Hunting hounds rampage through animal park
On Saturday 14 January, hounds from the Mendip Farmers Hunt (MFH) caused havoc as they tore through Chew Valley Animal Park. And yet the MFH continues to insist that it hunts legally. Protect the Wild spoke to Mendip Hunt Sabs, who were on the ground that day. The sabs said: “Hounds from the Mendip Farmers […]
Just how much is Jacob Rees-Mogg complicit in illegal hunting?
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg is renowned for his pro-hunting views, believing that it’s perfectly humane for hounds to tear up foxes. Time and time again, his family has shown its support for criminal fox hunters, riding with the Mendip Farmers Hunt (MFH), hosting its meets, attending its balls, and – in the case of Rees-Mogg’s […]
BREAKING: Shocking footage shows fox mauled by hounds in Kent
Video from hunt saboteurs in Kent shows hounds killing a fox. The group that captured the incident says it once again shows the lie of so-called ‘trail hunting’ and the reality of illegal fox hunting. West Kent Hunt Sabs posted an image of a dead fox to Facebook on 14 January. The group said that […]
Basil the rhea went missing for days after he was spooked by hunting hounds
Hounds spooked a rhea in Northamptonshire as they hunted nearby. The bird was missing for days. But his owner just announced that he’s now back home. Sophie Wills initially posted on 11 January that her “beloved Basil” went missing around 1.30pm that day. She said he was “last seen being chased by a hound/hounds”. Basil […]
Resident says an Essex hunt killed a fox on Ministry of Defence land after hearing ‘unmistakeable’ screeching
A resident near Colchester has reported that a fox ‘screeched’ as hounds killed them. The incident occurred during a meet of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt. And the whole thing took place on Ministry of Defence land. Local paper the Daily Standard reported that a resident of Berechurch, near Colchester in Essex, heard “screeching” on […]
Hunt supporters attack a man in his seventies using a catapult and ball bearing
A hunt monitor in his seventies has been attacked by South Dorset Hunt supporters. This is the second time in less than a month that a monitor has been targeted by followers of the hunt. Protect the Wild spoke to North Dorset Hunt Sabs, who said: “We were sabbing the South Dorset Hunt at Tadnoll, […]
A hunt supporter has his balaclava ripped off after he slashes saboteurs’ tyres
On 7 January, hunt saboteurs had their tyres slashed by a Grove and Rufford Hunt (GRH) supporter. But the culprit got a nasty shock when a sab bravely pulled off his balaclava to reveal his identity, and the man was arrested. The sabs recorded footage of the whole incident and gave it to the police. […]
Prince Harry’s new book talks about the most ‘loathesome’ tradition in bloodsports
Celebrity magazine OK! reported on 10 January that in his autobiography Spare, Prince Harry recounts his experience of ‘blooding’. According to the celebrity magazine, the book describes Harry stalking then murdering a stag in the grounds of Balmoral. He was about 15 at the time. The prince’s stalking guide, Sandy, then bled the stag from […]
Mounted huntsman charges at monitor and threatens to kill him
On Saturday 7 January, the Wynnstay Hunt stooped to a new low when its huntsman threatened a Cheshire Monitors volunteer. The monitors were on the ground, preventing illegal hunting from taking place, when huntsman Chris Woodward charged his horse at one of them. The monitor was shouting the command “leave it” to the hounds to […]
Responding to reports of illegal hunting, Essex Police found blocked setts and a rider carrying a knife
On 31 December 2022, Essex Rural, Wildlife and Heritage Crime Team tweeted about reports of illegal hunting near Abridge. It said that blocked badger setts were found, as well as a rider carrying a lock knife. Protect the Wild contacted Essex Police, which said: We received a call at 1.30pm on Friday 30 December reporting […]
Ledbury Hunt continues to get away with murder.
