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IT IS ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS EVERYWHERE.
THIS BLOG PAGE IS NOT ONLY ABOUT CETACEAN RIGHTS.
IT IS ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS EVERYWHERE.
 The brutal slaughter of over 1400 white sided dolphins on the Faroe Islands has triggered huge anger and revulsion around the world and has once again brought global attention to the long and bloody history of whale and dolphin killing in this beautiful but isolated archipelago 200 miles to the Northwest of Scotland. As a young boy I have vivid memories of seeing footage of the whale and dolphin hunts, or the “Grind” as they are called in the Faroes. Before the age of social media, it was left to a few intrepid film makers to bring into our living rooms the wild beauty of the Islands and the defiant spirit but violent actions of some of its people. In 1972 National Geographic made a short documentary film called ‘Faroe Islands - The last of the Vikings’ which painted a picture of a uniquely independent people largely untouched by the outside world in the last remaining outpost of the Viking Spirit. The film included a whale hunt, in which an armada of wooden rowing and powered fishing boats drove a pod of pilot whales into the shore. The noise and excitement of the people involved was clear to see as they threw rocks into the water and used their vessels to form a ring around the increasingly alarmed pod of whales. As women and children cheered from the quayside the whale hunters plunged their sharp tipped harpoons into the bodies of the whales. As the sea turned red with blood and the whales twisted in agony, the narrator of the film made a statement to the viewing audience which stays with me over four decades later. He said “when the whales come these peaceful people revert to another age where killing becomes an outlet for native savagery when Viking blood boils”. But why, nearly fifty years since this film was made, does this barbaric slaughter continue?  Although the European Union has a ban on the killing of whales and dolphins by its Member States under an EU Council Directive and the Bern Convention, this does not apply to the Faroe Islands as a self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark. The Faroe Islands is also not a member of the International Whaling Commission, and whale and dolphin hunts can be legally licenced by the Faroese Government. In recent decades several marine conservation organisations have engaged with the Government and people of the Faroe Islands to end the whale and dolphin hunts. Public meetings and debates have been held, studies have looked at the economic benefits of developing a whale watching industry, documentaries made and books published, yet the brutal killing continues. Although the Faroe Islands are an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark, they could not continue to kill whales and dolphins without the active support of the Danish Government who retain responsibility for military defence, policing, justice, currency control and foreign affairs. Over the past five years Danish naval vessels, helicopters and military personnel have even been used to monitor and disrupt the activities of Sea Shepherd activists, who record the brutal reality of the whale and dolphin hunts in order to inform a global audience. However, one key driver for change within this isolated island community that has been forced to connect with the modern world, is international trade.  Prior to leaving the European Union, Britain had little leverage over the Faroes or Danish Governments on this issue, but that has all changed with Brexit. In March 2019 the UK Government entered into a Free Trade Agreement with the Faroe Islands which now accounts for over 25% of the Faroes’ global trade. In the past 12 months the value of exports from the Faroe Islands under this agreement reached £582 million, a 142.5% increase on the previous year. Most of this trade involved cod, shellfish and farmed salmon which is sold in UK supermarkets. In comparison, the total value of UK exports to the Faroe Islands over the same period amounted to just £34 million. Since becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has made his opposition to whaling very clear. He has raised serious concerns with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Japan’s resumption of commercial whaling, at the G7 Summit in Biarritz in September 2019. In January 2021 he made a stand against the killing of a minke whale by Japanese fisherman in Taiji cove, telling the Telegraph “At a time when we are already seeing the tragic and irreversible destruction of our natural world, with the sea increasingly pumped full of plastics and climate change threatening entre eco systems, it is more important than ever to take a stand against the cruel practise of whaling.”  Click on image to sign petition. The Prime Minister’s wife Carrie and father Stanley have both joined me to campaign against whaling outside the Japanese Embassy in London, and in recent days the Defra and Foreign Office Minister Lord Goldsmith has taken to social media to call the mass slaughter of dolphins on the Faroe Islands “one of the most sickening spectacles I’ve ever seen. It shames our species.”
