UK FIRST: Wales snare ban comes into force today
The Wales snare ban has finally come into force today, on 17 October 2023. The country is the first in the UK to implement such a ban. Scotland, too, is likely to be following in Wales’ footsteps. Meanwhile, England lags far behind both countries when it comes to the welfare of our wildlife. The Welsh […]
Police investigate after Warwickshire Hunt tears apart fox
Warwickshire Police has announced that it is investigating the Warwickshire Hunt after hounds tore up a fox on 9 October. But we need concrete action from the police: saying it is investigating isn’t enough. All eyes will be on the force to prosecute this criminal gang. The announcement comes after Labour MP Matt Western sent […]
Court drops all wildlife crime charges against gamekeepers working for Prince William’s best friend
An employee of Hilborough Estate was found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon. The charge came after an undercover investigation into wildlife persecution at the estate. However, a number of other charges related to the “taking” of a goshawk were dropped. Dominic Green and William Richardson were at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on 17 October to […]
London Badger Cull Protest – Protesting a Decade of Dead Badgers
Please help protest a decade of the badger cull by coming to London on October 20th. Over the past 10 years, the government has licenced the deaths of a quarter of a million Badgers to protect the dairy industry from a disease of their own making – bovineTB. One of our most protected mammals, 260,000 […]
MP demands answers from Police and Crime Commissioner about hunting bias
Labour MP Matt Western has sent a letter to Philip Seccombe, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire, asking him about the questionable policing of the Warwickshire Hunt. A Conservative councillor on Stratford-on-Avon District Council between 2002 and 2017, Seccombe was first elected as the Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner in 2016 and re-elected for […]
Stag killers no longer welcome in this Somerset pub
Pub company Greene King has stated that the Anchor Inn in Exebridge will no longer host the Quantock Staghounds. This stand against hunting is a blow to the murderous industry. Huntpubs, a campaign that exposes the pubs and venues supporting illegal hunting, published an email on X (formerly Twitter). It had previously asked the public […]
Buzzard shot in North York Moors National Park
The criminals at large in the North York Moors National Park – a region dominated by grouse shoots – have struck again, as a Buzzard was discovered “fighting for its life” on Daleside Road in Rosedale. X-rays revealed that the Buzzard had been shot, and the bird was transferred into the care of the renowned […]
Ex-jockey jailed for badger baiting after horrific footage found on phone
23-year-old ex-jockey Brandon Lawlor has been jailed for eight weeks, guilty of badger baiting in a prosecution brought by the RSPCA. Footage found on his phone was described as “absolutely horrific” by the charity. The video was discovered by the police in August 2021, while they were investigating Lawlor for an unrelated offence. The footage […]
Hunt attacks homes and vehicles of sabs and monitor
North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs reported this week that two female saboteurs have been attacked and their cameras were stolen. Homes and vehicles were also targeted. Images were released of the damage done to a hunt monitor’s silver car and to a van belonging to the hunt sabs. The sabs are asking for help to raise […]
Gloucestershire Council must ban hunting on its land
Gloucestershire Council is the latest council to consider banning trail hunting on its land. The county is home to some of England’s most notorious hunts, including the Cotswold Hunt which made news headlines when it buried a fox alive in March 2023. The Heythrop Hunt also terrorises foxes in Gloucestershire. On 23 September 2023, Three […]
Hunt kills deer and uses ‘falconry exemption’ to hunt illegally
On 25 September Suffolk Action For Wildlife (SAFW) posted a distressing video online. The footage showed a deer who had just been murdered by the Essex and Suffolk Hunt. Protect the Wild spoke to SAFW about the events of that day, and about a little-known loophole in the Hunting Act that hunts are using as […]
Sinnington huntsman filmed dumping dead animals to attract foxes
Covert footage, captured in August 2023 and passed onto the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA), has shown Sinnington huntsman, Tom Cranage, throwing dead rabbits into woods to provide food for foxes. Remains of deer, rabbits, and pigeons were found in the Habton Whin covert in North Yorkshire. The Sinnington huntsman’s intention seems clear: to attract and […]
Scotland’s hunting ban will finally be enforced
Scotland’s anti-hunting activists are celebrating as the government’s hunting ban will finally be enforced from 3 October. The Hunting With Dogs (Scotland) Bill was passed in January 2023, and it became an Act on 7 March 2023. But despite this, saboteurs have been catching hunters pursuing foxes red-handed. This is because until now, NatureScot has […]
Protect the Wild – how supporters EMPOWER us!
