BREAKING: United Utilities to end grouse shooting
As reported by Alex Thomson of Channel 4, “United Utilities, the largest corporate landowner in England, is pulling grouse shooting on its moorland by way of not renewing its leases when they come to an end. Its grouse shooting leases cover many high profile moorland landscapes, including the Forest of Bowland AONB, the Goyt Valley, […]
Cambridgeshire: Buzzard shot in head with airgun
ITV News is reporting that a female buzzard has been found ‘thin and weak’ in a garden in Cambridgeshire after surviving being shot with an airgun. The bird was taken to a vet in Ely where an x-ray revealed she had an airgun pellet lodged in her head. The RSPCA said it was a “miracle” […]
Police arrest two more in connection with Avon Vale Hunt video
Police have arrested two more people in connection with the Avon Vale Hunt video. Wiltshire Police said that it had arrested two people on suspicion of wildlife offences on 14 February. It said the man and woman, both 25, were suspected of “hunting a wild mammal with dogs, interfering with badger setts and causing unnecessary […]
BREAKING: Three members of the Avon Vale Hunt arrested
Wiltshire Police have arrested three men from the Avon Vale Hunt on the morning of 10 February following footage of the hunt involved in the dig out of two foxes. ITV News reporter Rupert Evelyn said on Twitter that Wiltshire Police arrested three men on 10 February following publication of footage appearing to show an […]
BREAKING: Wales one step closer to ban on snare use
The Welsh Senedd just announced it is carrying forwards a plan to prohibit the use of snares. On 27 January, the Welsh Senedd’s Economic, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee published its Stage 1 Report on its upcoming Agricultural Bill. The 116-page document covers many subjects related to the future of agricultural legislation in the nation. […]
RSPCA and police raid properties across England connected with hunting and terrierwork
Police ‘raided’ properties across England in conjunction with the RSPCA, ITV News reported. And all of the houses raided were connected to hunts and terriermen. The majority of arrests took place in Kent. Officers arrested four men in an “operation looking into alleged animal welfare and wildlife offences”, KentLive reported on 20 January. The raids […]
Five shot Goshawks dumped in Suffolk wood
On 17th January Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Unit posted a request on their Twitter feed for information after the discovery of the bodies of five young (Northern) Goshawks dumped in Forestry England’s King’s Forest near Thetford in Suffolk. The large and powerful birds – fully grown juveniles likely to have hatched just last […]
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 […]
Bird of prey poisonings: public at risk, says Lincolnshire Police
Aaron Flint, a wildlife crime officer from Lincolnshire Police, has warned of the risk to humans, dogs and cats from poisons used to illegally kill birds of prey. Detective Constable Aaron Flint, from the Lincolnshire Police Rural Crime Action Team, has featured in an article published on the BBC News website. The article makes clear […]
Banning Snares: a parliamentary debate in name only
On January 9th MPs gathered in a room in Westminster Hall to debate e-petition 600593, which as the 102,616 people who signed it will remember was a demand by Animal Aid that “The Government should prohibit the sale, use and manufacture of free-running snares under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, putting them in the […]
Yet more dead buzzards and yet another gamekeeper in court
Dorset gamekeeper Paul Scott Allen appeared before Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, January 4 where he pleaded guilty to seven offences including possession of a live or dead bird (or parts thereof) and misuse of a regulated poison. Allen appeared in court after an extensive investigation by police which began in November 2020 when a […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hen Harrier nest attacked and chicks stamped to death
North Yorkshire Hen Harrier chicks found dead with broken bones after ‘deliberate’ attack The raptor persecution hot spot of North Yorkshire (a ‘black hole for raptors‘ according to the Yorkshire Post) is in the news again following a (belated) press release from the local police. In an area dominated by grouse moors and frequent reports […]
Phone messages incriminate Scottish hare coursers
Two men have been convicted of hare coursing in Forfar Sheriff Court, Scotland, after incriminating evidence was found on seized phones. Alexander Stewart, 35, and Jackie Stewart, 42, were arrested after a farmer recognised their vehicle in the area, and called police to the scene. When they arrived, the police saw Jackie, accompanied by a […]
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 […]
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 […]
Shocking decline leads to Red-listing of Rook, Swift, Meadow Pipit in Wales
New Wales Birds of Conservation Concern lists: 60 species on the Red List which has doubled in length in 20 years. Once common birds have been disappearing for decades, and now the Rook, Swift, Meadow Pipit, and Greenfinch have been added to the list of birds threatened with extinction in Wales. Habitat loss, agricultural intensification, […]
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, […]
Hero left for dead by badger baiters receives award