In early December 2022, the ex-huntsman of the Quorn Hunt, Ollie Finnegan, pleaded guilty to hunting foxes after his own WhatsApp messages incriminated him. The Quorn had been visiting Gloucestershire for a joint meet with the Ledbury Hunt on 7 January 2022. But it was only Finnegan who was prosecuted, while staff from the Ledbury […]
Labour wants to eliminate the ‘trail hunting’ loophole if it gets into government
Labour says it will tighten the Hunting Act when it comes into government. The statement came after the party’s shadow minister for the armed forces said that he wants hunting “consigned to the history books”. On Boxing Day 2022, the Labour Party said it will “close the loopholes” that exist in the Hunting Act. Huffington […]
Police investigating Essex and Suffolk Hunt after fox bolts from badger sett
Suffolk Police is investigating the Essex and Suffolk Hunt after monitors witnessed members of the hunt trying to force a fox to bolt from a badger sett. The incident happened during the hunt’s Boxing Day meet – the most important day in the hunting calendar. While the hunt master was giving his speech, wildlife monitors […]
‘Royal loophole’ could protect hunts from Scotland’s new anti-hunting laws
Hunts on royal land are protected by a loophole in the new Scottish anti-hunting bill, the Scottish Greens claim. And it’s a result of a special exclusion written into the power-sharing agreement underpinning the current government. Scotland’s Hunting With Dogs Bill was introduced for parliamentary debate in February 2022. Although the nation already has a […]
A new housing development is the final nail in the coffin of a once prestigious hunt
A developer has applied to build a 50-house estate on the Leicestershire-Warwickshire border. If permitted, it will usurp land previously owned by the Atherstone Hunt. And the news marks an epilogue to one of the most successful hunt saboteur campaigns in recent history. The Leicester Mercury reported on 24 December that Hollins Strategic Land LLP […]
South Dorset Hunt monitors are targeted yet again as 17 tyres are slashed on Boxing Day
A few days ago, Protect the Wild wrote about how a monitor from Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) was beaten up with an iron bar and left for dead. He was monitoring the South Dorset Hunt at the time. And now hunt monitors and saboteurs have been targeted once again. WAR woke up on Boxing Day […]
Bodycam video shows the moment a quad bike hits a hunt saboteur on Boxing Day
Hunt saboteurs say one of their members was hit by a quad bike on Boxing Day. It happened during a meet of the Eggesford Hunt. And the incident left him needing x-rays. Devon County Hunt Saboteurs (DCHS) said on 26 December that “tempers began to flare” during the Eggesford Hunt’s Boxing Day meet. This annual […]
Ten reasons why 2022 was a remarkable and historic year
As we reach the end of 2022, it’s a good time to look back on how far the movement against hunting has come in just 12 months. This list looks at some of the most high profile moments from the past year and is ordered chronologically. Many more moments that are no less important have […]
“They would have left him for dead.” Hunt monitors are calling for witnesses after a 77-year-old man is beaten with an iron bar
On 20 December, a monitor from Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) was hospitalised after two masked-up men beat him round the head with a metal bar. WAR was monitoring the South Dorset Hunt, along with Mendip Hunt Sabs, when the brutal attack happened. They are asking for any witnesses to come forward. The attack took place […]
One ‘kind’ message led a pub to take a stand against hunting
A Powys pub has chosen not to support hunting. The pub said the decision came after it had received a “kind and non-abusive” message. And it’s the latest in a string of decisions that increasingly isolate the hunting industry. The Raven Inn based in Welshpool, Powys, said on 19 December that it “will not be […]
The MoD just became even more secretive about hunting on its land
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has sent the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) a letter, terminating a memorandum of understanding between the animal rights organisation and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Writing for ITV News, Rupert Evelyn said: “The long-standing memorandum between the MOD and LACS is designed to inform the anti-hunting organisation where on the […]
VICTORY! Hunting dying out as more hunts forced to merge
As 2022 draws to a close, there’s news that two more hunts are amalgamating. The Puckeridge is merging with the Essex with Farmers and Union for the 2023/2024 season, becoming the new Puckeridge and Essex Union Hunt. This is yet another indication that the hunting industry is struggling. Both hunts have had their own scandals […]
BREAKING: Somerset County Council will NOT close roads for Boxing Day hunts
After more than 2000 letters protesting the planned closures of public roads to facilitate three Boxing Day hunt parades poured into their offices, Somerset County Council has today issued a statement apologising for ‘misunderstandings’ and confirmed to Protect the Wild that hunts will now be meeting on private roads. As Protect the Wild reported […]
Police ‘ASBO’ the Warwickshire Hunt for causing road chaos
Warwickshire Police has slapped the Warwickshire Hunt with an ‘ASBO’. It means the hunt is required to tell the police whenever it crosses a public road. And the local hunt saboteur group has welcomed the move. On 14 December, Warwickshire Rural Crime Team announced it had issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN) to the Warwickshire […]
Somerset County Council using emergency powers to help hunt parades
Somerset County Council (SCC) will use powers meant for emergency roadworks to help Boxing Day hunt parades go ahead this year. The revelation broke on 14 December after Action Against Foxhunting (AAF) met with SCC’s highways officer. AAF told Protect the Wild that the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, Cotley Harriers and Seavington Foxhounds will […]
Royal Artillery Hunt accused of more intimidation and lies after huntsman Charles Carter runs down saboteurs with his car
On 10 December, Moonraker Hunt Sabs shared footage of Charles Carter, huntsman for the Royal Artillery Hunt (RAH), running down two saboteurs with his car. The video was posted on Twitter shortly after the incident happened, and shows Carter deliberately turning his car around to drive into the sabs. One person can be seen laying […]
Hare hunting: what is it and how is it stopped?
