improved general husbandry and monitoring is part of the solution, vaccination the other.
I am aware of current EU rules on vaccination but it is the case that most humans eat meat which has been plied with a variety of substances/medicines. It is for the our government (probably other governments would participate) to get the rules changed.
I have a healthy population of badgers on my farm and I want to keep them.
3. There are still countries within the EU where ill treatment of animals is practiced.
This affects most farm stock particularly pigs, and the confinement of chickens in small cages (even to the latest standards) is not acceptable.
We used to breed pigs when I was in Oxfordshire, they were most happy outside. We tried using sow crates but it was a big mistake in terms of pig health and wellbeing.
In years past we had a sizable chicken unit in Oxfordshire where the chickens were raised in confined conditions, which I regret. Chickens are much better off with plenty of space, particularly outside, which is how they are treated on my Devon farm.
The ideology of driving down prices by mistreating animals is not acceptable.
Yours sincerely
Graham Cooper
