Endangered Exmoor

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <h1><font color="#400080" size="2" face="Arial">Endangered Exmoor</font></h1> <h1><font color="#400080" size="2" face="Arial"> ........... an organisation formed by local people to fight for a traditional way of life under threat on Exmoor; to protect the ancient red deer herds facing destruction, and to highlight the devastating consequences a ban on hunting with hounds would have on this unique rural community, at a time when hill farming is in crisis. Last spring the West Somerset District Council (WSDC) published a report on the "Economic, Social and Environmental Aspects of Hunting with Hounds in West Somerset and Exmoor". The primary object of the study was to "assess aspects of the local economy, society and the environment which are affected or influenced, directly or indirectly, by hunting with hounds". Most importantly, the study considered the possible effects that a ban on hunting would have on a unique rural community such as Exmoor, one already under threat with the dramatic decline in farming incomes over the past few years. The report concluded that "a ban on hunting with hounds would pose a severe challenge".</font></h1> <p><font color="#400080" size="3" face="Arial"><strong>Exmoor Works - Keep it working!</strong></font></p> <p> </p> <p align="left"><font color="#4B0082" size="4" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Introduction</strong></font><br> </p> <p align="left"><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">Dear Exmoor Visitor </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">Every year those of us who live and work here welcome you to our villages, and to our unique countryside with its rich traditions and heritage. Many of you will have seen that hunting is at the heart of Exmoor and our way of life. If hunting were banned the Exmoor you see now would change forever. </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">A ban would place our jobs and our community under threat. <b>Nearly 10% of the working population of Exmoor would lose their jobs!</b> The local economy would be devastated and our way of life here would vanish. </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">Last year the West Somerset District Council undertook an independent study which examined the full extent of the damage that a ban on hunting would have on the Exmoor economy. The results confimed what those of us who live here have always known. Our thriving community would be irretrievably broken. </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">A handful of animal rights activists, invariably outsiders, with foreign money and interests, have been conducting a well funded campaign of vilification in both the local and national media against us. They seek to make us criminals. They wish to destroy what makes Exmoor so special to so many people. So far they have had a free run. </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma">Now is the time for all who care about Exmoor to fight back. Those of us whose way of life is at stake have joined together to form <b>Endangered Exmoor</b>. </font></p> <p><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma"><b>Endangered Exmoor</b> will ensure that a wider audience learns the devastating facts about job losses and how a ban would ravage the whole fabric of our community. We are asking for your support so that those of us who live and work here can continue to preserve the Exmoor that you love. Thank you. </font></p> <p><font color="#000000" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma"><img src="images/jeanettesign.gif" width="276" height="49"><br clear="left"> </font><font color="#400080" size="2" face="arial, verdana, tahoma"><b>Livery Yard Manager and Hill Farmer's Wife <br clear="left"> Chairman, Endangered Exmoor</b></font></p> <p><b><font face="arial, verdana, tahoma" size="2" color="#400080"><a href="intro.htm">continue</a></font></b></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </body>