A KEEN fieldsports man who has been visiting the Bolton Abbey Estate for 35 years, has defended the shooting fraternity after a runner on the moor came across a dead cat and fox near snares and what appeared to be a ‘stink pit’ on the estate.

The runner informed the police who are investigating.

Simon Grace, from Guiseley, says he doubted very much a gamekeeper on the estate would do this and says anti-fieldsports campaigners have been known to resort to ‘photo-shopped images’ and ‘made-up stories’ and says he doubted the authenticity of the picture of the cat and fox.

However, anti-bloodsports campaigners have called his accusations ‘pathetic’ and say the use of snares to trap animals is cruel and should be made illegal.

Mr Grace said: “The gamekeepers I know and have known from Bolton Abbey and other estates have all been honest hard working family men who not only work hard to manage beautiful landscapes and environments but also provide a habitat that supports game birds for shooting as well as many other birds and raptors.

“When I saw the report my thoughts were:’who in their right mind, a gamekeeper working on such a prestigious estate especially, would put a dead fox and a dead cat in a place where a member of the public would come across it?’

Anti-fieldsports activists groups are active in the Dales on a regular basis and they will do anything and I mean anything to stop grouse shooting and other forms of game shooting.

“Dirty tricks, stalking and filming gamekeepers and their families going about their daily business, fake Photoshopped photography, made up stories with no evidence to back them up, lies and twisted distortions. Any tool they have in their box they will use it.

“The wonderful scenery at Bolton Abbey as well as many other shooting estates that we all see and enjoy hasn’t happened by accident.

“It’s there for everyone to enjoy because the estate owners and gamekeepers carefully manage it to its full potential to provide habitats for many birds and wild animals.

“The birds that thrive on grouse moors are all or in the main ground nesting so they are vulnerable to predation from foxes, stoats, weasels, so as a balance the animals that predate on these birds have to be managed. That includes the use of various types of traps. If you had rats or squirrels in your house or in your garden and they were not only a nuisance to you but also predated on the chicks of your garden birds then I’m certain you would want them removed or at least reduced in numbers so a balance of different types of wildlife could be achieved. Well, this is exactly what happens on shooting estates such as Bolton Abbey but obviously on a larger scale.

“Our feline friends are killing billions of birds every year and, if feral, kill as much as a fox.

“People need to realise what it takes to keep the balance in our British countryside instead of pointing the finger at gamekeepers every time an incident occurs.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with shooting gamebirds. In fact its morally the right thing to do. If you eat meat you either go out and shoot it yourself as we as fieldsports men and women do or you go and buy it from the supermarket or butcher and buy meat that someone else has killed for you. In comparison what would you rather eat - a wild, organic, fat-free, healthy, free to roam red grouse, pheasant or a piece of venison fillet, or a chicken that’s never seen the light of day in its six short weeks of life or a intensively reared piece of pork?

“If some thought was actually put into this and other subjects raised around fieldsports, game shooting in this case they would realise that it’s a good thing for the countryside, for jobs, for the environment, for rural communities, for wild organic seasonal food and for mental health and exercise.

Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said:“These claims are a pathetic attempt to cover up the activities of shooting gamekeepers who use snares to kill any wildlife that has the misfortune to step into them. This could be a fox, but it could also be a badger or a hare. Or someone’s dog or in this case a cat.

“The victims of snares will suffocate or suffer horrible injuries in their struggle to escape. The manufacture, importing, sale and use of snares should be made illegal to end the suffering of the huge number of animals caught in them every year.

“Snares are cruel, indiscriminate and deadly and their use should no longer be allowed. The cruelty shown by the shooting industry is becoming increasingly apparent and is a blight on their reputation and the countryside.”