In Defence of Liberty, Livelihoods and hunting within the Law.
by Charlie Pye-Smith
Real Lives, Real Voices challenges the lazy stereotype of hunters as an overwhelmingly wealthy, privileged elite enjoying an arcane tradition.
Public debates about hunting tend to be fractious, with a small number of people who represent the hunting community doing their best to counter what they see as the propaganda and misinformation peddled by animal rights activists.
Seldom are the people most closely involved in the practice of hunting – the huntsmen, the kennel staff, the farriers, the vets, the landowners and farmers, hunt followers from all walks of life – given much, if any, airtime.
One of the purposes of Real Lives, Real Voices is to ensure that politicians and decision-makers hear the voices of the people whose lives would be most acutely affected by a ban on trail hunting and the removal of exemptions which allow some limited forms of hunting to continue. A ban would have a dramatic and wholly negative impact on many rural communities, on small and medium-sized businesses, and on domestic animal welfare.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlie Pye-Smith
(© Clive Barda)
Charlie Pye-Smith has written about ecology, conservation, farming and development issues for a wide range of publications, including the Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times and the New Scientist. His books include Land of Plenty: a Journey through the Fields & Foods of Modern Britain and Rural Rites: Hunting and the Politics of Prejudice. His most recent book, Rural Wrongs: Hunting and the Unintended Consequences of Bad Law, explores the impact of the hunting bans in England, Wales and Scotland on wild animal welfare. It tells a shocking story: instead of making life better for the fox, brown hare and red deer, recent legislation has often made life worse. He has never hunted.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
The We Are Hunting project was established in 2024 in response to the Labour Party’s manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting. Its main purpose is to show the political leadership of this country that further legislation, designed to “tighten” the 2004 Hunting Act, could have a severe, negative impact on rural communities, small- and medium-sized businesses and domestic animal welfare.
We Are Hunting is giving a voice to the many tens of thousands of people who hunt within the law, as laid down by the 2004 Hunting Act, or work in businesses associated with hunting. At present, their views are largely ignored by politicians in Westminster.
We Are Hunting explores the true nature of the hunting population: real people with real jobs and real concerns. Most people who hunt, to use a phrase frequently used by PM Sir Keir Starmer, are “ordinary working people.”
The vast majority of politicians who are opposed to hunting get their information from animal rights groups and anti-hunting organisations who play fast and loose with the truth. We Are Hunting dispels some of the myths about hunting, and the people who hunt, and lays bare the facts.
The text for Rural Voices is taken from a book, Real Lives, Real Voices, which features some 30 profiles of people who hunt or are involved in businesses associated with hunting. The profiles are based on interviews conducted by Charlie Pye-Smith and Jim Barrington.
The We Are Hunting team consists of:
Christophe Gailly de Taurines Financial entrepreneur and member of the Warwickshire Hunt Supporters’ Club.
Charlie Pye-Smith Environmental writer and author of Rural Wrongs: Hunting and the Unintended Consequences of Bad Law.
Neil Kennedy Advertising executive and co-founder of the Countryside Alliance.
Nico Morgan Equestrian photographer and videographer.
Jim Barrington Animal welfare adviser to the Countryside Alliance.
We Are Hunting has received the endorsement of the Countryside Alliance and the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA). Anyone who wishes to use the information we provide is welcome to do so providing they acknowledge the source.
