Friday, November 05, 2004
BURN THE BILL
http://www.meltonmowbraytoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=752&ArticleID=886208
EFFIGIES of Tony Blair and Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael burned on top of a giant bonfire on Friday morning at a protest against the hunt ban.
More than 400 people from across the East Midlands cheered as flames consumed the dummies and a copy of the anti-foxhunting Bill on Melton Airfield.The event, organised by the Countryside Alliance, was intended as a show of defiance to the Government as it prepares to enforce a total ban on the pastime.Rutland and Melton MP Alan Duncan, who spoke at the event, said: "Today we are looking at a bonfire with two people on top who are in Parliament but are abusing it to destroy what is right. It's only fitting they should go up in smoke."MPs are in Parliament to make laws that benefit everyone, but some people in Government are abusing those laws to persecute a minority."Mr Duncan was joined on the speakers' stage by Michael Clayton, retired secretary of the Cottesmore Hunt, who said: "Some people have said it's bad taste having those two effigies on top of the bonfire, but we think it's bad taste to jeopardise people's lives and jobs with this ban."We are here today to hold this event as a warning to the Government that we will not give up."Melton Euro MP Roger Helmer joined the podium to address the crowd. He said: "This Bill is an affront to civil liberties. We know that it's not for the benefit of the countryside or the environment, or even the fox."Whatever your view on hunting, it's for those who are engaged in it to make their own decision."Richard Morley, joint master of the Belvoir, was in the crowd and said the number of people attending represented the continuing anger of the hunt community, which feels the Government is pursuing the ban as a political exercise.After the four main speakers had their say, huntsmen from five counties lit torches and a giant pyre went up in a massive display of red flames and black smoke.The huntsmen, including three from the Quorn, Belvoir and Cottesmore, blew their horns to huge cheers from the crowd.Huntsman Peter Collins, of the Quorn, was one of those who lit the pyre. He said: "It felt good lighting the bonfire. The message we're sending is that by burning the Bill, we won't accept the ban. We won't take this lying down."Organiser Phillipa Mayo said she was pleased with how the event had gone. Regarding the burned effigies, she said: "Feelings are running very high at the moment and people have to let off steam a little bit. "It's perfectly harmless in itself but it shows the kind of feelings we have in regard to this Bill."Mr Clayton told the crowd the next demonstration will be a picket in Westminster on November 11 at 9.30am, where hunt supporters are expected to gather as the Prime Minister and Cabinet hold a meeting to discuss the ban's future.The Bill is currently undergoing reading at the House of Lords, which has recommended regulation for foxhunting.
EFFIGIES of Tony Blair and Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael burned on top of a giant bonfire on Friday morning at a protest against the hunt ban.
More than 400 people from across the East Midlands cheered as flames consumed the dummies and a copy of the anti-foxhunting Bill on Melton Airfield.The event, organised by the Countryside Alliance, was intended as a show of defiance to the Government as it prepares to enforce a total ban on the pastime.Rutland and Melton MP Alan Duncan, who spoke at the event, said: "Today we are looking at a bonfire with two people on top who are in Parliament but are abusing it to destroy what is right. It's only fitting they should go up in smoke."MPs are in Parliament to make laws that benefit everyone, but some people in Government are abusing those laws to persecute a minority."Mr Duncan was joined on the speakers' stage by Michael Clayton, retired secretary of the Cottesmore Hunt, who said: "Some people have said it's bad taste having those two effigies on top of the bonfire, but we think it's bad taste to jeopardise people's lives and jobs with this ban."We are here today to hold this event as a warning to the Government that we will not give up."Melton Euro MP Roger Helmer joined the podium to address the crowd. He said: "This Bill is an affront to civil liberties. We know that it's not for the benefit of the countryside or the environment, or even the fox."Whatever your view on hunting, it's for those who are engaged in it to make their own decision."Richard Morley, joint master of the Belvoir, was in the crowd and said the number of people attending represented the continuing anger of the hunt community, which feels the Government is pursuing the ban as a political exercise.After the four main speakers had their say, huntsmen from five counties lit torches and a giant pyre went up in a massive display of red flames and black smoke.The huntsmen, including three from the Quorn, Belvoir and Cottesmore, blew their horns to huge cheers from the crowd.Huntsman Peter Collins, of the Quorn, was one of those who lit the pyre. He said: "It felt good lighting the bonfire. The message we're sending is that by burning the Bill, we won't accept the ban. We won't take this lying down."Organiser Phillipa Mayo said she was pleased with how the event had gone. Regarding the burned effigies, she said: "Feelings are running very high at the moment and people have to let off steam a little bit. "It's perfectly harmless in itself but it shows the kind of feelings we have in regard to this Bill."Mr Clayton told the crowd the next demonstration will be a picket in Westminster on November 11 at 9.30am, where hunt supporters are expected to gather as the Prime Minister and Cabinet hold a meeting to discuss the ban's future.The Bill is currently undergoing reading at the House of Lords, which has recommended regulation for foxhunting.
