Tuesday, December 28, 2004
WE WILL FIGHT ON - BOWYER
EVENT: 'We will fight on' says hunt
HUNDREDS of people clapped and cheered as the defiant joint master of the Fitzwilliam Hunt vowed to hunt again next year.
George Bowyer addressed a large crowd of spectators which gathered in Stilton, near Peterborough, for the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt.
The event was held yesterday because the hunt is never held on a Sunday.
A ban on hunting with dogs is due to come into force in February, after the Hunting Act was given Royal Assent, last month.
But Mr Bowyer branded the legislation "sordid and grotesque" and said huntsmen and women would fight to make "their own moral choices".
He invited all those present to join him on February 19 – the day after the ban comes into force – when the Fitzwilliam will join 250 other hunts across the country in a rebellion.
Mr Bowyer said: "The people of rural England are slow to anger, but we are even slower to forgive and forget."
Despite the ban coming into effect in February, a planned legal challenge to the legislation by the Countryside Alliance means it could be delayed for a year or more.
Mr Bowyer said even if a ban was imposed, the hunt would continue to meet and carry out "legal activities".
The event has met outside The Bell Inn, in the village, for more than 30 years, and has run across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire for more than 300 years.
But Maxine Kaye, from Cambridgeshire Animal Rights, who was one of a handful of protestors at yesterday's hunt, said: "I think this will be the last hunt. They may be able to hold the ban up for a while but they are just playing for time."
In September, more than 100 members of the Fitzwilliam Hunt joined protesters on a march in London.
The ban was to be delayed until July 2006 because of opposition from the House of Lords, but the Government invoked the Parliament Act to push it through.
The Government has said it will not oppose the legal challenge by the Countryside Alliance.
HUSBAND and wife Roy and Margaret Griffin were among the large crowd which gathered for the Fitzwilliam Hunt, in Stilton, yesterday.
Mrs Griffin (58), from Wisbech, said: "I have got no problem with fox hunting at all and I hope the hunt goes on for many years."I think they will find ways round the ban and it will be held up in the courts for years."It is the first time I have been to the hunt and it is excellent. There are more people here than I expected. It is a part of history and I don't see why it should be banned."
HUNDREDS of people clapped and cheered as the defiant joint master of the Fitzwilliam Hunt vowed to hunt again next year.
George Bowyer addressed a large crowd of spectators which gathered in Stilton, near Peterborough, for the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt.
The event was held yesterday because the hunt is never held on a Sunday.
A ban on hunting with dogs is due to come into force in February, after the Hunting Act was given Royal Assent, last month.
But Mr Bowyer branded the legislation "sordid and grotesque" and said huntsmen and women would fight to make "their own moral choices".
He invited all those present to join him on February 19 – the day after the ban comes into force – when the Fitzwilliam will join 250 other hunts across the country in a rebellion.
Mr Bowyer said: "The people of rural England are slow to anger, but we are even slower to forgive and forget."
Despite the ban coming into effect in February, a planned legal challenge to the legislation by the Countryside Alliance means it could be delayed for a year or more.
Mr Bowyer said even if a ban was imposed, the hunt would continue to meet and carry out "legal activities".
The event has met outside The Bell Inn, in the village, for more than 30 years, and has run across Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire for more than 300 years.
But Maxine Kaye, from Cambridgeshire Animal Rights, who was one of a handful of protestors at yesterday's hunt, said: "I think this will be the last hunt. They may be able to hold the ban up for a while but they are just playing for time."
In September, more than 100 members of the Fitzwilliam Hunt joined protesters on a march in London.
The ban was to be delayed until July 2006 because of opposition from the House of Lords, but the Government invoked the Parliament Act to push it through.
The Government has said it will not oppose the legal challenge by the Countryside Alliance.
HUSBAND and wife Roy and Margaret Griffin were among the large crowd which gathered for the Fitzwilliam Hunt, in Stilton, yesterday.
Mrs Griffin (58), from Wisbech, said: "I have got no problem with fox hunting at all and I hope the hunt goes on for many years."I think they will find ways round the ban and it will be held up in the courts for years."It is the first time I have been to the hunt and it is excellent. There are more people here than I expected. It is a part of history and I don't see why it should be banned."
