ANIMAL WELFARE INFORMATION SERVICE NEWS BULLETIN 29

November 2009


We are in business to spread animal welfare information far and wide and I have been hard at work at this recently. I have sent out two e-mail circulars to supporters with whom we are in Internet contact and we are looking to greatly boost our supporter base on the Internet. If you have Internet access and have not already sent us an e-mail please do so. Our most recent e-mail circular promoted some excellent books that we can offer for sale written by Joe Hashman, a well known supporter of ours. Here are the details:-


WILDLIFE FRIENDLY GARDENING BOOKS BY ACIG SUPPORTER
Joe Hashman has for many years supported the work of the ACIG and for even more years he has consistently put himself in harms way in the animal welfare cause. Time and again, often in the face of extreme threats, he has been in the right place at the right time to gather the video proof of the cruelty inflicted on our wildlife by the bloodsports brigade. He recently gave evidence in court in the successful prosecution of two notorious hare coursers. As well as being a passionate and determined campaigner and an all round decent bloke he is also a celebrated author of wildlife friendly gardening books. With his latest book just published he now has three books to his name. The ACIG has these books for sale to raise funds for our work. We offer them for sale at the published price plus the cost of postage and packing. I know that you will find them cheaper on the Internet but when you buy them from us the profits will go to support our work and you will have the benefit and delight of having a copy signed by the author!!! To order please complete the relevant part on the enclosed supporter form and indicate how you would like your book(s) signed: personally (to a named person) or generally. All three books are paperbacks:-

How to Grow Your Own Food
A week-by-week guide to wild life friendly fruit and vegetable gardening by Dirty Nails
In a compilation of his weekly columns written for the Blackmore Vale Magazine, Dirty Nails takes you outdoors and 'in amongst it' on the vegetable plot where seeds are sown, plants nurtured, fruits tended and crops harvested. The natural history of the garden is noted, too, and delicious and often unusual recipes supplied. With his guidance - and your gardening - your kitchen garden, vegetable patch or allotment will provide you with the good, fresh, honest and seasonal fruit and vegetables that Dirty Nails has a passion for. And he will also help you sustain the natural balance of your garden.
Employing his own simple, tried, and tested methods Dirty Nails takes the reader week-by-week through the vegetable and fruit growing year. The natural arts of kitchen and allotment gardening are brought to vigorous life - the thrills, spills, triumphs and tribulations made accessible to all-comers, whatever their level of gardening expertise.
First published 2007
Price £10.99 plus £2 postage and packing

A Vegetable Gardener's Year
A practical & personal journey through changing seasons on a Dorset allotment by Dirty Nails
This book is for vegetable gardeners and nature-lovers everywhere. It is a grow your own' manual, a recipe book, and a store of fascinating observations about wildlife in the garden. The author writes a deeply personal account of the changing year based on his first-hand experience and a real affection for his subjects and locality.
Journeying week-by-week through the vegetable and fruit growing calendar, this mix of practical advice, humour and information on and around the plot will satisfy armchair gardeners and full-on nature enthusiasts alike.
Thought provoking, inspiring - occasionally challenging - this is a book that can be taken to bed as an end-of-day muse; or get dog-eared and dirty as an essential aid to cultivating and cooking home-grown food.
First published 2008
Price £12.99 plus £2 postage and packing
On the Plot with 'Dirty Nails'
A practical guide to fruit and vegetable gardening - in words and pictures by Joe Hashman
If you have ever dreamed about growing and cooking your own food, living the good life and getting close to nature, then this is the book for you! Gardening and natural history enthusiast Joe Hashman (alias 'Dirty Nails' of the Blackmore Vale Magazine) serves up another absorbing helping of practical tips, advice, observations and recipes from his vegetable plot and kitchen.
In this week-by-week account of the fruit and vegetable gardener's year, you are invited to join Joe on the plot and get stuck in to the important jobs of the day.
The finer points of crop husbandry are beautifully and clearly presented using simple step-by-step colour photographs. With poetic licence in his writing, the author takes readers on a wonderful journey of discovery through the changing seasons. A wealth of easy to follow but unusual recipes will keep the chef in you busy and satisfied too!
First published 2009
Price £12.99 plus £2 postage and packing


AWIS INFORMS

We are always delighted to help students around the world with animal welfare information. Since our last bulletin this has ranged from responding to an enquiry from a Canadian University about the problems involved in stetting up an animal rights group; supplying a film company with images of animal cruelty and sending some of our “Hunting is 100% Cruel” posters to a UK student that were needed for an art project to raise awareness of animal cruelty.

AWIS TALKS

On Saturday September 5th I spoke at an Animal Rights Gathering at Jonkoping, Sweden about campaigning ideas, investigation techniques and equipment. It was a great opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow activists from across Europe. It was lovely to meet such a dedicated and enthusiastic group of compassionate people. And it was my first visit to Sweden, a beautiful country. On Wednesday November 25th I gave a talk about campaigning work for animals over the last 38 years to the regular meeting of London Vegans at the Millman Street Community Rooms near Holborn, London.


LEGACIES

For anyone considering remembering the vital informative work of the AWIS in their will I respectfully suggest using the following form of bequest:

I bequeath unto the Animal Welfare Information Service of P.O. Box 8, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 0JL, the sum of .............................. free of tax and I direct that the receipt of an authorised officer of the group shall be a good and sufficient discharge of such legacy.”


The coming months will be crucial times for animal welfare. The bloodsports brigade are organising their army to try and secure the election of MPs sympathetic to their cruel pastimes. The problems with enforcement of the Hunting Act are well known but could be rectified by the closing of some loopholes. But repealing the Act and allowing a full blown return to bloodsports would be a disaster for our wildlife. It would also be a disaster for all animals as these hunting fanatics seek the election of MPs on the basis of one criteria only: that they support the killing of animals just for fun. If animals can be killed for mere entertainment they can be killed for any reason. It doesn't matter whether the candidate is left or right, what their views are about the NHS; Education; Foreign Policy or care of the elderly. Just so long as they are supportive of animals being hunted and killed with dogs then the hunters will support them. In the past actions by hunt supporters have included violent attacks on compassionate politicians and their property and rampant intimidation. We are non-political and will not endorse any particular candidates but I believe that political change offers the only real long term hope for animals and accordingly I urge supporters to get involved in the political process and stand up for and support compassionate MPs. There is not long now. By the time of our next bulletin, written in May 2010, it will all be over! In the meantime have a really good Christmas and New Year. Mike Huskisson. November 2010


A.W.I.S., PO BOX 8, HALESWORTH, SUFFOLK. IP19 0JL