Pro-hunt lobby is plotting to 'hijack' RSPCA

Mark Townsend
Sunday May 26, 2002
The Observer

Pro-hunt activists are trying to to 'hijack' the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the largest animal charity in the
world.

A group of candidates with close links to the fox-hunting fraternity have
been put forward as candidates for the society's ruling council. Senior
sources at the charity believe that the move is part of a strategy by the
pro-hunt lobby to overturn the society's opposition to hunting, which it
condemns as 'horrific'.

The society last week sent a warning to its 43,000 members along with their
election voting papers warning them to beware of impostors, the first time
in its 177-year history that it has resorted to such drastic action. The
letter, signed by council chairman Michael Tomlinson, says that the charity
is 'at risk of infiltration from people who may not have the best interests
of animal welfare and the RSPCA at heart', but it does not reveal their
identities.

The voting papers contain the details of 12 candidates, none of whom
declares an interest in fox-hunting. However, inquiries by The Observer
reveal that four of these candidates are keen pro-hunt supporters - one
belongs to a hunt. All are farmers and all joined the RSPCA in 1996.

Candidate Charles Llewellen Palmer, from Cheltenham, is supported by the
Cotswold Hunt - one of his signatories is the hunt secretary, Chris Adams.

Another pro-hunting candidate is Peter Fitzgerald from Wincanton, Somerset,
who, according to a man backing his election campaign - John Rawlins from
Dorset - is a member of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt.

Rawlins - who retired from the hunt last season - added: 'Peter believes in
the traditional values of welfare before there was any political
correctness. Hunting has become a more emotive issue. The RSPCA and the
hunting fraternity, who once shared the same agenda, are increasingly
drifting apart.'

Another candidate, Alexander Mason from Bibury in Gloucestershire, confessed
to being 'a pro-hunt supporter'.

Organic farmer Simon Tomlinson from Tetbury, Gloucestershire, is the final
pro-hunting representative seeking a seat on the council. He said foxes 'do
need controlling' and accused the society of 'hijacking' the issue to
broaden its public appeal. 'We feel their public stance has alienated the
rural community. We want to examine some of the measures within the RSPCA,'
he added.

A society source said this weekend that advocating hunting with hounds would
be 'unthinkable'. 'We have become extremely concerned they are attempting to
hijack us. How can fox-hunting not be considered cruel?'

The council has 25 members, with five positions coming up for re-election
each year. It is responsible for an annual income of about £66 million, of
which donations constitute about £18m.

RSPCA officials believe the pro-hunt lobby wants to pack the council until
they possess a ruling majority, a move that which could seriously undermine
the guidelines of the charity.

A society source added: 'We also believe it is no coincidence that a flurry
of pro-hunt supporters are attempting to get elected onto the council.'

Members cannot stand for election until they have held membership for five
years, which fuels suspicions that the 'hijack' has been carefully
orchestrated, with four hunt supporters joining during the same period in
1996.

Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said:
'Persons seeking election to a democratic charity like the RSPCA should make
it clear they support something that is entirely incompatible with the
values of the society.' He confirmed that the four candidates concerned were
known to the league as passionate hunt supporters.

The revelations arrive amid uncertainty over the future of hunting, with
pro-hunt campaigners saying jobs will be lost if it is banned. Such a ban
was overwhelmingly backed in a free vote of the House of Commons, but the
House of Lords voted for licensed hunts. The Government has yet to pick
which legislation to propose.