I have now started a Government e-Petition calling for a suspension of the Free Trade Agreement with the Faroe Islands until the whale and dolphin slaughter hunts ends for good. If Boris Johnson is not willing to put on hold £34 million of British exports to stop this brutal slaughter of marine mammals 200 miles from our shores, his government’s commitment to global wildlife protection will be seriously undermined. No whales and dolphins should be brutally slaughtered in the Faroe Islands to put cod and farmed salmon on our supermarket shelves. It’s time we used trade sanctions to end this barbarism for good. Dominic Dyer Policy Advisor Born Free Foundation Author Badgered to Death Badgered to Death: The People and Politics of the Badger Cull : Dominic Dyer, Chris Packham: Amazon.co.uk: Books Suspend trade agreement with Faroe Islands until all whale & dolphin hunts end - Petitions (parliament.uk) Article originally published on 22nd September 2021 by Mail+ Re-published on The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy blog page with kind permission of Dominic Dyer
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 With Hallowe’en behind us and Christmas beckoning, we sought permission to publish this extremely creepy account by UK celebrity psychic, Cara Crompton, more affectionately known as Cara Spirit Guide, Psychic to the Stars. The story is told in Cara’s own words – a vivid recollection of the trauma she suffered when supporting The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy exposé. She describes a spiritual fight taking place on the astral plane - a battle between good and evil. So, whether you be a believer or a non-believer, if we’ve spiked your interest, please read on.  Sitting on a sofa in the gloom of a darkened lobby of an almost-deserted radio station, I suddenly became uneasy. It was 8.40pm and I’d been invited to do a radio interview for Liverpool Radio’s Planet X on a controversial story entitled The Perfect Pair: The Enchanted Mirror, the first book of The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy. I was accompanied by the show’s producer, Ayem, the story’s co-author, Tracy J Holroyd, and the ex-dolphin trainer featured in the story, known as David Capello. The interview was due to start at 9.00pm, so we’d arrived in plenty of time. But there was a problem. The show’s presenters were on air, and Ayem had forgotten her security key, which meant that we were all effectively trapped within the confines of the darkened lobby. As we waited for a break in the show, which would allow one of the presenters to give us access to the lifts that would take us up to the studios, Tracy and Ayem chatted cheerfully. However, I sensed David’s feeling of profound unease. “Are you okay, David?” I asked. David looked at me through troubled eyes. “No, I’m not,” he replied. When we first came in, someone was jostling me in the doorway. I thought it was Tracy, but when I turned around, she was still outside. However, there was something behind the door.” “Something?” I repeated. “Yes … a man. Well, not a man … I don’t know. A shadow. It was a shadow - at least six feet tall.” David gazed around. “There’s something in here with us – a presence.” No sooner had he finished speaking than I felt an excruciating blow to my midriff – a blow so vicious that it whipped away my breath and brought tears to my eyes. A psychic punch. I literally staggered to the sofa, unable to speak. Tracy noticed my odd behaviour and said, “Cara, are you okay? You don’t look well.” I said I desperately needed the ladies’ room, and all panic broke out as Tracy and Ayem naturally jumped to the wrong conclusion. Tracy started rattling doors whilst Ayem indiscriminately pushed buttons on the security console, eventually managing to override the locking mechanism. We all piled into another lobby and accessed the lifts which took us to the top floor where the toilets and the radio studios were based. The others found themselves confined to a further lobby, whilst I dashed to the toilets to splash my face with cold water and examine my aching midriff. As I pulled up my jumper, I could already see the huge bruise taking form just below my ribs. When I eventually joined my friends, I told them what had happened, and a bemused silence gripped the room. To make matters worse, we remained trapped in the upstairs lobby for a further ten minutes before we could gain admittance to the studios. By that time, our two-hour interview had been slashed to only 20 minutes. As we drove home, David apologised profusely, telling me that he believed I’d taken a psychic punch meant for him! It was then he told me that the main villain of the book had been a well-known TV celebrity