Sir Richard Branson when asked to comment by the press regarding his high profile and widely publicised balloon crash, is believed to have once said “All advertising is good advertising”. Bizarrely the cunning stunt far from failed as shares in Virgin went up in value, as Sir Richards balloon went down.

It was with such entrepreneurial foresight that the recently formed Committee acting on behalf of the Malton & Norton Rugby Ratcatchers decided to ‘show their wares’ and put in a public appearance at the annual and greatly revered Boxing Day meet of the Middleton Fox Hunt. Although politics is a subject that has never been placed high in priority amongst the ratters of Ryedale, they felt that a show of solidarity to their field sport brothers was long overdue. So with banner unfurled a select few stood up and were counted, team strips on for all to see.

Our fixture secretary along with his terrier “Coco” sited the Ratcatchers next to the Anti-Hunt Protesters. These frail and sickly few, were rather disappointingly peaceful and their minority presence seemed to tone their vocal protests down to mere murmur. Special note however must be made of their lovely colourful banner that paled our ‘www.ratting.co.uk’ into insignificance. Not only was it large and colourful but also highly educational, showing any on-lookers all variety of creatures that would benefit the flavour of a Game pie. Rumours of us selling them some of our hunting photographs for the purposes of their anti-hunt propaganda were grossly exaggerated.

With a nip in the air, the ratcatchers served refreshments to all who showed their support to our cause. After our two very productive hunts in Hovingham and the two bottles of Sloe gin that followed as reward, the ratters felt it only fair to share the wealth by way of festive cheer.

With every action there is a resultant reaction. By setting out our stall in the market place of Malton, we gained publicity enough to earn an ‘off the cuff’ invite to clear up an infestation around a duck flight pond and pheasant release pen in Barton. The results and video footage will be displayed in the Report section of this site.

Supporters to the Hunt gathered in their hundreds to see the Horses, hounds and huntsmen. By way of defiance the Master gave a few provocative words to rally the troops and then went on his way to their next assembly point. However before leading his platoon onwards to follow trails and accidentally kill any clumsy foxes that foolishly crossed the path of the hounds, the Master trotted up to the elevated site occupied by the ratters and raised his hat, with an appreciative nod for the support we had offered.