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, was out walking with their one-year-old dog when they noticed a fox darting across the field in front of them.
“I saw a fox running across the field, and I thought it was strange my dog wasn’t running after it but this time my dog stuck with me, so she must have smelled or heard the pack before they appeared.
“My dog is half the size of those dogs, four of the dogs came running towards us, trying to go for my dog.
“I had to throw my dog over the fence whilst they were trying to get to her,” they said.
The resident also claimed they noticed what appeared to be another dog running past with a cat in its mouth.
“It was reckless to the safety of the public and to their property. The dogs were dangerously out of control.
“I think the owners of the hounds are completely irresponsible. I have no problems with an organised hunt but when it’s just releasing dogs into a small hamlet, disorganised, it’s a different story,” they said.
The dogwalker suggested that the local community are aware of this but maybe turning a ‘blind eye to the situation’.
Another resident from the area said: “It’s not the dogs, it’s the people who own them.
“It’s cruel and unnecessary, I just don’t understand it.”
Cumbria Police confirmed that a report had been made regarding the behaviour of the animals in the area including that they were barking and being aggressive and that they may also have caused damage to a home’s fencing.
Hunt havoc is frequent wherever fox packs hunt. A commentor in the News and Star sums up the feelings of many local residents: “They break the law with impunity and on the whole the police look the other way, if this was in the city and dogs were on the rampage and out of control, the persons involved would be banned from keeping dogs.”
Lamplugh itself is not far from the Lorton Valley where just last week the Melbreak Hunt was involved in an illegal fox hunt which ended with a terrified fox cowering on the roof of a local resident’s home.