Before I get into this, can I just say now please don’t let the first two paragraphs below put you off! This short post is written to let you know how grateful we at Protect the Wild are to you (our supporters, readers, and contributors) for helping us feel less powerless and more hopeful…and as […]
Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt murder or dig out foxes three times in one week
Earlier this year, the public was outraged when ITV News broadcast the Avon Vale Hunt digging out two foxes. On 21 September 2023, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs caught the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt (BSV) doing the exact same thing. The sabs also caught the hunt trying to dig out another fox just days later, […]
Heythrop Hunt hounds tear up a fox in front of hunt saboteurs
Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs caught the Heythrop Hunt tearing up a fox cub on 23 September. Gloucestershire Police says it is investigating, but it remains to be seen whether the force will take action. The Heythrop’s current huntsman is criminal hunter Chris Woodward. The sabs recalled the events of the day in their report on […]
No prosecution for hunters who buried fox alive
Cotswold Hunt men who tied a fox into a sack, then buried her alive, have escaped prosecution. Back in March 2023, hunt saboteurs from Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch found the fox trapped inside an artificial earth. Footage, shown on Channel 4 News, shows the vixen being rescued. A hunt saboteur, known as Magpie, told Channel […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #5: Shropshire Wildlife Monitors
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘, empowering people to protect British wildlife. We set the fund up because we know that many people who monitor are largely unfunded volunteers and often have no umbrella organisation to support them. That means they have […]
The grouse shooting industry’s ‘illusion of truth’
“141 hen harrier chicks fledge as encouraging population growth recorded” (Natural England). “Record high for Hen harrier population in England” (Moorland Association). “Another record year for hen harriers as 141 chicks fledge in England” (BASC). “Population of Hen Harrier in England experiences boom” (Hexham Courant). “Hen harrier chick numbers grow for seventh year in a […]
Restore Trust and Countryside Alliance aim to take control of National Trust Board
Lobby groups ‘Restore Trust’ and the Countryside Alliance (CA) have seemingly joined forces to once again try to take over the Board of Trustees of the National Trust. Emails are being sent out listing five people the lobbyists would like members to vote for: Philip Gibbs, Andrew Gimson, Violet Manners, Philip Merricks, and Jonathon Sumption. […]
Defra public consultation on hedgerows
The Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra – or ‘Deathra’ as it’s increasingly known as it piles misery on misery upon England’s badgers) is holding a public consultation on hedgerows. The short online questionnaire takes just minutes to fill out (though that of course depends on some extent to the length of answers […]
Notorious fox hunters just helped sabotage the trophy hunting bill’s chances
Peers in the House of Lords recently discussed the proposed ban on trophy hunting imports. The session is typically used to iron out details in proposed legislation. But this time, a small group of peers used the time to undermine its progress – and they included some well-known names from the world of fox hunting. […]
Holderness Hunt kills fox in front of monitors, police take ‘no further action’
* WARNING: There are graphic images included with this report. We’ve not used them to be gratuitous but to illustrate what we consider to be clear evidence of a wildlife crime * In March 2023 Hull Wildlife Protectors (HWP) photographed hounds from the Beverly-based Holderness Hunt tearing apart a fox while hunt staff looked on […]
This is why Pewsey Parish Council shouldn’t permit a Boxing Day hunt parade for the Tedworth Hunt
The Tedworth Hunt is expected to hold its annual parade in Pewsey this Boxing Day. However, hunt saboteurs and monitors have repeatedly exposed the hunt as a perpetrator of anti-social and criminal acts. Does Pewsey Parish Council want local residents and the wider public to view it as a supporter of such behaviour? The Tedworth […]
North Yorkshire Council group likens hunting ban to Nazi Germany
An oversight committee for North Yorkshire Council has discussed banning hunts from council-owned land. Some campaigners were hopeful it would lead the council in the same direction as others in the country. However, hopes were dashed after the group said a ban would mirror “how Germany ended up in the 1930s”. Rich Maw, a Labour […]
Newly released figures show the badger cull is far from winding down
The government has published the number of badgers it wants to kill this year as part of the cull to reduce bovine TB (bTB). Despite having announced the badger cull is winding up, the figures remain gut-wrenchingly high. On 7 September, DEFRA published its document setting out the minimum and maximum number of badgers it […]
Men plead guilty to poaching grouse in North Yorkshire
Three men pleaded guilty in Teesside Magistrates Court on 7 August 2023, charged with a number of poaching offences. The men were searched by police on moorland near Lockwood Beck in the North York Moors National Park on 29 January 2023 after a tip-off. Cleveland Police said: “Officers immediately attended the area and detained the […]
Here’s why Chitterne Parish Council needs to ban the Royal Artillery Hunt from parading this Boxing Day
Every year fox hunters across the country gear up for their biggest PR exercise of the hunting season: the Boxing Day or New Year’s Day parade. So Protect the Wild has teamed up with Action Against Foxhunting to campaign for councils to ban hunts from parading on their land at the end of December. One […]
Equipment Fund #4: Kirklees Badger Protection Group
One of the UK’s most charismatic mammals, badgers are instantly recognisable. While most people love them, badgers are also one of the country’s most persecuted animals. Despite being made illegal in 1835 badger baiting still takes place across the UK. Fox hunts illegally block badger setts to stop foxes hiding underground. And of course since […]
Scotland has banned fox hunting, so why are cubs being hunted right now?