who didn’t want the story out and had recently passed to Spirit. He also said that – although published as fiction – The Perfect Pair story was in fact true. David believed that this celebrity’s angry spirit was trying to force me into pulling my support for his exposé. More worryingly, he told me that this intimidation had only just begun. I should expect more. David and Tracy dropped me off at home and offered to come in and see that I was settled. But they had a long way to travel, so I told them to get on. However, when I entered my 600-year-old Knutsford cottage, I froze. All the lights in my lounge were switched on, and my dogs were cowering under the furniture, clearly terrified. Bewildered, I walked into the kitchen to find the pots I’d left drying on the drainer strewn across the floor in pieces. It seemed that someone – or something – had deliberately thrown them against the walls. And, for me, there was a very clear message: my computer, which was switched off when I left for the station, was now switched on, the screen flashing like a warning beacon … an image of the book, The Perfect Pair: The Enchanted Mirror. As David had predicted, the intimidation continued. For weeks after, this aggressive entity tormented me. At first, he began to visit me during the day, demanding that I distance myself from the book. He told me that the story was all lies and that he couldn’t understand why I would want to support its message. When this failed, he changed tack, keeping me awake at night and showing me visions of the terrible things he’d done. He admitted the veracity of the story, but showed no remorse, only promising that, should I not capitulate, he would never leave me in peace. The more he visited, the more clearly I saw and heard him. I became weary and ill. I was deeply distressed by what I saw and heard. I spent hours at a time cleaning up, having dodged flying crockery. Even worse, my poor dogs were traumatized. One night, he told me that he intended to attack the authors in their home, and I ended up on the phone to Tracy for hours, whilst she was forced to place protection on the house and everyone in it using white candles and the powers of Archangel Michael. But it wasn’t all darkness. The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy is a story written to expose the cruelty of the aqua-circus – dolphins and whales performing tricks for the public. One night, in a dream, a dolphin came to me and took me beneath the sea to show me great things. He told me that I was doing the right thing and that the Universe was demanding that this story be told. He told me that the forces of good and evil were battling on the spiritual plane over this story. It was part of a spiritual evolution, enlightening people against abuse and exploitation, thus fostering a growth in compassion. It was also vital that humankind should be made aware of the true spiritual nature of dolphins and whales. After several torturous months, a recently deceased colleague of the celebrity poltergeist (a celebrity in his own right) came to lead him into the light. I most certainly did. The astral plane is experiencing a war between good and evil, and the Universe is demanding change. This is why I want the world to listen to this trilogy’s spiritual message. Cara Spirit Guide, Psychic to the Stars. https://www.facebook.com/caraspiritguide http://www.spiritguidecara.co.uk/  And so, Cara’s story ends. But please note the words highlighted in red: I most certainly did.
Cara did not write those words. The editors insist that those words were not on the original manuscript offered to psychic magazines up and down the UK. These words only appeared when the article was downloaded from the Cloud, many years after the original piece was written … Make of that what you will.  Speciality chef, Fred the Ogre of Fred’s Gory Gobbles, Interviews Tracy J Holroyd, Co-author of the Belinda Fellgate Fantasy Book Series.  Tracy, after yer six-year stint writin’ the award-winnin’ book series, The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy, why did yer change tack t’ write the teen fantasy, Belinda Fellgate? Well, Fred, apart from David’s burning desire to illustrate his own books, we wanted to push our anti-captivity, anti-animal-cruelty message to a younger, up-and-coming audience - a new readership not fixated by its own importance. In other words, we wanted to reach those people who genuinely want to do something about the plight of our planet and those voiceless souls we share it with. Something we have only partly achieved, as our targeted audience for Belinda Fellgate has turned out to be much older than we originally intended, drawing in not only teens, but also their mums, dads, grandmas and granddads, too. Not a bad thing, as it works out, as these are the people with the power to bring about change.  