England’s most flagrant hunt excises all mention of foxes from its founding doc
The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt (BSV) is arguably the poster child for fox hunting diehards in Britain. In a curious sign of the times as the trail hunting ban looms, it has removed all mentions of foxes from one of its founding documents. The BSV is a notorious hunt, accounting for almost 13% of […]
‘Hounds were on her straight away’: South Wales sabs report another fox kill
South Wales Hunt Saboteurs reported that Sennybridge Farmers Hunt’s hounds caught and killed a female fox on 14 December. Unfortunately, the incident happened very suddenly, too quickly for foot saboteurs to intervene. But sabs did retrieve her body and ” laid the lovely fox to rest in a peaceful place far, far away from hunt […]
Another hunt down! Scotland’s Liddesdale Foxhounds folds
As 2024 comes to a close, Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs announced some great news: the Liddesdale Foxhounds has folded! The sabs reported on the Hunt Saboteurs Association website: “Little is known about the elusive Liddesdale Foxhounds despite them being one of the oldest fox hunts in Scotland. However, we do know that the Hunting with Dogs […]
Hunting: new low as fox killed on school grounds
On Tuesday 26 November, Grafton Hunt hounds allegedly killed a fox on school grounds while pupils were in lessons. The hounds were spotted by witnesses as they chased the fox across a playing field of Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. The pack then killed the poor animal in an outbuilding on the premises. Grafton Hunt Watch, […]
HORRIFIC: South Dorset Hunt mutilates fox
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 […]
Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hounds tear up fox in residential garden
Hunting hounds caused yet more havoc this week when the notorious Blackmore and Sparkford Vale’s dogs ran rampage in a residential garden, chasing and killing a fox. The heartbreaking incident took place in West Camel, Somerset, on 11 November. Footage was captured on the home’s security camera and given to North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs. The […]
Scotland: Jed Forest Hunt kills fox in front of sabs
Hunting with dogs is, supposedly, banned in Scotland. Hunts, however, continue to sidestep the country’s 2023 legislation. The Labour government is considering new hunting legislation in England and Wales: it needs to take note of the loopholes that hunts are using to continue killing. On 9 November 2024, Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs witnessed a fox kill […]
Bolting foxes: Exposing the real face of hunting
Hunts across the country have held their opening meets in recent weeks as yet another fox hunting ‘season’ gets underway. To mark the season’s start, the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) released three videos – recorded by hunters themselves – that demonstrate the despicable practice of ‘bolting’. The main fox hunting season runs from the end […]
‘Traumatising’: Gruesome footage shows Seavington Hunt tearing up fox
Two Counties Hunt Sabs have published gruesome footage from the Seavington Hunt’s opening meet, which took place on 26 October. The video shows a fox being caught by hounds and torn up, while the huntsman watches closely. A rider then throws the fox’s body into a nearby stream. (WARNING: Video shows a fox being killed) […]
GUILTY AGAIN! West Norfolk Foxhounds men lose court appeal
Two West Norfolk Foxhounds men appeared in court again last week, this time to appeal hunting convictions. To their dismay, their attempt at overturning their guilty verdicts backfired. Their convictions were upheld on 18 October. Back on 19 July 2024, a judge convicted huntsman Edward “Mikey” Bell and whipper-in Andrew Egginton on two counts each […]
Hunt kills a fox, then huntsman grabs a hare to throw to hounds
The Puckeridge and Essex Union Hunt killed a fox, then seemingly threw a hare to hounds, in one morning. Footage shared by East Herts Sabs will make any animal lover feel both sick and distressed. It shows huntsman Rhys Matcham getting off his horse, grabbing the hare, and riding off with her as hounds follow […]
Portman Hunt: Two men convicted of fox hunting crimes
Two men from the Portman Hunt have been convicted under Section 1 of the Hunting Act. They were found guilty on 20 September, despite insisting that it is normal to lay a scent trail through barbed wire! The Portman Hunt’s Tom Lyle, who is huntsman and master, and Marcus Boundy, who is whipper-in, were filmed […]
Sabs film criminal terriermen digging fox out of badger sett
A video, exposing the Axe Vale Harriers, was filmed by Devon County Hunt Saboteurs and Mendip Hunt Saboteurs on 13 March 2024. It shows terriermen digging out a badger sett to get to a fox, who has hidden underground from the hunt.
