On 13 September Devon and Somerset Staghounds (DSSH) once again showed just how ugly the face of stag hunting really is.
The hunt separated a young stag from his companions, pursuing him until he was exhausted before killing him with a rifle. Members of North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs (NDHS) were on the scene.
They commented on Facebook:
“Today the DSSH showed no effort to disguise what was taking place. It was staghunting as it always was before the ban. No animal should be treated as this stag was today. This was not Research & Observation. For the hunt to argue differently is wholly untrue. Secondly for the authorities to believe the hunt explanation is tantamount to supporting the ongoing cruelty of twenty years since the ban.”
‘Research and observation’ sham
Deer are fully protected by the Hunting Act 2004, but stag hunts use the ‘Observation and Research’ exemption which allows hunting with two dogs “for the purpose of or in connection with the observation or study of the wild mammal.” However – surprise, surprise – no peer-reviewed ‘research’ has EVER been published by any hunt. Supposed observation and research is just another way for hunts to get around the Act and carry on hunting just as they always have done, despite over two decades since the ban.
Another loophole exploited by stag hunts is the rule regarding the ‘flushing’ of stags or hinds by a maximum of two hounds in order for them to be shot. Hunt groups routinely use relays of hounds – meaning that as the dogs tire they will be replaced with fresher ones, so the deer has little chance to escape.
Separated from the herd
This video from NDHS shows DSSH’s hounds pursuing a herd of hinds and stags. Hounds eventually separate one stag, chasing him uphill until he is exhausted. He is then followed by DSSH’s riders:
The desperate stag can be seen in video footage being chased down to the Exmoor foxhounds kennels, then killed on the Two Moors Way by a Devon and Somerset Staghounds member. NDHS wrote:
“The desperate stag, in his last minutes, ran right down to the Exmoor Foxhounds kennels and got boxed in as he tried to hide in the undergrowth surrounding the stream. As a gunman (in the bowler hat) went in for the kill, he made one final courageous break for it, but was brought to bay and killed along the Two Moors Way in Simonsbath“
Two days earlier, another stag had been killed by the DSSH, this time on National Trust land at Comer’s Gate on Winsford Hill. Apparently a “historical easement” allowed hunting on the land. We will be contacting National Trust to verify this.
On both occasions, NDHS reported that their sabs were subjected to verbal abuse by DSSH riders and supporters. On 13 September a sab was “roughly handled” while on the Two Moors Way public footpath. This behaviour is completely unacceptable.
On 15 September NDHS reported that they and Mendip Hunt Sabs witnessed the killing of another deer at Heddon Browside in Somerset, this time by Quantock Staghounds. The stag was cruelly chased to exhaustion for three long hours. On 16 September, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds were out again at Kingswood Gate in Molland near Exmoor but – thankfully – failed to achieve a kill.
Devon and Somerset Staghounds – along with the Quantock and Tiverton Staghounds – are one of three stag hunts who are still terrorising wildlife in the South-West of England. We need the government to strengthen existing laws, tighten up loopholes and end stag hunting for good.
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Sign our petition calling for a proper ban on hunting, and check out our proposal for a workable ban on the hunting of mammals with hounds.
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Make a donation to North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs and help them to protect stags and hinds from the likes of Devon and Somerset Staghounds.
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Check out our Protectors of the Wild page on ‘Assaults and the Law’. If you’ve been affected by violence from the hunt when out monitoring or sabbing it can be useful to get mental health support. We can put you in touch with a trained counsellor who can provide sessions fully funded by Protect the Wild. Click here to find out more.
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Check out Protect the Wild’s explainer article on ‘The Brutal Reality of Stag Hunting’.
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Check out Protect the Wild’s pages on ‘Deer Hunting‘ and ‘Deer and the Law’.