SUPPORTERS of countryside pursuits are setting up their own church in a bid to ?preserve a way of life? and stop a ban on hunting with dogs.
Plans for a Free Church of Country Sports are being embraced around the world, according to one of the men behind it, Vic Gardner of Tavistock, who claims he has had almost 100% support since the idea was mooted.
The move coincides with renewed efforts within Westminster to push legislation to ban hunting with hounds through Parliament by the end of the year.
By claiming fox hunting is part of their religion, the founders of the church believe that the sport will be granted protection under human rights legislation.
But Mr Gardner, who is the publisher of the Countryman?s Weekly, says the church, which was first talked about 18 months ago, was not being set up for the sole reason of preserving hunting.
?It is about the freedom to preserve the way of life we have in the countryside
?We see the countryside as the Lord?s finest work and get a great deal of satisfaction and spiritual
inspiration from it. Everything that man has done has failed to match it.?
Mr Gardner added: ?Those of us who enjoy countryside pursuits feel ethnically different ? we have our own literature, publications, our own way of dressing, songs and art.
?We expect to have criticism, but there is an awful lot of discrimination against minority religions. We can live with our consciences. We believe that the countryside is far worse a place when it is built on and used for intensive agriculture.?
Lawyers are looking into drawing up a constitution for the church and the next stage is to register as a trust with the charity commissioners.
Mr Gardner said they did not have a church building as such but he expected a premises to be made available.
?We must emphasis that we are not taking the Lord?s name in vain,? he said.
?Many of the people who follow country sports are Christians of great conviction who say that their experience of the countryside is an important part of their religious belief.?
Founders include fishing and shooting enthusiasts. They have pointed out that the Government recently allowed the ritual slaughter of animals by Jews and Muslims to continue because a ban would be considered discrimination against religious groups.
Prebendary John Rawlings, the vicar of Tavistock, said people must do what is right according to their own conscience: ?These people obviously feel very strongly about their life in the countryside and one of the great things about this country is that we are still free to voice our opinion.
?Freedom of speech is very important just as freedom of worship is.?
Regional spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports Peter Anderson said the league was still trying to work out if this was a practical joke or not.
?If it had been April 1 we would have understood it,? he said.
?It is a huge insult to established religions in this country to think you can get such cruel activities claiming to be a religion just for convenience.
?As far as helping their cause, it just goes to show that they are scraping the bottom of the barrel ? hunt supporters know the sport is going to be banned otherwise they would not resort to such desperate measures.?