Help stop this vile activity (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Thank you for bringing a spotlight to this...it's an appalling,brutal game these sadists are playing.

And why would someone who lives in London write a letter to a local newspaper 225 miles away about an issue like badger baiting ??? Please could you find me a link to this story then I can read it for myself before making any presumptious comments ....thank you.

Dear Goz,
I would respectfully point out that the horse-drawn stagecoach, the post horn and even Stephenson's 'Rocket' have been replaced by cars, motorways and very fast railways.
People from Blackburn have been known to undertake the hazardous pastime known as 'travel'.
Some have even settled as far away as 225 miles. I hear they have even moved to, dare I say it, foreign parts (Yorkshire).
The lure of Holland's pies is not what it was and you can't get a piece of nice tripe for love nor money!
Apart from all that, the disgust we all feel for badger baiting transcends geography.

brok wrote:
Dear Goz,
I would respectfully point out that the horse-drawn stagecoach, the post horn and even Stephenson's 'Rocket' have been replaced by cars, motorways and very fast railways.
People from Blackburn have been known to undertake the hazardous pastime known as 'travel'.
Some have even settled as far away as 225 miles. I hear they have even moved to, dare I say it, foreign parts (Yorkshire).
The lure of Holland's pies is not what it was and you can't get a piece of nice tripe for love nor money!
Apart from all that, the disgust we all feel for badger baiting transcends geography.

Dear Brok .. how do you know that the letter writer actually has some connection with this geographical area ?? What if they haven't ?? Do you not think I understand travel and motor vehicles ?? Does it say anywhere in my post that I condone Badger baiting ?? You take the moral high ground with your condescending post and you know nothing of me whatsoever. I on the other hand have full respect for your views on badger baiting and anything else you have opinions on, and feel no need to try to demean you to make myself look clever and like i'm winning. I do not condone Badger Baiting either !!! I merely wish to see the published story in it's entirety before I pass comment. The writer of this letter states that in recent weeks 'WE' have read about badger baiting in the Lancashire countryside....well i haven't !!And I would like to see the article to which they are referring before I make further comment. Just imagine if I wrote a letter in from Blackburn to the London evening newspapers saying 'we have all read recently about men with grey beards hanging around schools grooming children' !!! wouldn't you want to read the article also ?? or would you take it at face value and think ''oh well..goz from Blackburn wrote it from 225 miles away so it must be correct''. The disgust I feel towards people telling lies also transcends geography and until I see the report referred to, as far as I'm concerned it's lies and rumours co-ordinated by anti-hunt protestors like the LACS.

Dear Goz,
Perhaps the expression 'tongue in cheek' has passed you by. If you have taken offence, non was intended.
To read the article: Try The Citizen 10th January 2012 or go tohttp://www.lancash
irebadgergroup.org.u
k/about_us/prosecuti
ons.html for further details.

However, having said that, you are right to be circumspect about anything you read and it would be a good thing if more of us were.
My original reply to your post was inspired by the apparent parochialism of your comment; hence what I hoped was a jocular (obviously failed miserably) response.
Does the original writer need to have a connection with Blackburn, when badger baiting is happening all over the country?
The writer read an article that (coincidently) originated in a Blackburn newspaper and responded to it.
Your last sentence explains a lot, thank you.
I live in the heart of an area where the unspeakable were often observed in pursuit of the uneatable. However, I would not ever equate these people with badger cruelty.

http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/blackburn/9462688.
East_Lancashire__lam
pers__in_latest_craz
e

Here's one.

And bizarrely...if you look at any local newspaper website anyone ,anywhere can comment.

And I have no idea what LACS is but I think it tells more about your agenda than anyone else's that you jump to a 'conspiracy' notion...don't misunderstand me before you write an accusatory response.
I have no agenda,I just don't like badger baiting.

Heretical wrote:
http://www.lancashir

etelegraph.co.uk/new

s/blackburn/9462688.

East_Lancashire__lam

pers__in_latest_craz

e

Here's one.

And bizarrely...if you look at any local newspaper website anyone ,anywhere can comment.

And I have no idea what LACS is but I think it tells more about your agenda than anyone else's that you jump to a 'conspiracy' notion...don't misunderstand me before you write an accusatory response.
I have no agenda,I just don't like badger baiting.

I never wrote anything in response to what you said heretical, my first post was aimed at 1. the writer of the letter W.Wright four paws, london and 2. the LT for continually reporting this nonsense without providing any firm evidence whatsoever. Remember the Cat Coursing on Morecambe sands story ??? My response was the same then...please provide evidence that hunters with lurcher dogs are stealing cats to course them and if it's such a popular pastime why have the police never made any arrests or issued any cautions which they haven't.
I have been out hunting for many years and whilst i agree there probably are a few dingbats about that try their hand at Baiting I would say it's dead and buried where it should stay. It certainly is NOT making a comeback !! I wouldn't believe everything you read in a newspaper or on a website and rememeber when Baiting was popular it took undercover reporters years to infiltrate those mainly responsible for it, so it's not exactly something you would do in broad daylight in the middle of a public right of way.

brok wrote:
Dear Goz,
Perhaps the expression 'tongue in cheek' has passed you by. If you have taken offence, non was intended.
To read the article: Try The Citizen 10th January 2012 or go tohttp://www.lancash

irebadgergroup.org.u

k/about_us/prosecuti

ons.html for further details.