A heroic former sab violently attacked by badger baiters last year has received an award for his work to protect badgers and other wildlife. Daniel, who at the time was colloquially known as ‘Puffer’, was knocked unconscious by a group of five badger baiters in Darcy Lever in April last year. He discovered the men […]
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 […]
New government law could worsen record high wildlife crime levels
Record high wildlife crime levels could be worsened by new Government law, warn wildlife campaigners The warning comes from Wildlife and Countryside Link, the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England which brings together 67 organisations to use their strong joint voice for the protection of nature. The annual Wildlife Crime Report compiled by Wildlife […]
Nidderdale: Raptor Poisoning Capital of UK
Nidderdale AONB in the Yorkshire Dales slammed by RSPB as the ‘bird of prey poisoning capital of Britain’. Is the message (belatedly) getting through that the shooting industry is responsible for trying to dictate to the rest of us how many birds of prey we should be seeing and where we should be seeing them? […]
Poisoned buzzard hung from tree in Co Down
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) are carrying out inquiries after a dead Common Buzzard was found strung up off the Ulster Way in Co Down. Member of the Legislative Assembly for North Down independent unionist Alex Easton has spoken of his disgust at finding the bird of prey hanging by the neck in […]
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 Killing Continues: Shooting industry driving raptor persecution
The latest RSPB Birdcrime Report confirms that the shooting industry continues to drive the illegal persecution of birds of prey, listing 108 confirmed incidents across Britain in 2021. The tally of dead birds includes 50 Common Buzzards, 16 Red Kites, seven Peregrines and three Goshawks. Birdcrime is the UK’s only annual and comprehensive report of […]
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 […]
Another satellite-tagged Hen Harrier ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances
Another satellite-tagged Hen Harrier ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances near a grouse moor. “It is believed the protected species could have been shot down or killed unlawfully.” Under the title “Officers team up with partners in search for missing hen harrier“, Durham Constabulary has posted a press release describing a multi-agency search for Sia, a satellite-tagged […]
RSPB Investigations Officer: Reflections on a poisoning
RSPB Investigations Officer: Reflections on a poisoning “Another issue that keeps rearing its head is the lack of any consequences for Stroud’s employers.” On 5 October 2022 gamekeeper Matthew Stroud was convicted of a long list of offences at Norwich Magistrates Court including killing protected birds – yet he escaped a prison sentence. Now Tom […]
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, […]
Grafton badger cull investigation dismissed as ‘trespass’
Life Peer Lord Benyon responds to question about Grafton Pet Crematorium investigation raised in House of Lords by Natalie, Lady Bennett. In early October Protect the Wild posted undercover footage taken by investigators over a three-week period at Grafton Pet Crematorium in Northamptonshire. The material we uploaded showed badger cull operators working at the crematorium. […]
RSPB’s review of lowland ‘gamebird’ shooting: “Bleak picture”
Has the RSPB finally run out of patience with the shooting industry? The country’s largest bird charity speaks out – but in an oddly low-key way. Tied for over a century to a Constitution enshrined in 1904 which insists it should be ‘neutral’ on shooting, the RSPB (by far the most important and most effective […]
Tougher sentencing for hare coursing introduced
Government introduces tougher sentencing and improved powers to tackle the cruel crime of chasing hares with dogs The government has announced today that tough new measures to tackle the crime of hare coursing (chasing hares with dogs) will come into immediate force. Anyone caught hare coursing will now face an unlimited fine and up to […]
New laws targetting hare coursers will come into effect from August
New laws targetting hare coursers will come into effect from 1st August, timed to start with the next hare coursing ‘season’. NEW OFFENCES, NEW PENALTIES The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act brought in new laws aimed at giving police greater powers to tackle hare coursing (a wildlife crime under the Hunting Act 2004) and […]
Revealed: widespread burning of peatlands despite government ban
As an avid hiker, I sometimes stumble across scorched earth in the middle of nowhere: heather moorland deliberately burnt by landowners for grouse shooting. And as an animal rights activist, I’m acutely aware of the way the shooting industry uses vast swathes of land for hunting and shooting. So new statistics about the extent of […]
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. […]
Hunting Havoc Report reveals shocking level of hunt recklessness
Hunting Havoc Report reveals shocking level of hunt recklessness In the past decade there have been numerous reports of hunting hounds chasing terrified animals and, in some cases, killing domestic animals, livestock and pets. These so-called “accidents” are taking place across the country every year and the hunts repeatedly apologise for their actions and promise […]
