Grant Shapps is anti-hunting. Will he do the right thing and ban fox hunting on MoD land?
On 31 August, Grant Shapps was appointed as the new defence secretary. Protect the Wild is urging Shapps to use his power to ban hunting on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land. A number of major landowners, such as the National Trust, have already banned hunting from taking place on their land. They have acknowledged that […]
The Welsh government could be subsidising the largest pheasant-rearing farm in the UK
Research by Animal Aid has found that the Welsh government may have subsidised the UK’s biggest pheasant-rearing farm. The pheasants are bred to be shot for ‘sport’. Bettws Hall game farm raises raises more than 1.7 million pheasant and partridge chicks a year, which it sells to shooting estates to be killed for ‘fun’. On […]
An eleven-year-old boy suffers life-changing injuries during a shoot
On 31 August an eleven-year-old boy was shot in a woodland in East Sussex. His life-changing injuries are a stark reminder of how dangerous the shooting industry can be. Sky News reported that: “During the incident, the boy suffered a serious, potentially life-changing wound to his hip and was airlifted to hospital in London, according […]
The biggest wildlife genocide of our time is happening right now
It’s the start of September, which means that badgers are being mass-murdered as you read this. If you’re scrolling through this article just as the sun has gone down, badgers will be coming out of their setts in the countryside near you right now. At the same time, government-sanctioned shooters will be lined up, ready […]
GUILTY: Ollie Finnegan convicted of illegal hunting three times in less than a year
Ex-Cheshire huntsman Ollie Finnegan was due to stand trial this week, charged with two counts of illegal hunting. He didn’t show up to court, and was found guilty in his absence. Finnegan was charged after being caught illegally fox hunting at a meet that took place at Chorley Green on 22 November 2022. The second […]
Sarah Moulds case shines a light on speciesism in the UK
Cottesmore Hunt rider Sarah Moulds was found not guilty on 25 August for punching and kicking her horse Bruce. Her defence argument, and the subsequent verdict, once again highlights the speciesism that is rampant in society. As I already covered in a recent article, speciesism is where someone sees one species as superior to others, […]
Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt filmed ripping up fox
For hunters whose bloodlust knows no bounds, it’s cub hunting season: a time when they can train their hounds to murder defenceless fox cubs. The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt was caught and filmed on 24 August, the hounds appearing to tear up a fox that they had just killed. Dorset Monitor was observing […]
Yet another pet is seriously injured by hunting hounds
Essex and Suffolk Hunt hounds mauled a pet dog in Layham, Suffolk, on 15 August. The hounds were being exercised when the attack happened. Local news outlet, Hadleigh Nub News, reported that the labradoodle dog needed treatment from a vet, and that “the elderly dog walker was left shocked and upset by the incident.” Terrorised […]
Scotland snare ban: Join Chris Packham in making your voice heard
Chris Packham has joined animal rights charities to celebrate “a potential win for wildlife” as Scotland moves closer to banning snares. As we reported on 22 August, the Scottish government is asking for views on whether the use of snares should be “banned as part of new plans to protect vulnerable wildlife”. The consultation will […]
Scottish Water looks set to ban grouse shooting on their land
The gory blood sport of grouse shooting is well underway in the UK. The rich are whipping out their rifles in delight, eager to murder defenceless birds. But it’s one blow after another for grouse shooters in Scotland, as Scottish Water has stated that it will issue no new leases on its estate. The company […]
Scottish Greens describe grouse shooting as ‘festival of violence’
The barbaric grouse shooting season began on 12 August, the ‘Inglorious 12th’. The Scottish Green Party has sent a clear message to gamekeepers and wealthy shooters that the blood sport is not welcome in Scotland. The Scottish Greens’ rural affairs minister, Ariane Burgess MSP, didn’t mince her words when she said: “There is nothing glorious […]
Hunting community blames ‘extremists’ for being issued Community Protection Notice
Back in December 2022, the Warwickshire Hunt was issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN). But now the police have backtracked, having negotiated with the hunt to come to a “sensible working arrangement”. It should come as little surprise that the hunting community has used this news as an opportunity to complain about police “criminalising […]
Cottesmore Hunt rider who kicked and punched horse due to stand trial
Disgraced hunter and ex-primary school teacher Sarah Moulds is due to stand trial on 22 August 2023. She was filmed hitting and kicking a horse, and is charged with two offences under the Animal Welfare Act. Moulds was a field rider with the Cottesmore Hunt on 6 November 2021. Her horse, Bruce, wandered a few […]
This community urgently needs your help to save badgers
