Shocking footage, captured by Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR), is another stark reminder that hunters are driven by bloodlust and need to be urgently stopped by the Labour government.
The sabs’ video clip, taken on 23 November, starts with hounds in brambles in a frenzy and ends with a heartbreaking closeup of a mutilated fox lying on the ground with one of her rear legs torn off. A completely barbaric and needless death, carried out by the brutal South Dorset Hunt.
The incident took place during the height of Storm Bert. WAR stated:
“Whereas normal people throughout the UK were hunkering down and heeding severe weather warnings for Storm Bert, the SD were risking life and limb of themselves, their horses and hounds to go out on a killing spree…
Driving rain and falling branches weren’t going to stop them and they seemed to be of the attitude if they were going to get drenched, they were going to make it worth their while.”
The sound ‘tore through our hearts’
WAR described how hounds chased one terrified fox, who made an escape across a road. Hounds followed in pursuit, causing the driver of a car to have to perform an emergency stop in the wet and hazardous weather. This fox luckily made it to safety. But the South Dorset Hunt had no intention of stopping there, and a second fox suffered from “the most horrific death imaginable”. WAR said the “frenzied shrill barking of hounds” was a “one that tore through our hearts”.
The sabs wrote:
“The dogs were in the midst of a killing red mist, they were digging and clawing to get to the fox, probably getting their faces shredded by the brambles in the frenzy. Unfortunately, our sab was the wrong side of a sheer gully and couldn’t physically get in to where the fox was desperately trying to escape. Whereas Jimmy [master and amateur huntsman James Ballie] was the same side as the hounds, he could have and should have got off his horse and taken the hounds, if you can’t control your hounds, you shouldn’t be allowed to be in charge of them! Sadly Jimmy didn’t, instead he rode off! By the time he came back, it was too late… the poor fox had had one of its rear legs torn off, presumably whilst the hounds were frantically trying to pull it out of the hole it was struggling to get into, as the hounds could be seen throwing it about. We’re just praying and hoping this was done after they’d killed it.”
Labour, take note
This latest South Dorset Hunt incident should be yet another wake-up call to the government that the Hunting Act either needs replacing completely or amended so that it is watertight. There are a number of changes that need to be made in order to end hunting with dogs, including:
- Banning trail hunting:
Recognise that “trail hunting” is a tactic used by hunts to cover illegal hunting activities by claiming they follow an animal-based scent trail. Leaked evidence from the hunting community confirms that trails are often a “smokescreen” to continue traditional hunting practices while evading the law. - Removing all exemptions, including:
◦ Using hounds to flush foxes to birds of prey or to be shot.
◦ Using hounds for “observation and research” purposes, often exploited by stag hunts.
◦ Chasing and killing rabbits and rats with hounds, which is sometimes abused by beagle, basset, and minkhound packs. - Ensuring that no exceptions are granted for the use of any number of hounds in activities such as ‘predator control’ , ‘pest control’, ‘wild mammal management’, game shooting, deer stalking , or any related practices involving the use of dogs to kill animals.
- Prohibiting terrier work, where terriers are sent underground to bait, bolt, or kill foxes, often causing damage to protected badger setts.
- Ensuring that a licensing scheme – as introduced by Scotland when it changed the law – can not be introduced and exploited.
- Clarifying legal definitions, for example, making it a crime to “intentionally or recklessly” hunt a wild mammal with a dog; and clarifying that landowners are accountable for hunting on their land.
On top of this, Protect the Wild wants the law to change so that the burden of proof needs to be on the hunt, rather than the prosecution, to demonstrate that no hunting offence occurred. We also argue that the sentencing severity of convictions needs to increase, while there should be an extension in the time police have to charge suspects beyond the current six-month window. Hunting organisations, as well as individuals of a hunt, should also be held accountable for hunting offences.
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“our cameras are really suffering at the moment in this weather and it’s only going to get worse the further we get into winter. Fuel and cameras are the two things we really rely on to keep going; that and a great team of sabs who are willing to dedicate their lives to saving the foxes.