The season when hunts tear up fox cubs has already begun
Cubbing season has begun. Cubbing is where hunts train their hounds to chase and kill using inexperienced young fox cubs as practice, giving the dogs a taste for blood. Hunt saboteurs and monitors are already on the ground, trying to stop the horrific act. We spoke to Shropshire Wildlife Monitors, who caught the United Pack […]
Unreal: Fox-killing Rees-Moggs to star in reality TV show
Discovery+ has announced that it has made a five-part series about stuffy former Tory MP Rees-Mogg, his wife Helena and their six children. It will, unfortunately, air later this year, and you can bet that ratings will be low – a pattern established by Rees-Mogg’s ‘work’ as a condescending anchor on GB News, a heavily […]
‘Family-friendly’ Somerset business breeding and selling foxes as exotic pets
A popular Somerset business has been breeding foxes to be kept as exotic pets. Take action: boycott the business and sign the petition, calling for the new Labour government to urgently review and reform legislation. A member of Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs discovered that a fox breeder in Somerset has been advertising foxes to sell […]
GUILTY: Four convictions of illegal hunting against West Norfolk Foxhounds
A district judge found two men from the West Norfolk Foxhounds guilty on two counts each of illegal hunting today (19 July). They relate to two incidents in February 2023, one of which made national news after CCTV footage was published showing hounds kill a fox in a residential garden. District judge Matthew Bone convicted […]
Rescuers save foxes trapped by wildlife killer
On 7 July, animal welfare volunteers rushed to Moreton on the Wirral in an attempt to save two foxes from a wildlife killer. Locals alerted Manchester Hunt Saboteurs, who were joined by both Wirral Fox Rescue and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. A man, who is known in the area for terrorising mammals and […]
Labour must end fox hunting for good
On 5 July Labour formed a new government after winning the General Election with a huge majority. The party has pledged to strengthen the Hunting Act 2004, closing the trail hunting loophole. Protect the Wild argues that they can go a huge step further. This article explains how. The hunting industry is on its last […]
Hackney resident woken to sound of gunshots as foxes shot in vicarage
On 23 June, Hackney resident Claire was suddenly woken by the sound of gunshots. Highly alarmed she realised that the shots were coming from the vicarage her garden backed on. Inside the vicarage was a young family. What on earth was happening…? Claire, who told Protect the Wild she has worked in war zones in […]
Tory pro-fox hunting leaders and MPs
With the General Election just around the corner, it’s looking like the Tories’ time in power will be over very soon! But we mustn’t be complacent. In this article, we remind our readers how this pro-hunting party has waged a war on foxes since it came back into power in 2010. Since taking over from […]
REVEALED: The Newt’s owners Emily Estate allows fox hunting on even more of its land
Protect the Wild’s campaign, urging luxury hotel business The Newt in Somerset to end its ties with fox hunting, has uncovered more links with the criminal Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt. The prestigious Hotel has allowed the BSV to meet on its grounds and has refused to confirm that it will ban the hunt […]
TAKE ACTION: Tell the Royal Horticultural Society to disassociate itself from fox hunting
The Chelsea Flower Show, organised by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), has come to an end for another year. The show’s four-year headline sponsor, luxury hotel business The Newt in Somerset, allows fox hunting meets on its land. You can take action by telling the RHS to cut its ties with the company, which is […]
The Newt’s estate manager and her connections to fox hunting
Luxury hotel business The Newt in Somerset – headline sponsor of the Chelsea Flower Show – has allowed the criminal Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt to meet on its grounds. Despite a campaign of more than 12,000 people urging The Newt to ban the hunt, the business still hasn’t cut ties with the notorious […]
Prominent gardeners speak out against Chelsea Flower Show’s association with fox hunting
The 2024 Chelsea Flower Show is well under way. Attendees have been alarmed to discover that the show’s headline sponsor, luxury hotel business The Newt, supports illegal hunting. Now some of the country’s most famous gardeners have spoken out about the event’s ongoing relationship with the hotel. Protect the Wild, along with our friends at […]
TAKE ACTION: Tell the ‘World’s Best Boutique Hotel’ to disassociate itself from fox hunting
Yesterday we launched a petition to demand that The Newt in Somerset hotel stop hosting the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt. Over 5000 people have already signed. In the following post we give more details about why the petition was launched and why it is so important. The Newt must disassociate from fox hunting Hunts […]
Protesters descend on fox hunting supporter Jeremy Clarkson
TV ‘personality’ and farmer Jeremy Clarkson has never hidden his contempt for Britain’s wildlife. After letting one of England’s most criminal hunts chase foxes and block badger setts on his land, protesters paid a visit to his company. Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, Gloucestershire Badger Office, Cotswold Hunt Sabs, Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch, Gloucestershire Badger Group […]
Fox thrown to hounds – another Avon Vale Hunt member sentenced
A terrierman who was working for the now disbanded Avon Vale Hunt when he ‘supervised’ a live fox being thrown to a pack of hounds in December 2020 has been sentenced. 38-year-old Thomas Ledbury pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another to commit the offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a fox. Ledbury, who lives […]
Fox Killer Baits: Illegal, reckless, and probably a scam.
Protect the Wild was recently sent a link to a product allegedly on sale in the UK – Fox Killer Baits – that is illegal to use here, is supported by reckless and negligent advice – and to top it all it seems to be being sold on what may well be a scam site anyway!