Despite being a protected animal, badgers are perhaps our most persecuted species. One community in Saltdean, near Brighton, is urgently trying to save a sett of badgers from developers, and they need your help. Protect the Wild spoke to resident Debbie Julians, who, along with her neighbours, is trying to raise enough money to buy […]
MoD silent despite 23000 emails urging hunting ban
Fox hunting has suffered a number of major blows over the past few years. Major landowners such as the National Trust have banned hunting from taking place on their land. But one of the UK’s biggest landowners, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is still refusing to ban the disgusting blood sport. Protect the Wild wants […]
GUILTY: Huntsman Chris Woodward in court yet again
Chris Woodward, ex-huntsman for the Wynnstay Hunt, has pleaded guilty to interfering with a badger sett near Malpas, north Wales. The guilty plea comes after the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) released footage back in February 2023, showing two men escaping on a quad bike after they were confronted by sabs. The men were named as […]
TRIAL DATE FIXED: Avon Vale terrierman to face jury
A trial date has been set for notorious Avon Vale terrierman Alex Warden. He will go to trial in Salisbury Crown Court on 21 December 2023. He is complicit in hounds tearing apart one fox, and chasing another. The Avon Vale Hunt made national headlines when a video was passed onto the Hunt Saboteurs Association […]
SumUp denies hunts card payment services
It’s been one blow after another for fox hunters these past couple of years. Struggling to stay afloat, a number of hunts have shut down or amalgamated. And now they have been hit with yet another financial woe: they have been banned from taking card payments at their fundraising events. This is a major victory […]
A ‘nation of animal lovers’, more like a nation of wildlife killers
In the UK, we pride ourselves as being a nation that loves animals. We donate readily to the Dogs Trust or to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, while 53% of us has a pet. Our pets are protected from abuse under the Animal Welfare Act, and a person can be prosecuted if the animal’s needs […]
Four men given suspended prison sentences for hare coursing
Four men have been given the most severe sentences for hare coursing that we have seen in the UK. The men were hare coursing in Spalding on 9 November 2022, and were arrested by Lincolnshire Rural Crime officers. All four pleaded guilty to the charges against them. The four men, aged between 33 and 40, […]
Cattistock Hunt escapes prosecution despite railway line fox chase
On 10 July, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs reported that the Cattistock Hunt will not be prosecuted for trespassing onto railway tracks. This shows police bias in action: hunts continually get away with trespassing on railways, while members of the public doing the same face prosecution. The incident in question took place on 4 February 2023, […]
Cottesmore huntsman Sam Jones charged with assault
Cottesmore huntsman Sam Jones has finally been charged by the police after he trampled a hunt saboteur with his horse. The incident took place on 11 February 2023. Jones was arrested on 14 February, and was finally charged with common assault on 14 July. He will appear in Leicester Magistrates’ Court on 11 August. The […]
With only one fox hunting pack left in Kent, the clock is ticking on hunting in the county
Hunt saboteurs in Kent are celebrating the news that there will only be one hunt left in the county for the 2023/24 fox hunting season. On 12 July, West Kent Sabs wrote: “Over the last few months we have been inundated with information from sources within the hunting community that there was a significant amalgamation […]
Another not guilty verdict: a stark reminder that the Hunting Act is broken
John Holliday, ex-huntsman of the Belvoir Hunt, was found not guilty of illegal hunting on 11 July. His case is a stark reminder that the Hunting Act needs scrapping and replacing with a proper anti-hunting law. Holliday was on trial for killing a fox on 15 January 2022. Nottingham Hunt Saboteurs reported: “The court decided […]
GUILTY: Former Avon Vale Hunt thugs charged with illegal hunting
Two ex-members of the Avon Vale Hunt pleaded guilty to illegal hunting at Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday 5 July. Aaron Fookes, who was whipper-in, and Stuart Radbourne, who was hunt master, were charged along with a third man, terrierman Alex Warden, after they were caught on video terrorising two foxes. Fookes also pleaded guilty […]
Wynnstay huntsman pleads guilty of threatening behaviour
Wynnstay huntsman Chris Woodward has pleaded guilty to causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress, an offence under the Public Order Act. The hunter rode his horse at a Cheshire Monitors volunteer during a fox hunting meet on 7 January 2023. Woodward galloped towards the monitor on his horse, almost knocking the man to the ground. […]
VICTORY: County Down Staghounds bites the dust
