A petition to immediately stop any form of hunting on Riverford owned land and stop sponsoring the South Devon Hunt.
Why is this important?
Riverford Organic Farms Ltd prides itself publicly on its ethics and its high animal welfare standards – a major reason why consumers, across the UK, support it. But away from the public’s eyes, Riverford has, in fact, been actively allowing fox hunting on its lands, and worse still, the cruel atrocity that is illegal cub-hunting. In the early hours of Wednesday the 1st October a fox hunt was spotted on Riverford land, consisting of a large number of hounds of differing colours, which stayed on Riverford land for many hours. They were not the South Devon Hunt whose hounds are sandy coloured and who all look the same. The fact they were hunting a full month before the official start of the fox hunting season suggests they were out ‘cubbing.’ This particularly cruel and sadistic practice involves hunters going after newborn fox cubs, literally digging them out of their holes with spades, with the desperate vixen completely unable to protect her young. The cubs are then ripped apart and mutilated by a pack of hounds; the hunters using this horrible ‘opportunity’ with vulnerable animals to teach their younger hounds how to kill.
Those dogs who don’t immediately show enthusiasm for mutilating their fellow beings are shot as “useless” to the hunt. Riverford has, additionally, been actively sponsoring the cruel South Devon Hunt. Riverford customers pay a premium for their vegetables and consumables because they are humane, conscious people who are trying in their own, personal way to live more ethically and sustainably. This betrayal abuses both animal and customer. In a democratic society the very notion of selectively policing the laws of the land is dangerous and unacceptable. Riverford is fully aware that it is engaging with an illegal and unethical activity, (and that it has been doing so for many years, in secret.)
This petition asks that customers demand answers, transparency – and change – from Riverford, and refrain from supporting Riverford further, while it remains connected to cruel and illegal blood ‘sports.’ We do not wish to be complicit. And it is high time Riverford lived up to its own ethical spin. For more information on the terrible realities of cub hunting, see: What is Cub Hunting? – League Against Cruel Sports see: https://www.league.org.uk/our-campaigns/hunting/what-is-cub-hunting
Ama Menec
