Dorset men jailed for mutilating wild animals
Two men have been imprisoned for torturing animals in Dorset. Kristen Cooper, 24, and Todd Cooper, 29, both from Hampshire, were sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on 19 January. Dorset Police investigated the two men, with assistance from their Hampshire colleagues. Police searched Kristen Cooper’s home in October 2022, seized his phone, and found incriminating […]
What is grouse shooting?
What is grouse shooting? Put simply, grouse shooting is the annual slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Red Grouse, which are shot as live targets between the now infamous 12th of August (the ‘Ingorious 12th’) and December 10th (the period which makes up the so-called ‘open season’ for shooting Red Grouse). But just as with […]
HARROWING: Cottesmore Hunt masked thugs attack vehicle with hammer
The notorious Cottesmore Hunt has struck again, using yet more violence to try to scare off Northants Hunt Saboteurs. The sabs’ account of the attack, which took place on 13 January 2024, is harrowing. This new incident involved “ten plus” masked thugs attacking the sabs’ vehicle and trying to gain access to the sabs themselves. […]
Drone footage proves ‘no trail laid’ by Cheshire Hunt
Cheshire Independent Hunt Monitors (or the Cheshire Indies as they’re usually known) are an independent monitoring group working across the northwest of England. They focus on the Cheshire Hunt, Cheshire Forest Hunt, and the notorious Wynnstay Hunt (a hunt that has regularly featured on Protect the Wild eg see here). In November 2023 Protect the […]
Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt men arrested after attacks on sabs
Dorset Police Rural Crime Team has arrested two men associated with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt. The arrests come after a number of attacks on hunt saboteurs. The police stated: “After a detailed investigation into reports of assault and thefts at the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hunt; we can now confirm that we […]
Wales has banned snares but animals are still dying in them
Wales became the first UK country to make snares illegal. But a woman from Cardiff has found a dead fox caught in one of the death traps on a Merthyr Tydfil common. Nation Cymru reported the discovery. Caroline Nightingale, who found the fox’s body on Gelligaer Common, said: “I’m a big animal lover and was […]
Cottesmore Hunt’s hired thugs violently attack hunt sabs
The Cottesmore Hunt has reached a new low, hiring thugs to violently attack hunt saboteurs. The hunt is resorting to desperate measures, mistakenly thinking that such tactics will scare off hunt saboteurs once and for all. Northants Hunt Saboteurs posted a video of the attack on social media, and the incident has now made mainstream […]
Tell Chesterfield FC not to host the Barlow Hunt
Chesterfield Football Club is due to host the notorious Barlow Hunt’s annual ball, a fundraiser for a hunt that has a string of violent incidents to its name and which has been caught numerous times hunting foxes and breaking the law. The SMH Group Stadium’s facilities will be hired out to the hunt on 27 […]
Snares
SNARES Snares have been used for thousands of years to trap animals. A fairly simple but inherently cruel design, snares are essentially a loop set along a trail or suspended from a branch or small tree which catches an animal by the neck or leg as they walk into it. As the animal continues to […]
What did it take to convict huntsman Chris Woodward?
Last month Protect the Wild reported that the Wynnstay Hunt’s serial criminal former-huntsman Chris Woodward had been convicted of hunting a wild animal with dogs in Lower Wych, Wrexham, on 14 January 2023. Evidence for the conviction had come from Cheshire Borderland Monitors volunteers who had filmed Woodward galloping down a road after his hounds […]
Tiverton Staghounds dogs savage and kill pregnant alpaca
A pregnant alpaca named Ruby was attacked and killed by dogs from the Tiverton Staghounds on New Year’s Day. Her guardians, Lucy Aylett and Nick Stringer, said that the hunt had not informed them that they would be hunting that day, and that the hounds were clearly out of control. Lucy told DevonLive: “She was […]
How hunts are using trail hunting as a smokescreen
We all know that hunts across the country deliberately chase animals. You may also know that hunts say that they are trail hunting – that is, following scent trails laid in advance of a hunt – when they are doing no such thing. But 2023 saw a new trend: some hunts actually started laying trails. […]
Two hunting hounds killed on busy road
2023 came to a close with more animals suffering needless deaths when two hunting hounds were killed on the A30 in Devon. On 30 December, hunt saboteurs reported that the dogs, suspected to belong to the Mid Devon Hunt, had been killed after being hit by cars. One was still alive and in critical condition […]
Ten reasons why 2023 was a good year for wildlife
For those of us who love wildlife, it is easy to fall into despair when we read reports of foxes being killed and birds of prey being poisoned. Many of us will need a reminder that positive events happened in 2023! As the year comes to a close, we give ten reasons why this was […]
GOOD NEWS: RNLI rejects hunting money
The lifeboat charity RNLI has shown its integrity after it rejected money from a fox hunting fundraiser. Ireland’s Dungarvan Foxhounds’ annual Christmas charity event was due to raise funds for the Helvic and Dungarvan RNLI. The Foxhounds’ supporters club had also stated that the hunt’s New Year’s Eve meet would raise funds for the charity, […]
Kent Hounds’ terriermen who used superglue to treat dogs’ injuries banned from keeping animals
66-year-old Robert Mills and his son, 22-year-old Jack Mills, have pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. Kent police, along with the RSPCA, raided their home in January 2023 and discovered dogs with horrific injuries. The men appeared in Folkestone Magistrates Court on 20 December. According to KentOnline, The men […]
GUILTY: Criminal hunter Chris Woodward convicted three times since July
A court has found the Wynnstay Hunt’s notorious ex-huntsman Chris Woodward guilty yet again. Woodward is a man racking up a long criminal record. Woodward denied the charge of hunting a wild animal with dogs in Lower Wych, Wrexham, on 14 January 2023. But it was the hard work of Cheshire (Borderland) Monitors volunteers that […]
Boxing Day hunting protests near you
It’s that time of year again: hunters are getting ready to block our town centres in their ridiculous attire. Their supporters will cheer at them, get drunk, and pick fights, the local police will stand by and watch, and the hunts will then head off fuelled by vanity and alcohol to terrorise foxes, hares and […]
Boxing Day Parade: Southdown and Eridge Hunt defies Lewes council
Sussex’s Southdown and Eridge Hunt is planning to hold its Boxing Day parade on the busy Lewes High Street, even though its request to close the road was denied by Lewes Council. The Council has instead granted permission for a wheelbarrow race event, which is raising funds for Lewes Foodbank. After the council rejected its […]
Inside Protect the Wild: why did we create Protectors of the Wild?
