League Against Cruel Sports gets a break

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2006:

LONDON–The Royal Mail has agreed to
accept £2,000 from the League Against Cruel
Sports in lieu of as much as £500,000 in postage
due fees claimed after hunters hijacked a
fundraising appeal.
“A plea to supporters for donations to a
free billing address ended up involving the bomb
squad, police and Royal Mail fraud
investigators,” recounted Helen Nugent of The
Times of London.
“Problems began when hunt enthusiasts
heard about the drive. A round-robin e-mail was
sent to hunters urging them to send Christmas
cards, empty envelopes, and bulky packages.
Within a fortnight, van loads of bricks,
telephone directories, heavy books, abusive
letters and animal excrement were sent to the
league’s offices in South London. One hunter
posted a dead squirrel.”

Among those circulating the e-mail,
Nugent reported, were allegedly “the wife of an
employee at Buckingham Palace. Another is
believed to have been sent from the Master of
Foxhounds Association.”
Alastair Jackson, chair of the Master of
Foxhounds Association, denied involvement, but
told Nugent that “everyone applauded the idea at
the time.”
The original e-mail proposing the scheme “stated
that the Countryside Alliance backed the idea,
but this was refuted by the alliance,” Nugent
said.
None of the senders of either the e-mail or the
objects handled by the Royal Mail have been
criminally charged, but Scotland Yard is
reportedly still investigating.