Following Rutland County Council's approval of The Cottesmore Hunt's request, both The Stamford Mercury (http://tinyurl.com/zqaeryr) & The Rutland Times (http://tinyurl.com/gw83bot) have reported on the subject. The articles are identical and were both published at 11:00 on 14/10/2016 so our thoughts apply equally to both. - Whilst it is positive that the refusal of The Cottesmore Hunt's request to Oakham Town Council in 2015 was mentioned, it is disappointing that the reasons were not stated. At the meeting in question, numerous councillors raised animal cruelty & wildlife crime as an issue for both themselves & members of the public. For reference, the video of Oakham Town Council's discussion is here: http://tinyurl.com/odonv8a - 'Raising money for good causes' is not the main purpose of The Cottesmore Hunt (the clue is in the name), who, as one of the oldest fox hunts in the UK, have been slaughtering animals for sport for many decades, and they continue to do so today. If Rutland County Council wish to support charitable activity, they could simply do so without this barbarity & the subsequent controversy as the middle man. - Our petition was not started 'late last week' but immediately after Rutland County Council approved The Cottesmore Hunt's request in 2015. - We are of course intending to present our concerns to the Council but outside of their rules for Council discussions we are free to campaign in any legal & peaceful way we see fit. - The Boxing Day hunt may well be a tradition held in Oakham each year. It is also illegal (http://tinyurl.com/jgr9zpp), cruel (http://tinyurl.com/ztrytx3), opposed by the majority of the public (http://tinyurl.com/huhfh2p) and devoid of justification on the grounds of tradition alone, as Councillor Jasmine Hopkins correctly pointed out when The Cottesmore Hunt were initially rejected by Oakham Town Council last year. - Rutland County Council did state that there was conditions to the Hunt using Catmose Car Park, similar to those made last year (see here for the 2015 agreement - http://tinyurl.com/gmd7qat). Interestingly, though, they did not make any provisions for the protection of wildlife. Feel free to ask Terry King (tking@rutland.gov.uk), the Council Leader, and Helen Briggs (hbriggs@rutland.gov.uk), the Council CEO, why that is... please be polite, and send any replies to leicesteranimalrightsgroup@gmail.com. For a bit more information, have a look at the news item on Rutland County Council's website from 12th December 2016 (http://tinyurl.com/hlwdpfx) as it includes a link to the decision record.