On 28th October last year, reports began to appear in the Scottish press and broadcast media which sought to draw a link between Paganism and a series of vicious attacks upon horses. It was claimed that various occult symbols were associated with the attacks, that Witches and other Pagans were collecting blood and horsehair in preparation for Halloween, and that the concentration of such incidents between October and Easter was connected to a Pagan calendar. The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) was named as a source, and reference made to similar allegations in England.

As the word spread, the Scottish Pagan community reacted with horror and outrage. Horror that anyone would inflict such suffering on animals and outrage that the media should once more be grossly misrepresenting and defaming Pagans. This proved a powerful stimulus to action and I think we can all feel proud of the way in which Scottish Pagans, both inside and outside the PF, fought back in what has been by far the most intense media campaign we've ever been faced with.

The obvious priority was to find out why the SSPCA, and various animal welfare groups in England, were being quoted as sources for these allegations. Within hours of the stories breaking, a Scottish PF representative had held discussions with Doreen Graham, Media and Campaigns Manager of the SSPCA, by telephone, which led to a meeting at SSPCA headquarters in Edinburgh the following morning. It was immediately apparent that the SSPCA had used the word 'Pagan' in its archaic sense of a sinister and godless person, and were unaware of its contemporary usage to describe a modern Scottish religious community of nature-worshippers. The media had pounced on this in their inimitable way and, as their phone lines heated up, the SSPCA rapidly became aware that not only had their statement been widely misinterpreted as an attack on a religious group of whose existence they had hitherto been unaware, but that a fair number of the irate Pagans calling them were members or supporters of the SSPCA!

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the way in which Doreen Graham of the SSPCA reacted to this situation. Once provided with accurate, factual information on Paganism she realised a mistake had been made and apologised most handsomely for it. She then went on to prove herself a woman of honour and integrity by doing her utmost to set the record straight with the media in the days that followed. In a few of the reported attacks on horses, it appeared that some form of occult element might, perhaps, have been a factor. It was agreed that Scottish PF would work with the SSPCA in rigorously studying and analysing such attacks over the next year or so to determine whether there were any patterns, associations or connections that might indicate a perverted magical intent at work. Both organisations have an obvious interest in seeing the sadistic brutes who carry out such crimes stopped, caught and punished to the full extent of the law.

Meanwhile, Scottish PF and the wider Scottish Pagan community, with strong support from Karin Attwood and Andy Norfolk of the PF Central Media Team set about countering the torrent of lurid and defamatory reports about Paganism now flooding through the media, a problem that was exacerbated by the publicity given to claims from a rather imaginative gentleman from the South of England, which in themselves caused great offence to Scottish Pagans. It is an unfortunate fact of life that reasonable people resolving misunderstandings and working constructively together is not newsworthy whereas graphic accounts of blood-rites, devil worship and general nastiness - however tenuous the source - always is!

Despite this, some more representative Pagan spokespeople managed to get an accurate and reasoned portrayal of our religion across on TV and radio, their impact being greatly enhanced by an unprecedented barrage of phone calls, letters and emails from Pagans across Scotland whose (mostly) courteous representations demonstrated just how unlikely it was that Pagans could be responsible for the horse attacks. It was repeatedly pointed out that Pagans were nature-worshippers, most supported animal welfare organisations, many were vegetarians, and quite a few actually ran animal sanctuaries - hardly the sort of people likely to practise - or tolerate - cruelty to animals. The blindingly obvious fact that the period from October to Easter is the time when long, dark nights offer cover to all kinds of criminal activity needed to be explained time and time again, presumably because many journalists in this age of 24hr news are too busy to look out of their office windows!

Special credit is due to the ScotsPagans email list which, with support from the ScotsWitches list, organised a mass email and telephone bombardment of the country's most popular radio phone-in programme between 5th and 7th November, persuading it to interview a Scottish PF spokesman about the way in which Pagans were being treated by the media. All of this concerted and co-operative effort had its effect and slowly but surely the tide turned. At the time this report is being written, stories about black magic continue, but are now balanced by descriptions of Pagans as ethical, nature-loving people who are actively supporting efforts to end the attacks.

In the face of these outrageous allegations, Pagans from different organisations and traditions stood shoulder to shoulder to defend our community from a particularly nasty media witch-hunt, sharing advice, passing on information and encouraging each others' efforts. We all saw what was needed, rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in! The damage done by the media will be more than outweighed in the long term by the deeper levels of trust, resolve and common purpose engendered among our activists under pressure, and by the forging of constructive new links with animal welfare organisations who now see us as useful allies. As has been the case in previous crises, the Scottish Pagan community will emerge from this even stronger and more confident than before.

John Macintyre,
(Scottish Co-ordinator, The Pagan Federation)