Okay, luv! With this in mind, have yer raised the age group fer the second book in the series, Belinda Fellgate: The Kiss of Flauros? Yer know, the one I’M in! Yes, we have, Fred. All storylines grow and mature, and Belinda Fellgate is no different. The teenage Belinda – along with many of her friends – is beginning to realise that if we continue the wanton abuse of our planet, all they will be left with is a toxic rock unable to sustain life as we know it.  Wicked! Does this mean that Belinda Fellgate: Malamok will be even darker than The Kiss of Flauros? Most definitely. Much, much darker … and grittier - a story with a controversial twist that will quite literally have the readers wriggling in their seats. However, despite this, Fred, we never abandon our underlying message highlighting the plight of our planet and those voiceless souls we share it with. So, with this in mind, we hope that everyone gives Belinda Fellgate and her friends a chance to spread the word by reading the books. (The reason we have used a front-cover image that will attract both public and activist alike.) So, our message to everyone out there, no matter what your age, is: “Join the Mirror Army and help to save our planet!”  Well, I definitely like the sound o’ that, luv, and definitely want t’ join! Bein' one of the clown demon Malamok's minions, do yer think it’s too late fer me t’ change sides? Errr??? Interview conducted by speciality chef, Fred the Ogre of Fred’s Gory Gobbles, the epitome of à la carte perfection – established 500 AD. Specialities: Brain Salad Surgery, Fishermen’s Fingers and Curried Eyeballs  Tracy J Holroyd, Cert Ed, BA(Hons) Member of the Society of Authors Author - Children's History of Manchester Author - Children's History of Lancashire Co-author - The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy Co-author - Belinda Fellgate Teen Fantasy Series If you have any questions about this new anti-cruelty/captivity book series, please ask!   "THERE IS NO PLACE IN MODERN CIVILIZED SOCIETY FOR THIS BARBARIC ACT LABELLED "TRADITION" BY RICH PEOPLE WITH ACCESS TO MODERN WESTERN FOOD, MCDONALDS AND COCA COLA" - Captain Garry Oates  We have written to the Danish Government, Royal family and the UK Government https://fb.watch/83lQa9oGuA/  "The dolphins did not escape. The entire pod has been wiped out. We are depending on our local Faroese friends to document this brutal slaying and sharing with us as it happens. We are thankful that they are there and thankful that they are speaking for the dolphins. This is the path to change. Until the whale supporting locals speak up, this will continue to happen." Sea Shepherd, Faroe Islands  Pictures and video courtesy of our Blue Seas Protection colleague Ken Sheahan who witnessed first hand in 2018 Stacey Dooley did a BBC3 documentary on this and it is featured at the end of Seaspiracy grindadrap video by Ken Sheahan2.MOV  One of our recent facebook posts: SEPTEMBER 2021: MASS MURDER OF 1460 DOLPHINS!!! THE CRIME OF THE FAROES ISLANDS AND DENMARK, PLEASE SHARE THIS POST LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW! Did you know that if you eat cod it probably has the blood of dolphins and whales on it?!!! Our own UK government did a trade deal with the Faroes in 2019 to import £200 million worth of fish from them. Check the "origin" country label in supermarkets before you buy, sign our petition, https://www.change.org/.../robert-goodwill-uk-fishing...  SAY NO TO GOVERNMENT!!! JOIN FREE BLUESEASPROTECTION.COM TO HELP STOP THESE CRIMES Captain Garry Oates CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER BLUE SEAS PROTECTION UK Registered Charity no.1189529 "FIGHTING FOR OUR OCEANS"  Allowing the hunt’s hounds to kill defenceless fox cubs is to ‘give them a taste of blood’! That’s it in a nutshell. The vile activity that fox hunting wants to keep covered up and out of sight. It’s been going on since hunting foxes began. The hunts meet from 6-6.30 am in August and then later in the morning during September and October as the days grow shorter. They can also meet in the evenings. Apparently these are the times to maximise scenting conditions. This helps young hounds to follow trails when the main season starts. Oh come on! Have any of the hunts actually laid down honest trails for hounds to follow during any hunting season since the ban was implemented? Some people have suggested it’s held so early in the morning or during the evening so the hunt is not seen to be carrying out ‘real life hunting’. Well it is definitely hunting, made worse by chasing off the vixen so the young hounds can kill her defenceless fox cubs. Yes the hounds are allowed to rip them to pieces. Apparently it’s all about educating and teaching the hounds the smell and taste of foxes. You may ask why does this disgusting ritual of training young hounds to kill defenceless fox cubs go on? Wasn’t this banned back in February 2005? Yes it was, is the absolute resolute answer to that question. Hunts think it’s their right to break the law….but it’s not and people are becoming more disgruntled by their criminal activities.  