LACS Parliament Rally Falls Flat as Crowds Stay Away
Billed as a watershed moment, a rally that would shift the anti-trail hunting debate and energise the movement, the Leage Against Cruel Sports' (LACS) rally outside Parliament on Saturday 9 May was something of a damp squib, defined by minimal attendees and somewhat baffling speeches.
It was just the latest in a long string of such gatherings, but LACS treated this one as different. The charity spent weeks building anticipation across social media, promoting the event as the moment supporters could finally "put an end to this barbarism."
What it had not anticipated, it seems, was the public's apathy. Organisers put turnout at around 300, but a direct count of those present by BTM's source puts numbers at around a third fewer, with large portions of the square standing empty as speaker after speaker took the microphone. For a campaign that claims broad public support and substantial parliamentary backing, this was puzzling.
The familiar roster of headline names were there at least. BBC’s Chris Packham (previously caught sabbing with a convicted bomb maker), his stepdaughter Megan McCubbin, and Nigel Palmer of the Badger Trust all appeared. So did Peter Egan: an actor (you might recognise him from a very brief appearance in Downton Abbey) and hunting critic.
A platform was of course granted to sabs. The speakers thanked those who turned out in the field on trail hunting days and commended their continued activity and physical efforts. What was of course not mentioned was the sab activity that has resulted in a long record of police-attended incidents, formal complaints from landowners and members of the public on rights of way, and successful prosecutions, including for the assault of elderly hunt supporters.
No sitting MP appeared on the speakers’ platform, despite the League’s stated position that parliamentary support for a trail hunting ban is now substantial.
But who needs MPs when you have actor and extremely vocal animal rights advocate Egan? Trail hunters, he told the assembled crowd, were “narcissistic psychopaths.” They were, in his estimation, comparable to “serial killers” whose singular ambition is to “destroy.” Ludicrous and laughable as this ridiculous hyperbole is, rooted in absolutely no facts, figures or evidence, it also masks a very serious and grim reality: that LACS is a charity that is in total turmoil, having been previously led by a now-disgraced MP, Dan Norris, who has been arrested twice on suspicion of a string of sexual offences, including rape, sexual assault, and voyeurism.
And that’s not the end to the League’s recent troubles. The charity has previously been investigated by the police for fraud allegations made by its former CEO, Andy Knott. Knott also described LACS as an “empty vessel of the Labour party” – something totally inappropriate as a charity that is bound by law to be apolitical in its dealings.
Stunts like the rally outside Parliament might be a way of LACS trying to paper over the cracks of these issues, but it’s far from convincing.