Hunting: A Case for Change. Thousands of foxes still being chased or killed
Protect the Wild recently published “Hunting: A Case for Change“, a 50-page report that offers a thorough examination of hunting practices during the 2022/23 season, focusing predominantly on fox, hare, and deer hunting in England and Wales. Author Glen Black utilised a combination of online data from anti-hunting groups, public reports, and activist observations to […]
Man jailed after setting dogs on fox in garage
30-year-old Dane Crawford has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for animal cruelty. He trapped a fox in his garage and set his pet dogs on the poor animal. His girlfriend, 23-year-old Shelby Wallis, was also sentenced under the Animal Welfare Act. The pair, who live together in Lancaster, previously pleaded guilty to four […]
Jeremy Clarkson sponsors fox hunting fundraiser
Fox-hater Jeremy Clarkson is sponsoring a horse racing event that is raising funds for the criminal Heythrop Hunt. This Sunday 21 January the Cocklebarrow Races will take place in Gloucestershire. It is the Heythrop’s only point-to-point event of the year, and is a big money-maker. Not only will hunting fanatics be racing horses, they will […]
Two Essex and Suffolk Hunt men arrested for killing fox
Two hunters have been arrested and charged under the Hunting Act. Essex and Suffolk Hunt’s whipper-in, Jamie Price, along with huntsman Jack Henty, have been accused of illegal hunting on two separate occasions. Protect the Wild spoke to Suffolk Action for Wildlife (SAF), a group which consistently monitors the hunt. SAF said: “There were two […]
Yet another fox torn apart in residential garden
A resident in Powys, Wales, has filmed a fox being torn apart by hunting hounds in a neighbour’s garden. This is the third almost identical incident that we know of in 2023 alone. The torturous death took place on 22 November 2023. One month later the resident reported her account to Nation.Cymru. She said that […]
Oliver Thompson: hunter avoids prison after torturing foxes
Former huntsman Oliver Thompson has walked free from prison after baiting foxes. Thompson was given a suspended sentence of 20 weeks, meaning that if he isn’t caught breaking the law in the next two years, he will not go to jail. The RSPCA successfully prosecuted the hunter, who consequently was forced to leave his role […]
Life before death: Lewes Council chooses food bank over fox hunting
The Southdown and Eridge Hunt has failed to get permission from Lewes Council to close a road for its annual Boxing Day parade. The reason? An animal welfare campaigner is closing the road for the community. The hunt parades through Lewes town centre every year. It had applied for the road closure on Lewes High […]
JAILED: Fox hunter given 18 months for almost killing saboteur
On 9 November, fox hunter Chris Mardles, 26, former whipper-in of the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt, was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Nottingham Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm after trampling a hunt saboteur with his horse. The attack occurred in September 2020. The saboteur suffered life-threatening injuries and […]
Depraved hunt master throws fox to hounds as child watches
Serial offender Stuart Radbourne has been sentenced for throwing a fox to hounds as a child watched. The dogs tore the live fox to shreds on Christmas Eve in 2020, and the incident was filmed and shared with others. Radbourne, who was hunt master for the Avon Vale, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to […]
This is the solution to end fox hunting for good
Week in, week out, Protect the Wild reports on foxes being murdered, hunt staff harassing monitors or being violent towards them, hounds causing havoc on public roads, and more. Most hunts get away with all of this with total impunity. Why? Because of exemptions and loopholes written into the Hunting Act 2004 as it passed […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Grant Shapps is anti-hunting. Will he do the right thing and ban fox hunting on MoD land?
On 31 August, Grant Shapps was appointed as the new defence secretary. Protect the Wild is urging Shapps to use his power to ban hunting on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land. A number of major landowners, such as the National Trust, have already banned hunting from taking place on their land. They have acknowledged that […]
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 […]
Punching a horse is atrocious, but so is murdering fox cubs
Most people reading Protect the Wild already know this, but it bears being said. The media circus around Sarah Moulds highlights Britain’s broken relationship with other animals. When Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs filmed Moulds attacking a horse in November 2021, the footage went far and wide. Not only across anti-hunting social media but across the headlines […]
If Labour get into power they MUST deal with rampant illegal fox hunting
As we reflect on the most recent fox hunting season, the horrors that have come to light are beyond comprehension. Incidents of unspeakable cruelty, perpetrated by some hunts across the UK, have revealed the urgent need for comprehensive action. Members of the Avon Vale Hunt throwing live foxes to hounds, the West Norfolk Foxhounds cornering […]
Why strengthening the Hunting Act isn’t the answer to ending fox hunting
Many of you might be reading this with a degree of shock or surprise. Because hasn’t Protect the Wild (formerly Keep the Ban) campaigned for the 2004 Hunting to be Strengthened over the last few years? Well, you would be correct in thinking that. But times change and the political situation has evolved so much […]