Scotland passed the Hunting With Dogs (Scotland) Bill in January 2023, and it became an Act on 7 March 2023. So why are saboteurs catching hunters pursuing foxes red-handed? On 6 September, Scottish Borders Hunt Sabs posted footage, taken from their drone, of the Berwickshire Hunt. The video shows some riders surrounding woodland with hounds […]
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 […]
Scotland: Avian Flu confirmed in pheasants
On August 11th, the day before the ‘Inglorious 12th’ and the start of grouse shooting, we reported that a case of highly-infectious Avian Flu had been detected in a Red Grouse. Given how Red Grouse are bred to create a ‘surplus’ for shooting (in other words, bred at far denser population levels than would occur […]
This is why Easingwold Town Council shouldn’t permit a Boxing Day parade to the Badsworth, Bramham, York South Hunt
The Badsworth, Bramham, York South Hunt is expected to hold its annual parade in Easingwold this Boxing Day. However, hunt saboteurs and monitors have repeatedly exposed the hunt as a hub of anti-social and criminal acts. Does Easingwold Town Council want local residents and the wider public to view it as a supporter of such […]
This is why Kirkbymoorside Town Council shouldn’t permit a Boxing Day parade for the Sinnington Hunt
The Sinnington Hunt is expected to hold its annual parade in Kirkbymoorside this Boxing Day. However, hunt saboteurs and monitors have repeatedly exposed the hunt as perpetrators of anti-social and criminal acts. Does Kirkbymoorside Town Council want local residents and the wider public to view it as a supporter of such behaviour? Anti-hunting activists have […]
We created a map of North Yorkshire showing what effect a council ban on hunting could have
A core committee of North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) will discuss a motion to ban hunting from council-owned land on 11 September. We’ve created a map to show how a ban might affect hunting in the county. Labour councillor Rich Maw originally proposed the motion for debate in July. However, the council failed to debate […]
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 […]
More hunts have folded and the season’s barely begun
The hunting season is just getting underway and anti-hunting activists have already announced the end of several packs across England and Wales. On 28 August, the newly formed Kent Hounds announced its arrival on Facebook by uploading a logo. The notable thing about this logo is that it contains the names of four hunts around […]
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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #3: Hull Wildlife Protectors
Protect the Wild is working hard to empower people to protect British wildlife. In the Spring we began building a unique information resource to help tackle wildlife crime and acts of criminality that we called ‘Protectors of the Wild‘. ‘Protectors’ has now expanded to 35 pages and answers about 400 FAQs on everything from laws […]
‘Eyes in the Field’: Monitoring hunting in the North York Moors National Park
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund provides equipment like radios or cameras to individuals or groups who are working as ‘eyes in the field’ to tackle wildlife crime and protect wildlife. We have asked each recipient to explain what they do and how they are using the equipment we have provided – not only to […]
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 […]
JAILED: Twin brothers who left a charity cyclist to die
Twin brothers who left a charity cyclist to die on a remote Highland roadside after hitting him with their pick-up truck before hiding his body in a stink pit (a pit where gamekeepers dump animal carcasses) have been jailed for a total of 17 years and three months. As we reported earlier this month (see […]
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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #2 – another group supported!
This Summer we launched the Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund to put ‘eyes in the field’ and empower people to protect British wildlife. Any money raised from paid subscriptions on our Substack platform goes straight into the Equipment Fund to provide groups and individuals with equipment (eg trail cameras, radios or night vision optics) that […]
Hunt saboteurs ‘seriously assaulted’ while monitoring a deer hunt
Hunt saboteurs in the southwest have said that hunt followers “seriously assaulted” two members during a deer hunt. The attack hospitalised one sab and smashed up a vehicle. The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) said on 22 August that two sabs were assaulted while following the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. One was a member of Devon […]
Scottish government consulting on snare ban and extended powers for SSPCA
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” and whether inspectors from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) “should be given extra legislative powers to investigate wildlife crime”. Both proposals are part of […]
Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show: Who’s not telling the truth?
Over the last few weeks Protect the Wild has supported an Action Against Foxhunting (AAF) campaign which was asking for clarity about which hunt packs organisers had invited to parade at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show (which was on 16/17 August). Looking at the show’s website it was clear there would be ‘Hound Parades’ but […]
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 […]
THREE more Hen Harriers ‘disappear’ on grouse moors
The RSPB has posted a press release today which describes how THREE more Hen Harriers (one of the UK’s most persecuted birds of prey) have ‘vanished’ on grouse moors in northern England. All three of them have been killed within days of the ‘Inglorious 12th’, the start of the 121-day blood-soaked season the industry uses […]
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 […]