The Countryside Alliance came up with the term ‘Autumn Hunting’ to replace the term ‘cubbing’ after the ban. Horse & Hound likes to describe it as “Autumn hunting is a gentle introduction for young hounds, new hunt staff, horses and followers to the forthcoming season.” Yet cubbing is a very grotesque illegal activity so you can see how the hunting fraternity are trying to give it a softer approach. Let’s cut out the small talk then! It’s actually about ripping up baby foxes so their hounds can know their smell and taste of them.  Fox cubbing goes on for multiple days each week during every season. So what does it entail out there in the woods? Well the huntsmen, their terriermen, farmers and gamekeepers will have made it their business to find out where vixens and their cubs are living. The hunt and hunt supporters will surround the area and if the cubs try to escape they will make loud noises to make them scared so they go back to the hounds. Usually all the fox cubs are killed. Any that do escape will probably end up being hunted at a later date. Some young hounds have been known to be killed if they are not aggressive enough to want to kill a fox cub.  It seems cubbing is a necessary evil for the purpose of hunting foxes. But hunting and killing wild mammals with a pack of dogs is illegal!! I think it’s worth reminding ourselves what the late 10th Duke of Beaufort wrote in his book “Fox-Hunting”: “The object of cub-hunting is to educate both young hounds and fox-cubs. As was said earlier, it is not until he has been hunted that the fox draws fully on his resources of sagacity and cunning so that he is able to provide a really good run….I try to be out cub-hunting as often as possible myself, and the ideal thing is for the Master to be out every day….Never lose sight of the fact that one really well-beaten cub killed fair and square is worth half a dozen fresh ones killed the moment they are found without hounds having to exert themselves in their task. It is essential that hounds should have their blood up and learn to be savage with their fox before he is killed.” It’s was no different then, and before that and today fox cubbing is just the same. They say the more hardcore people in fox hunting enjoy the slaughter of baby foxes. In my mind they must be all hardcore to have anything to do with hunting and killing wildlife for fun. Please take note of this telephone number. We need to get the message out that breaking the law should not be tolerated. Calling the tip-off line could save our vulnerable wildlife! If you witness any illegal cub hunting please contact The Hunt Saboteurs Association by phoning the TIP-OFF HOTLINE 07443 148 426 They have been very successful getting Sabs out to the hunts at short notice and it can save the lives of defenceless fox cubs. Don’t hesitate to call the Police on 101. Ask for your call to be logged as a hunting incident and request an incident number. LINK TO ORIGINAL BLOG: Fox Cubbing | The Ageing Warrior  Click on image to buy from Amazon. Impressive and engaging - a must-read for anyone who cares about our precious wildlife Helen's research is excellent and she gets straight to the point. Nothing dry and boring like you find in many academic books. This would make a great handbook for keyboard warriors on Twitter or Facebook, and for those attending demos. Tells them all they need to know without their having to dig the info out for themselves. Tracy J Holroyd, Cert Ed, BA(Hons), Member of the Society of Authors Co-author of The Perfect Pair Dolphin Trilogy and The Belinda Fellgate Fantasy Series. |
David c holroyd & tracy j holroyd
The Perfect Pair: The Enchanted Mirror (Dolphin Book One)
The Perfect Pair: The Mirror Cracks (Dolphin Book Two)
The Perfect Pair: Shards from the Mirror (Dolphin Book Three)
Belinda Fellgate: HellCat (Book 1 in the Belinda Fellgate YA book series)
Belinda Fellgate: The Kiss of Flauros (Book 2 in the Belinda Fellgate YA fantasy series).
Belinda Fellgate: Malamok (Book 3 in the Belinda Fellgate YA fantasy book series)
Children's History of Manchester
Children's History of Lancashire
Belinda Fellgate Monster Colouring Book
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