However, having said that, you are right to be circumspect about anything you read and it would be a good thing if more of us were.
My original reply to your post was inspired by the apparent parochialism of your comment; hence what I hoped was a jocular (obviously failed miserably) response.
Does the original writer need to have a connection with Blackburn, when badger baiting is happening all over the country?
The writer read an article that (coincidently) originated in a Blackburn newspaper and responded to it.
Your last sentence explains a lot, thank you.
I live in the heart of an area where the unspeakable were often observed in pursuit of the uneatable. However, I would not ever equate these people with badger cruelty.

Apologies then Brok, my mistake I'm used to being attacked you see for my backward 16th century views and for my flat cap,whippet and black pudding sandwiches when am out rabbiting.

Remember:
Most badger baiters and badger diggers have extensive criminal records - often for violence against people and animals.

I have just copied and pasted that from the site you pointed me to Brok, shaking my head in disgust at such a low down punch.
Someone should tell that to a friend of mine who whilst out training a pup one sunday morning was threatened by two men with hammers from the local badger group because he dared walk within 100 metres of where there was a sett.

Dear Goz,
No need to apologise for an honestly held opinion. I'm a great fan of Voltaire's 'defend to the death his right to say it'.
We often take the step of referring to people as 'animals' when they do anything that offends our sense of dignity or 'right'. In doing so, we insult the animals.
Your friend's horrific experience, and your pointing it out should, at the very least, illustrate the depravity of badger baiting.
(But I still don't agree with hunting!!!)

Hi..sorry if I've aggravated anyone...I think this is the actual article the writer of the original letter is referring to.Incidentally I think he is 'fake' but it would have helped if he/she had referenced what they were talking about.

http://www.dailymail
.co.uk/news/article-
2084794/Judge-condem
ns-badger-baiters-la
ughed-dogs-ripped-

Hi Heretical,

Will Wright

Four Paws UK
32-36 Loman Street
London
SE1 OEH
I think this could be your man
Four paws appears to be an international animal charity. I have emailed him to see whether he will give more detail of their work.

I was aware of the incident of badger baiting which Will Wright refers to, as articles about it have appeared in both local and national newspapers. There have also recently been other reports concerning apparent badger baiting in Stubbins, Lancashire (The Citizen, 10.1.12) which Goz appears to have commented on at the time. Judging by their website, Four Paws seems to be a legitimate charity working for animal welfare and I don't see why one of their representatives shouldn't contact a newspaper outside their area if they feel it would help to raise public awareness about the cruelty some people choose to inflict on innocent animals for their own distorted pleasure.

brok wrote:
Dear Goz,
No need to apologise for an honestly held opinion. I'm a great fan of Voltaire's 'defend to the death his right to say it'.
We often take the step of referring to people as 'animals' when they do anything that offends our sense of dignity or 'right'. In doing so, we insult the animals.
Your friend's horrific experience, and your pointing it out should, at the very least, illustrate the depravity of badger baiting.
(But I still don't agree with hunting!!!)

Hi Brok, I think you misunderstand what I've said.....My friend was out one morning training his pup, he passed about 100 metres from a local well known badger sett which is on council land,with a footpath which runs within 20 metres of the sett. It was at the almost 100 metre point when two men with hammers who belong to the local Badger watch group began to threaten him for being so close to the sett and accused him of baiting with a 16 week old pup.
I don't and can't understand why it's necessary to try to tar everyone who hunts with the same brush, why write ''most badger baiters have extensive criminal records often for violence against people and animals''.......that is clearly an inflammatory statement and one which I would think is more than likely guesswork, would it be fair to imply that anyone who prefers to take the anti hunt stance is a paedophile who abuses children and animals...I think not !!

Molly M wrote:
I was aware of the incident of badger baiting which Will Wright refers to, as articles about it have appeared in both local and national newspapers. There have also recently been other reports concerning apparent badger baiting in Stubbins, Lancashire (The Citizen, 10.1.12) which Goz appears to have commented on at the time. Judging by their website, Four Paws seems to be a legitimate charity working for animal welfare and I don't see why one of their representatives shouldn't contact a newspaper outside their area if they feel it would help to raise public awareness about the cruelty some people choose to inflict on innocent animals for their own distorted pleasure.

Hello Molly, late contributor to this but thanks for replying. I have made numerous comments on this website about baiting, hunting, poaching, etc etc and I have never been anything but courteous and honest. This is the first time I can remember anyone (Brok and heretical) actually replying without trying to imply that I am either a bloodthirsty danger to human life, pond life, utter scum....I've heard it all hence the zzzzzzz comments I made on the stubbins post. Even in your own post your last line implies that hunters take 'distorted pleasure' from killing animals, yet I could introduce you personally to hundreds of hunters, professional people solicitor's, businessmen, even one man who is a former SAS soldier who take no pleasure from killing, but wish to see it done quickly and humanely as possible. We aren't all trawling around the countryside as seems to be implied by many newspapers recently, poaching deer, baiting badgers, coursing cats, stealing farm machinery, doing deliberate damage and hare coursing. So for the message to be put out that anyone with a lamp and a dog after dark is doing something illegal and immoral is waaaay off the mark. I sincerely hope that as many people as possible call the police everytime they see someone with a lamp or torch, so that eventually if/when the police turn up and find someone on land lamping rabbits legally with permission the police will soon start ignoring the calls..like I put in my above post, anyone seriously into baiting badgers or any other animals would not advertise the fact so deliberately as to take a spade and lamp in the dark, when we all know the badgers will more than likely be out anyway. Baiting is digging to the badger, catching it, bagging it and then entering it to terriers or other dogs, and the best time to dig a badger would be first light, when most people are still asleep. That in a nutshell is why i disbelieve a lot of the articles because they're riddled with inconsistency and a lot of the time, factually incorrect, as any hunter would quickly realise.