Yesterday I wrote a blog that drew attention to the UK Government’s Environment Food Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee’s inquiry into rural mental health and its call for evidence (here).
It didn’t seem to me to be controversial in any way, it was just simply highlighting the committee’s call for evidence and encouraging people to participate in what I described as a ‘timely inquiry’.
Apparently though, this makes me a ‘harridan’, wanting you ‘arguably unhinged’ blog supporters to ‘subvert’ a Government enquiry, according to a gentleman called Steve Grant who just happens to be the assistant editor of the Countryman’s Weekly magazine.
Here’s what he wrote on twitter yesterday:
The irony of this latest (in a long line) of online abuse from Mr Grant isn’t lost on me. Really I should thank him for providing even more evidence for the committee to ponder, which demonstrates that the problem of rural mental health is an issue that really does need to be addressed, and especially when that abuse, so clearly designed to damage the recipient’s mental well-being, is being propagated by the assistant editor of a national magazine.
You have to wonder what motivates a middle-aged man to spend his evenings abusing women online with 17th century insults? I could speculate, but I won’t.
Many thanks to Alister Clunas for calling him out.
For those of you who wish to submit evidence to the Environment Food Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee’s inquiry into rural mental health, please visit here and remember the deadline for doing this is this Friday (21st January 2022).
Raptor Persecution UK 
“harridan”? Blimey, I had to look that one up. Crikey
“Mr” Grant providing ample reason to avoid his pro wildlife killing rag like the plague. It also demonstrates quite clearly he has a blinkered view of a host of “countryside” matters, anger management and attitude to women issues perhaps he should seek professional help.
He has insulted me !!!! nasty person
Clearly he’s more than a little unhinged and in need of some psychotherapy himself. What a nasty little fool.
It should probably come as no surprise that a person who clearly approves of killing wildlife for pleasure , uses such violent language. Reading his comment actually he sounds a little crazy though and likely needs help.
Every year I have to call out the police and send mail to councillors
regarding pheasant shooters. Dogs in garden- pheasant carcasses and
blocking of access to property.
Not just me but most in the
village. It impacts considerably on people’s lives
I’d say he was unhinged but he’s telling that story for himself.
I suppose he’s unwittingly contributed valuable evidence to the Efra committee. The language – and in the case of the torched car outside Chris Packham’s house the actions – of the Field Sports lobby are increasingly aggresive, designed to frighten and intimidate. I purposefully haven’t said ‘some people’ because just as I don’t believe in the ‘rotten apple’ there are influential people in shooting who should be speaking out against this sort of thing but to date I have seen just one – David Tomlinson whose 2022 wishes are for shooting to stop killing raptors and stop using lead. No doubt he’ll be getting the same sort of abuse. And for good measure Steve throws in some sexism – another topic the committee would do well to have a look at. In the meantime, Ruth, I’m proud to be an arguably unhinged supporter – keep up the good work.
I hope that he is now on the way to recovery, such symptoms are hard to treat. I hope that the authorities and his employers show an appropriate degree of understanding.
Mr Grant, as one of RPUK’s supporters I would just like to tell you that I am far from being unhinged. I do not kill wildlife for sport and indeed I do not kill anything on purpose. Those who get a ‘kick’ out of killing wildlife for so called sport are more worthy of your chosen adjective.
The sad thing is the bloke has the ability to write decent articles across several topics eg. cars, military, etc (I’ve read a couple down the years). But what he tweeted there just sounds horrible and was both barrels in his own foot. I think the Shooting Times & Countrymans Weekly type magazines are caught in a trap not knowing what to do. The grassroots of ‘working man fieldsports’ are seeing that it is all going downhill rapidly and they are willing their pro-fieldsports media to stand up and ‘fight’ a bit more. Hence the popularity of the SGA. But the ignorant hard-man pose without any reasoned argument is no match for the factually solid, verifiable and diligently researched articles on this blog.
If your diet includes eating lead shot then you end up writing nasty articles like Steve Grant has just done. Poor soul can’t help it…….
They (the shooters) remind me of Bertie Wooster’s Aunts
“bellowing at each other across the primeval swamp.”
A fine example of ‘they know they’re losing so … attack’. Maybe Mr Grant should be seeking medical advice. And you’ve earned WildJustice another little donation Mr Grant!!
I am so sorry Ruth, I find this situation extremely worrying. If you are abused and/or slandered by a publication it is a civil matter; requiring the individual to employ and pay for a solicitor. Or you can say the person doing it must be unhinged in some way. The consolation or measure of success is that your work continues to rattle cages amongst the various organisations in Country Alliance. Thank you.
“You have to wonder what motivates a middle-aged man to spend his evenings abusing women online with 17th century insults?”
Well, I suppose it makes a change from abusing himself!
That’s a lot of projection from Steve, who seems to think that any challenge to a completely broken status quo makes you ‘unhinged’. The shooting community is absolutely full of these bigoted, outdated attitudes, which are on full display on social media every day. Perhaps Steve is just frustrated because all of the scientific evidence, and the public’s increasing awareness, points toward banning the grubby little hobbies he indulges in for ‘fun’.
This Steve Grant clearly does need some help. So people that are against beautiful raptors being blasted out of the sky by morons with guns are unhinged.
If it were the 17 century he would have been more guarded with his views, because I for one would have been insulted and challenged him to a duel!
Proud to be called ‘unhinged’ by the likes of him. Stay strong, Ruth – you have loads of balanced, thoughtful and knowledgeable people who think very highly of you and greatly value the work that you do.
Don’t let the b******s grind you down.
Stay strong Ruth. Have you considered sending this to his employer as an indication of his (un)fitness to be editing anything for public release?
When people resort to abuse it just demonstrates that you’re in the right. Keep on doing the right thing !
Assistant editor not knowing the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’ let alone punctuation speaks volumes.
What is very concerning is that these sort of social media comments are sometimes taken so literally by some social media followers, that the comments have the possibility to incite hatred and anger in some very “unhinged” people.
There is then the possibility that these “unhinged” individuals go onto commit crimes or other deplorable acts against the target of their “gurus” social media outbursts.
We are all entitled to disagree with another persons point of view, but that disagreement shouldn’t degenerate into personal abuse, especially when it is published on a social media site, and the author has no control over the audience. Personal abuse usually speaks more about the abuser than the victim.
TA, who posted the last twitter reply to Mr Grant, appears to be seeing double (at least) in stating ‘The Women’s a nutter’.
Thanks very much for your backing, you ‘arguably unhinged’ supporters. Much appreciated.
It is clearly unpleasant to be on the receiving end of this kind of bile from the likes of Mr Grant (and I appreciate that this is not an isolated example). I hope you can at least take some comfort and pride from the fact that he is posting it because you have been and are effectively campaigning against the various abuses that are carried out much too often in the name of his ‘sport’.