Hare hunting is less common and less well-known than fox hunting. However, it still occurs across the UK every week. Hare hunting is distinct from coursing in its use of scent hounds such as beagles and harriers; coursing uses sight hounds such as greyhounds and salukis. So what is hare hunting and how is it […]
Podcast 01: Charles Carter runs down Moonraker Hunt Sabs
[buzzsprout episode=’11855413′ player=’true’] A conversation with two members of Wiltshire’s Moonraker Hunt Sabs recorded just a few hours after they uploaded footage to Twitter which shows Charles Carter, Huntsman of the Royal Artillery Hunt, driving his car at them and knocking one of them to the ground. What follows is unverified in that I […]
Another public landowner has just wised up to hunting’s criminal activities
North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA) recently announced that hunts are no longer welcome on Levisham Estate. The move comes after hunt saboteurs caught terriermen digging out a badger sett on the property. East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs said on 4 December that NYMNPA had decided to “not… allow hunting to resume on the […]
What is a bagged fox?
On 26 August 2022, ITV News published footage showing what appeared to be a ‘bagged fox’. The video showed a group of terriermen associated with the Seavington Hunt pulling a bag from a quad bike before dumping whatever is inside onto the ground. Huntsman Benedict Hood is then seen encouraging a nearby pack of foxhounds, […]
Damning text messages incriminate prominent fox hunter Ollie Finnegan
On 6 December 2022, Ollie Finnegan pleaded guilty to illegally hunting with dogs after WhatsApp messages, found on his phone, incriminated him. Finnegan was the huntsman for the Quorn Hunt on 7 January 2022. Police seized his phone after receiving reports of the Quorn illegally hunting a fox that day. ITV’s Rupert Evelyn attended court. […]
Fear for pet as foxhounds tear through Cumbrian village
A dogwalker was left shaken and concerned for their pet as a ‘dangerously out of control’ pack of foxhounds ran towards them chasing a fox in the West Cumbrian village of Lamplugh, according to a report in Cumbria’s News and Star. The local resident, who didn’t want to give their name for fear of retribution, […]
Huntsman found not guilty after video dropped ‘at the eleventh hour’
Wrexham Magistrates’ Court found Chris Woodward not guilty of illegal hunting. Woodward, huntsman of the Wynnstay Hunt, was filmed behind a pack of hounds chasing a fox. But monitors say that the not guilty verdict came after the CPS dropped this evidence from the trial “at the eleventh hour”. Dropped and shocked Cheshire Monitors published […]
Hunts need to be held accountable as a hound is killed by a car
When it comes to hunting, it isn’t just foxes who are victims of this brutal bloodsport. On 29 November a Grove and Rufford Hunt (GRH) hound was hit and killed by a car on the A614. The pack was out of control, forcing cars and lorries to come to a standstill. Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs and […]
Police investigation launched into footage of hunting hounds killing a fox
Police confirmed they are investigating footage published online that appears to show hounds killing a fox. The incident occurred at Charleton Horethorne, Somerset, during a meet of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt. Police investigation On 26 November, hunt monitor group Wildlife Crime Action published a video showing hounds huddled together, ragging something on the […]
Hunt master fined after hunting fox on National Trust land
Hunt master fined £600 after failing to call dogs away while illegally fox hunting on National Trust land South Shropshire Hunt master Daniel Cherriman, aged 37, was filmed in November 2021 trespassing and illegally fox hunting on National Trust land in the Long Mynd area of Church Stretton when the hounds he was in charge […]
Shocking moment fox cowers on residential roof to escape hunt
In November 2022 shocking images of a terrified fox cowering on the roof of a house emerged on social media. The poor animal had been trying to escape out-of-control foxhounds belonging to the Melbreak Hunt, who had been illegally hunting (according to eyewitness reports) on National Trust owned-land at Whiteside, east of Loweswater. The Melbreak, […]
The Cottesmore Hunt car attack and other violence
The Cottesmore Hunt car attack and other violence – has failure to act given green light to violent hunt supporters? Footage shared by Northants Hunt Saboteurs shows a car hitting a member of its group during a Cottesmore Hunt meet on 25 October. The group has since told local paper Leicestershire Live that the struck […]
Criminal Dwyryd Hunt master jailed – again.
