A hunt saboteur was beaten up by Mendip Farmers Hunt terriermen on Thursday 21 November. She was taken to A&E for scans to rule out brain damage. The men also stole her handheld camera, as well as her body camera.
The Mendip Hunt Saboteur was attacked by the terriermen as they attempted to dig out a fox who had gone underground. The sabs reported in detail about her ordeal, saying:
“Sabs went to investigate [the terriermen], and one saw two quads parked by a hedgerow and three men nearby with tools and digging equipment. When the men spotted this sab, they called in another quad and more thugs to block the sab’s cameras. Another sab approached the men through a neighbour’s land who had given her permission to be there and was immediately set upon when the three men spotted her. She was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched in the head and ribs whilst her body camera and handheld camera were stolen in a sustained and brutal attack.”
The group continued:
“Our sab was checked over at A&E where she was given brain scans to rule out any internal damage and informed that she was extremely lucky to not have more serious injuries. As well as lots of cuts and bruises, she still has swelling on her head and is experiencing dizziness due to concussion. She is determined to get back out in the field soon; violence will never deter hunt sabs.”
Police inaction
It is at once shocking, but also somewhat unsurprising, that police were called, came to the scene, but did nothing to catch the men. The sabs stated that the police took details about the attack, but refused to look for the attackers, despite the sabs knowing exactly where they were. To the sabs’ knowledge, the men were not questioned, or even stopped.
After the attack, the hounds picked up the scent of a fox and went into cry. It is safe to assume that the police didn’t act on this either.
An extremely violent hunt
The Mendip Farmers Hunt is renowned for its violence. Mendip Hunt Sabs previously told Protect the Wild:
“The Mendip Farmers Hunt are a gang of criminal thugs who frequently resort to violence in an attempt to deter sabs from documenting or preventing their persistent illegal fox hunting. In the past two years, we have secured seven convictions against them for violent crimes and have a number of cases still ongoing.”
In 2021, two female sabs were victims of a brutal attack reminiscent of this latest assault. The attackers were, again, terriermen, who stole the women’s camera footage. They reported on Facebook:
“[Huntsman] Hickmott swept the horse’s head to impact and off balance one of our sabs and then cowardly Stevens stepped in and pushed them to the ground cracking their head on a slab on the ground and knocking them unconscious.
Huntsman, Mathew Hickmott shouted “GET THE CAMERAS”! Then all hell broke loose. The full force of the assembling gang of emboldened terriermen/thugs threw our other sab to the ground. The other, regaining consciousness, was treated just the same, the two were dragged around by their hair, their hood, repeatedly knocked to the ground, kicked and kicked when down, shouted to “GET OUT” and then pushed and knocked to the ground again when further blows reigned down. A brutal, cowardly attack. 8-10 thugs on two women. No notice was taken of them saying they were leaving. All cameras with the footage of the illegal hunt and kill followed by assault were ripped away from us despite heroic attempts to curl up and protect the precious footage.”
Convictions following this hunt’s violence include:
- MFH supporter Christopher Hurden, who pleaded guilty to assault and criminal damage in 2021;
- Hunt thug Ashley Louth, who was also found guilty of criminal damage in 2021 after slashing sabs’ tyres;
- MFH’s former whipper-in, Tim Ingram, who was found guilty of criminal damage in late 2022 after he damaged a sab’s vehicle;
- A 17-year-old terrierman, who pleaded guilty to a number of counts in June 2022, including assault by beating, after attacks that took place in October and November 2021;
- Hunt rider Harry Billing, who was found guilty in October 2023 after causing criminal damage to a sab vehicle in 2022.
Violence isn’t just directed at hunt saboteurs and their vehicles. In February 2023, George Pullen, a master of the Mendip Farmers Hunt, was caught on video abusing a hound. In the footage, Pullen – who had got off his horse – brought a whip down with a sharp crack across the back of a hound. The dog whined and ran away, as another rider looked on.
Support the sabs!
Mendip Sabs are appealing for donations to replace their stolen equipment. The group said:
“You can donate the cost of a coffee at www.ko-fi.com/MendipHuntSabsOr donate to our fuel and equipment fund directly through PayPal at www.PayPal.me/MendipHuntSabsGrab some of our merch at our online shop: https://mendiphuntsabs.bigcartel.com/”