Hunt saboteurs in Northern Ireland are celebrating as news comes in that County Down Staghounds is disbanding. Hunt Saboteurs NI announced: “The criminal County Down Staghounds have decided to disband, their years of illegal carting, killing pets and causing horrific pain to wildlife is over. Good riddance you bunch of murdering scumbags.” Meanwhile, Action Against […]
Do you live in Cheshire or north Wales? You can save fox cubs from being murdered
Nine out of ten people have never heard of cubbing. Beginning later this summer, cubbing is an illegal practice, where hunts across the country train their young hounds by hunting and killing fox cubs. Cubbing marks the beginning of the hunting season, and runs from August to October. While the young hounds are trained, hunting […]
Four hunters plead not guilty after hounds kill fox in private garden
Four men from the West Norfolk Foxhounds have pleaded not guilty at Norwich Magistrates’ Court. Three were charged with various offences after hounds tore apart a fox in a residential garden in Hingham, Norfolk, on 20 February 2023. The men have also been charged, along with another man, for a separate hunting incident in Tittleshall, […]
Natural England’s Tony Juniper: overseeing the devastation of England’s biodiversity
The chair of Natural England (the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England) has hypocritically argued that England “is going to have to work much harder” if it wants to meet biodiversity targets. In his role, Tony Juniper is actively responsible for the loss of biodiversity. The Tories’ biodiversity targets have already been called […]
Disgraced hunter Ollie Finnegan fails to show up for court
Cheshire huntsman Ollie Finnegan failed to turn up at Crewe Magistrates Court on 13 June 2023. He was due to enter a plea to two charges of hunting a wild mammal with dogs. Cheshire Against Blood Sports (CABS) told Protect the Wild that Finnegan’s legal representation didn’t show up to court, either. The trial has […]
Avon Vale Hunt finally charged after digging out foxes
Three members of the Avon Vale Hunt have been charged and will appear in court in July. Footage, which shows the men digging out two foxes and throwing one to hounds, sparked national outrage when it was aired in February. Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs announced on Facebook: “Whipper-in Aaron Fookes charged under Animal Welfare Act and […]
Northumberland: Badger suffers excruciating death in snare
Another badger has died unnecessarily after getting caught in an illegal snare in Northumberland. The RSPCA was called out to the badger after receiving a call from the public. The charity said that the snare had become embedded in the creature’s neck and had to be cut out in three different places. The RSPCA’s Rachael […]
Farming industry reports cattle-to-cattle transmission ‘most common form’ of bTB spread
A recent study in Northern Ireland has found that cows are more likely to transmit bovine tuberculosis (bTB) through contact with each other, than through contact with badgers. The research was conducted by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), and the findings were published to the public on 25 May 2023. The researchers used samples […]
West Midland Hunt Sab receives payout from police who posed as postal workers in dawn raid
A member of West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs has received a “substantial payout” after being targeted by Thames Valley Police (TVP). The sab took a civil case against the police for false imprisonment, assault, trespass and aggravated damages. TVP was given false information by a member of Warwickshire Beagles, which it was all too ready to […]
Paltry punishment for wealthy company that deliberately burnt moor
A company worth almost £20 million has pleaded guilty after it deliberately burnt swathes of moorland in the Peak District. Dunlin Ltd, which owns Midhope Moors, didn’t have a licence to set fire to the land but was fined just a paltry £2,645. Dunlin’s land agents, JM Osbourne Rural and Sporting, had initially applied for […]
Damning new report slates government’s future plans to annihilate badgers
The government has said that it will end the badger cull as we know it by 2026. But it will replace intensive four-year culling with a plan to murder 100% of badgers in specific areas of England. Now a new report – authored by independent researchers, veterinarians, and epidemiologists – argues that these continued plans […]
Harrowing photos show why you shouldn’t have a BBQ or make a fire on moorland
Photos of recent wildfires on Marsden Moor are a stark reminder that we need to treat our precious moorland with care. Marsden Moor is in the southern Pennines, and is owned by the National Trust. It is a site of specific scientific interest (SSSI), due to its blanket bog habitat, as well as its breeding […]
Cotswold Hunt sanctions aren’t enough: it needs to be shut down
Hunt’s governing body, the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), has failed to take any meaningful lasting action against the criminal Cotswold Hunt. The BHSA suspended the Cotswold Hunt in March after Channel 4 exposed harrowing footage of a fox, who had been bundled into a bag by the hunt and buried alive. But a BHSA […]
‘Slow strangulation’ and ‘organ damage’: SnareWatch report shows the gruesome reality of snare use
Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind has released its 2022 SnareWatch Report, and it’s distressing reading. Snares are primarily used on foxes on bird-shooting estates in an attempt to stop the mammals from predating on birds such as pheasants and grouse. They are wire nooses that trap and hold the animal until someone comes and shoots […]
Northern Ireland: men responsible for fate of badgers have vested interest in cull
Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) is inching closer to culling badgers after it asked companies to submit “expressions of interests to deliver the culling element” of its bovine TB (bTB) strategy. The deadline for applications is today (21 April 2023). The government department said that it will introduce culls in […]
The government murdered 33,627 badgers in 2022. It tested zero for bovine TB
The government, influenced by its farming lobby friends, continues to scapegoat badgers for the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Yet it didn’t test one of the 33,627 badgers culled in 2022 for the disease. Natural England, which works on behalf of Defra, recently published its figures of the number of badgers murdered in the 2022 […]
Gruesome footage highlights the criminality of England’s stag hunters
Quantock Staghounds (QSH) is one of the UK’s most brutal hunts. It continually murders Somerset’s stags with impunity, despite being caught on film. Now, recent footage – caught by North Dorset Hunt Sabs – is a stark reminder of just how criminal this hunt really is. The sabs’ footage – which you can view here […]
Government sanctions killing of 7,500 badgers in Avon since 2019
England’s badger population is being annihilated, and one of the worst-hit areas is Avon, in the southwest. 1,521 badgers were murdered in the region throughout September and October 2022 during the government’s annual cull. Avon has two ‘cull zones’ which Natural England issues licences for. One zone was in its fourth and final year of […]
Hunt saboteurs hit back at Countryside Alliance ‘meltdown’
The Countryside Alliance (CA) is up in arms over Wiltshire Police’s decision not to employ fox hunters on its Rural Crime Team. It has launched a campaign to try to reverse the “unjust and divisive decision immediately”. Wiltshire Police announced that it would not employ hunters, past or present, onto its Rural Crime Team (RCT) […]
Natural England has been covertly expanding badger cull areas
The government’s annual badger cull, which began in 2013, has always been shrouded in secrecy. And now Freedom of Information (FOI) responses reveal the extent of Natural England’s underhanded tactics as it murders our beloved species. Environmental journalist Tracy Keeling accessed the FOI requests, and reported her findings in the Canary. She found that since […]
Cotswold Hunt suspended after fox is buried alive in a sack
The British Hound Sports Association has suspended the Cotswold Hunt after a fox was bundled into a bag and buried alive. Harrowing footage, captured by Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch on Saturday 18 March, was shown on Channel 4 News. A hunt saboteur, known as Magpie, told the news channel: “As I got down to about […]
VICTORY! Wiltshire Police’s Rural Crime Team will no longer employ fox hunters
Hunt saboteurs have claimed a victory after Wiltshire Police announced that it has conducted a review into its Rural Crime Team (RCT). The review comes after public outrage at the appointment of police officer Cheryl Knight into the RCT. Knight has several connections to fox hunting, including field riding with the Beaufort Hunt, as well […]
As Defra ends vaccination scheme, the fate of badgers is bleak
As the government’s badger bovine tuberculosis (bTB) vaccination scheme comes to an end, campaigners have accused Defra of pulling the rug from under them. The Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BAVS) was due to run from 2019 to 2023. The government provided some funding towards private projects to vaccinate badgers in the so-called ‘Edge Area’ – […]
GUILTY: Hunt supporter convicted after running down saboteur
On 15 March 2023, South Dorset Hunt supporter Stewart Masters was found guilty after running down a hunt saboteur from Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR). WAR said: “On 12th February 2022, three of our group were waiting on a pick up when one of them was deliberately run into by a South Dorset Hunt supporter, Stewart […]
Notorious fox hunter Mark Pearson to appear in court again
Dorset Police has announced that three fox hunters will appear in court on 7 June 2023, charged under the Hunting Act. Evidence gathered from North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs has been instrumental in charging Mark Pearson, Tom Lyle and Marcus Boundy of hunting a wild animal with dogs. Dorset Police said: “It follows an investigation by […]
Hunter pleads guilty after trampling a hunt sab
Hunter Chris Mardles has pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm after trampling a sab with his horse. Mardles was the whipper-in of the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt when he injured the sab in September 2020. Mel Broughton, a member of Northants Hunt Saboteurs, suffered from a collapsed lung, six broken ribs, a broken collar bone […]