League Against Cruel Sports
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The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare organisation which campaigns against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and hare coursing. More recently, it has campaigned for regulation of greyhound racing and against commercial game shooting and trophy hunting.
The League was founded in 1924 by Henry Amos and Ernest Bell as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports. It is a membership based organisation whose corporate structure includes both a limited company and a charity (some of its party political campaigning would not be allowed under charity law).
The League supported the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, passed in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament, which make it illegal in Scotland to chase or deliberately kill a wild mammal with dogs and the Hunting Act 2004 which has similar effect in England and Wales.
The League is currently campaigning against commercial breeding of gamebirds for shooting, and against hunts that it believes are continuing to hunt wild mammals contrary to the 2004 ban. It also campaigns to extend hare coursing/fox hunting legislation from Scotland, England and Wales to Northern Ireland.
Amongst the League's supporters are many people who used to follow and take part in hunts. Indeed, the League has produced publications against fox hunting written by a Master of Fox Hounds and by a professional huntsman. On the other hand, in the period 1990 to 2001 a number of high profile members of the League Against Cruel Sports defected to the pro-hunting and "Middle Way" side of the argument, most notably former chief executive Jim Barrington, and former chief officer Graham Sirl (following his forced resignation).
See also
List of animal welfare and animal rights groupsExternal links
- [Official website]
- [Copy of publication by Clifford Pellow, former huntsman]
- [Horse & Hound: Anti turns pro: "Graham Sirl speaks out"]
- [Horse & Hound: Anti turns pro: "Miles Cooper"]
- ["Hunt Crimewatch" campaign to report illegal hunts]
- [Sale copy of publication by Robert Churchward, former Master of Fox Hounds]
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