Criminal Dwyryd Hunt master jailed – again. Snowdonia farmer David Thomas admitted breaching a disqualification order, causing unnecessary suffering to a hound by kicking it, and failing to look after twenty-nine dogs and two ferrets. On the 10th of October sheep farmer David William Lloyd Thomas, 56, of Cwm Bowydd Farm, Blaenau Ffestiniog, appeared […]
Thames Valley Police working with Kimblewick Hunt?
Thames Valley Police working with Kimblewick Hunt…surely the police aren’t really aligning with a law-breaking fox hunt? A few days ago the pro-hunting lobby group Countryside Alliance posted a short ‘news report’ in which they claimed that Thames Valley Police had started working with the notorious Kimblewick Hunt on what was termed a ‘community […]
Video evidence shows fox hunting by Royal Artillery Hunt
Video evidence shows fox hunting by Royal Artillery Hunt This footage was captured by members of Salisbury Plain Monitors on 30 October 2021. It shows a fox running ahead of Charles Carter, huntsman of the Royal Artillery Hunt (RAH), as Carter blows his horn. The fox then turns into a covert of trees and, […]
If foxhunting is banned why does it still take place?
If foxhunting is banned why does it still take place? Fox hunting in England and Wales was banned by Parliament when MPs passed the Hunting Act 2004. More precisely, all hunting of wild mammals with dogs was banned – including foxes. The Act came into force on the 18th of February 2005, so hunts were […]
Terrierwork, terriermen, and the grotesque world of fox hunting
Terrierwork, terriermen, and the grotesque world of fox hunting Schedule 1.2 of the Hunting Act (which bans hunting wild animals with hounds) permits the use of “dogs below ground to protect birds for shooting”. It’s sometimes known as the Gamekeeper Exemption. Its wording allows someone to put a terrier in, for example, a fox earth […]
What do Wiltshire Police and the Met have in common?
Wiltshire Police, one of the smallest forces in England (which means that scarce resources need to be used carefully across a relatively large area), has been placed into ‘special measures’ along with the Met (London’s Metropolitan Police – described as ‘systemically racist’ after its handling of the murder of 18 year old Stephen Lawrence back […]
Hunting Office backlash continues…
Hunting Office backlash continues… …leading to an even more undemocratic rearranging of the deckchairs Fox hunting had always assumed it was built on solid foundations. Little wonder really. For hundreds of years the ‘nobility’ ran packs of hounds out of stately homes, killing foxes across land their families owned (or rented out to tenant farmers), […]
New body to regulate fox hunts just another smokescreen?
New body set up to regulate fox hunts – just another smokescreen? On 10 June the Hunting Office made an announcement stating that a new representative body, the British Hounds Sports Association (BHSA), will be responsible for the governance of hunts and hunting. A separate regulatory body is being set up, called the Hound Sports […]
Glyndwyr university team will conduct independent review into fox hunting
Police across the UK are renowned for allowing illegal fox and stag hunting to take place. It’s common knowledge to hunt saboteurs that the police ignore the hunting that goes on under their noses, instead turning their attention towards the activists on the ground who are trying save foxes. There’s countless footage all over the […]
‘Balaclava wearing thugs”: Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson doesn’t like sabs.
When Wiltshire councillor Jonathon Seed was disbarred from standing for the role of Swindon and Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), animal rights campaigners celebrated. An ex-army major and ex-fox hunt master, Seed has a long history of fox hunting, and was master of two local hunts for 20 years. But Swindon and Wiltshire’s PCC […]
Eton and beagling
Daily Mail appears to reveal all about Eton schoolboys and illegal hunting. Yesterday the Daily Mail printed a headline to a ‘news report’ that in just one deliberately-triggering sentence took in privilege, its current obsession with ‘woke’ (it takes a special sort of person, think Clarkson or Botham perhaps, to be proud of an ability […]
Police appeal for identities of terriermen seen in undercover investigation
Police appeal for identities of terriermen seen in undercover investigation Police are searching for two men connected to alleged Hunting Act offences. And they’re asking for your help to find them. BOLTING A FOX Swindon Police are searching for two men seen in Hunt Investigation Team’s exposé of the Vale of White Horse Hunt. […]
Exposed: tax-payer funded covid grants given to hunts
Protect the Wild expose tax-payer funded covid grants given to hunts “Families across the country are suffering incredible hardship and having to make tough sacrifices due to Covid-19. Why are hard-working people now being made to subsidise hunts to the tune of £160,000?” Back in 2020 Protect the Wild sent out Freedom of Information […]
Mini the cat killed by out of control Western Hunt
Exclusive interview: Mini the cat killed by out-of-control Western Hunt In March 2021 Mini the cat was chased and killed by hunting hounds in a quiet residential area. The Government should back Mini’s Law (Public and Animal Safety Bill 2021) to ensure the safety of the public and animals from hunting activity, such as trail […]