Celebrities
rally to overturn National Trust's hunting ban, Rob Evans, The
Guardian, Tuesday September 4, 2001
Pro-hunting supporters, including philosopher Roger Scruton and
TV cook Clarissa Dickson-Wright, have launched an attempt to
overturn the National Trust's ban on stag hunting on its land.
They are standing for election to the ruling council of the
National Trust, which has a membership of more than 2m and is one
of the largest land-owners in Britain. Hunting supporters are
putting up six candidates, including Norfolk landowner Hugh Van
Cutsem, who is a friend of the Prince of Wales, rightwing
philosopher Roger Scruton, Robin Page, former presenter of the TV
programme One Man and His Dog, as well as Clarissa
Dickson-Wright, known for her Two Fat Ladies show.
The slate to fill nine vacancies on the charity's council is being promoted by the Friends of the National Trust group, set up in 1998 to reverse the ban. Charles Collins, its co-ordinator, said his group had recruited well known candidates, since only a small proportion of National Trust members would probably vote and they were more likely to choose people they had heard of. Last year, the group put up three candidates in the elections. But anti-hunting groups have accused the Friends of the National Trust of deliberate deception by omitting to declare their support for hunting in their manifestos, which are being circulated to National Trust members. The accusation was denied yesterday by the friends who said other candidates did not state their stance on hunting.
Ben Stewart, spokesman for the anti-hunting International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: "The hunting wing of the British establishment has never come to terms with the National Trust ban. They are desperate to overturn it, and the recruitment of celebrity candidates, together with their collective failure to mention hunting in their campaigns, is the tactic they've chosen to adopt. It's a disingenuous attempt to hoodwink decent trust members."
The results of the election will be announced at the trust's annual meeting on October 27.
The trust banned hunting in 1997 after a scientific report concluded that deer suffered great distress and agony while being chased by mounted hunters with dogs.