This comment piece from TV and radio broadcaster James Whale was published in The Express yesterday, in response to the ongoing and targeted abuse directed at Chris Packham by many within the hunting & shooting sector, encouraged by some of the industry’s large membership organisations.
Thanks to blog reader Keith Dancey for the link.
CHRIS Packham, whom I interviewed only the other day, is having to put up with some of the most disgusting behaviour. Opponents of the wildlife campaigner seem to think it is their right to threaten his home and his life, to tell him they are they going to kill him, to tell him his family is not safe.
This is the most revolting thing I have ever heard, I’m also furious with Facebook for not doing anything about some of the trolling that certain people get. I’m not talking about myself – I don’t care, I ignore them as they’re cretinous – but let’s think about it.
The people who are undertaking this mission to try to destroy Chris Packham are those who think he is trying to destroy what they call their fun, their hobby and maybe even their “tradition”. These are the people who think it is perfectly acceptable to go out and kill animals for the fun of it.
There are many such examples, from shooting birds to culling badgers for really no reason to Britain’s best known tradition – foxhunting. In my childhood and early life there was nothing more exciting than seeing the hunt gathering outside their local pub for a stirrup cup and then riding magnificently off into a sunny misty morning with the hounds baying.
But on reflection, when out in the field with the so-called terrier men digging the foxes from their lairs, the hounds running them to ground and literally ripping them limb from limb, it was pretty disgusting.
In past ages we used to enjoy dog fighting, cockfighting, bear baiting and various other forms of entertainment now considered disgusting.
When fox and stag hunting were legally banned, drag hunting, just using a lure for the dogs and hunters to follow, was introduced, but bloodsports fans want the laws repealed and find ways round them.
Tradition doesn’t last forever: we can talk about it, we can look back on it and I don’t want to see any pictures or statues of hunts destroyed. It is all part of our history. But those people who are prepared to carry on the pursuit of killing for fun have to be stopped. And so must their pastimes – if you can call them that.
ENDS
Raptor Persecution UK 
An excellent piece from James Whale – succinctly put!
It’s a societal issue I’m afraid. Politicians, ordinary people get this, even people on the NC500. I’m not down playing what has happened to Chris, not at all. I’ve had similar for 7 years starting with my photography business being destroyed and I lost a lot of money. I closed my business.
Priti Patel was talking about banning anonymous users and trying to stop this. This has to be the way forward for everyone. The new online order bill is a waste of paper, I’ve seen it. So something else has to be done.
It needs to be everyone to get some leverage for government to deal with social media. I have no idea how it can be done. I’ve tried with my stalkers but nothing, which makes me think it needs to be something bigger ie a petition to government regarding social media abuse with high ranking names signing.
I can’t do it as I will get a bad backlash. The only other thing you can do in the meantime, is put out Subject Access Requests to all estates and organisations you think might be involved. Of course, the first time, they say they don’t have anything. But as you can ask for emails, social media, you can say to ICO they are withholding or hiding and go on until the process is exhausted 28 days then 14 days then 7 days and they have to do it. It’s quite an eye opener. They don’t get fined but it brings it to ICO attention.
Eg I was trying to get information from nature.Scot and at some point was banned from their whole system, even the complaints department so I escalated to the Board. Turns out it was the Chair who, instead of talking to me, banned my email from the whole nature.Scot computer system. And some not so nice comments from Francesca – that was an eye opener too.
I don’t know if any of that helps
On Wed, 20 Oct 2021 at 09:44, Raptor Persecution UK wrote:
> RaptorPersecutionUK posted: ” This comment piece from TV and radio > broadcaster James Whale was published in The Express yesterday, in response > to the ongoing and targeted abuse directed at Chris Packham by many within > the hunting & shooting sector, encouraged by some of the indus” >
Nothing really to add to what James Whale has very eloquently written except to say the dark side can hardly claim he is a “woke left winger.” The appalling attacks on your good self and Chris Packham are surely an indication that (1) the dark side cannot counter his and our arguments and (2) we are winning and they know it. In their desperation all they do is show this to more and more people.
It’s great to see journalists commenting on the disgraceful attacks on Chris Packham (and now his family). However, I am starting to worry that articles by George Monbiot and now James Whale tend to major on the “loop holes” in fox hunting and countyside traditions in general. I’m sure Chris is as concerned as the rest of us that hunting with hounds has not really gone away but I wish the journalists would take the opportunity to inform the general public that there are many issues in this terrible situation we find ourselves in. Grouse Moor management impinges on all our lives and it’s not just about cruel wealthy people enjoying themselves, the financial disaster of annual flooding due to excessive drainage, carbon released from denatured peat and of course rotational heather burning needs to be in these articles. I’m sure that the attacks and threats on Chris and others comes from a wide base of support for hunting and shooting and no doubt persons concerned about their livelyhoods but can we have better informed journalism?
The most astonishing thing about James’ piece is that it was in the Daily Express. There is a definite shift in the right-wing media against the illegal attacks on our wildlife, which has to be a good thing. That it is now moving to highlight the abuses suffered by high-profile conservationists is a good thing. At least our politicians take notice of those media outlets.
You notice how they never have a go at Sir David Attenborough? They clearly think that Chris is an easier target.
The current laws do not go far enough. In my local area I am sick of finding dead foxes that have been shot and dumped in the woods. There is no excuse for killing foxes in my part of north Wiltshire: we aren’t protecting any ground-nesting birds that are in danger of extinction. All we have are a group of antediluvian bigots who don’t respect our wildlife or who are such poor fowl owners that they don’t provide them with proper housing and protection and blame foxes for their own incompetence.
Well done James and the Express. Maybe the tide is turning as today in the Mail there was an article about peregrines nests and others being robbed for falconers. The Mail is usually pro hunting and shooting so well done.
An excellent piece from Mr Whale in support of Chris Packham and his wildlife campaigning.
I can only endorse what he has written. And just hope, that eventually, our weak government will eventually do something about all the trolling and abuse traded out on social media.
Many thanks to the Daily Express for publishing it also. The more the media highlights this awful pervasive behaviour the better and brings it to the attention of the populace the better so that more will want it stopped and bring more weight to getting social media cleaned up.
Sadly most of the comments in the Express on the article were abusive, both to James Whale and Chris P.