Many organisations – from wildlife charities to the police – ask us to ‘report wildlife crime’ when we see it taking place. The idea is that all of us can become ‘eyes in the field’, watching for crime or illegal persecution and helping stop it. It’s a simple and potentially very empowering concept. The problem […]
Inside Protect the Wild: why write news articles?
At Protect the Wild, we don’t just campaign to end the hunting and shooting industries. We also keep our supporters informed with news articles. For the past two years, we have covered news on a range of topics, including the criminal acts of fox hunters; how the shooting industry is responsible for lethally poisoning birds […]
Hunter accused of six charges of animal cruelty
Sam Staniland, ex-huntsman for the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, was in court on Monday 18 December, accused of six charges under the Animal Welfare Act. The hunter pleaded not guilty to all six charges. He was accused of: Causing unnecessary suffering to a foxhound by failing to prevent the dog from fighting a fox on […]
Sick gamekeeper filmed badger torture for social media
A Scottish gamekeeper set his dogs on foxes and badgers, filming the attacks to make money. Like other men before him, his desire to brag about his acts is what incriminated him. Ryan Martin, from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, was convicted on 5 December. He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to three dogs under his […]
The Secret Monitor: Without fear or favour?
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In their latest […]
CAUGHT ON FILM: One man’s words show the criminality of hunts
On 7 December, Hull Wildlife Protectors (HWP) posted a video on Instagram. And in just a few words, one man showed just how criminal fox hunters really are. The footage was taken on 21 November. HWP had been monitoring East Yorkshire’s Holderness Hunt when they filmed some of the hunt in conversation on camera. One […]
The criminal justice system is failing wildlife
A new report once more highlights how Britain’s criminal justice system is failing animals, allowing people to hurt or kill wildlife with impunity. The report, compiled by Wildlife and Countryside Link, and containing information from different animal welfare charities, makes for damning reading. It shows that convictions in 2022 dropped by more than 40%, despite […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund: Ren’s Wildlife Hospital
As Protect the Wild’s CEO Rob Pownall explained in a recent post (see “Can you help us build something incredible to protect wildlife?“), “We give a platform and a voice for monitors, saboteurs, anyone out in the field protecting the wild, and we channel every penny we receive from paid subscriptions on Substack to these […]
GOOD NEWS: Hunting is dying a death as yet another pack folds
On 1 December, South Wales Hunt Saboteurs announced that the Caerphilly and District Hunt is folding. The news shows that hunting is on its knees, and an end to the brutal blood sport is in sight. The hunt’s closing meet will take place on 6 January 2024, and it announced that it will dissolve by […]
Why Protect the Wild doesn’t support licencing of the shooting industry.
Staggering levels of raptor persecution (the illegal persecution of birds of prey) have been in the news again following both the release of the RSPB’s Birdcrime report for 2022 and the Scottish Parliament voting on November 30th to support the general principles of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill. The Bill includes measures to introduce […]
Hunter on quad bike mows down man, breaking his leg
Shocking footage shows the moment a man was mowed down by a South Shropshire Hunt (SSH) terrierman on a quad bike. The incident took place on the Real Milk Company’s private land on 25 November. The company tweeted a video of the incident, and said: “First you goad them…..then you evidence them. SSH trespassing yet […]
Devon: Right to Roam shows how pheasant shoots abuse environment
Landowners and gamekeepers like to boast that they are instrumental in conserving England’s wildlife; that they are the true custodians of the land. But shocking photos, taken by a local Right to Roam group, show the havoc wreaked on land by pheasant shoots. South Devon Right to Roam took a walk on the Duke of […]
Equipment Fund #11. Cheshire Independent Hunt Monitors – an ‘eye in the sky’ on Cheshire’s hunts
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in Summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘ (and ‘eyes in the sky’!), supporting and empowering people to protect British wildlife. We use the fund to provide equipment like body cams, trail cams, night vision kit, and video cameras to monitors and activists working […]
WANTED: North Yorkshire Police searching for three members of Sinnington Hunt
North Yorkshire Police are appealing to the public for information about three members of the Sinnington Hunt. The men are accused of interfering with a badger sett which is illegal under the Protection of Badgers Act. The police asked: “Can you help with this wildlife crime investigation? We need to trace these three men following […]
The Secret Monitor: Curre and Llangibby Hunt and their sweary supporters
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’. But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor. In this post […]
Hunter arrested after attacking saboteur with a shovel
A terrierman for the Weston and Banwell with West Somerset Vale Hunt has been arrested by the police after a public appeal for his location. The search began after the man attacked a hunt saboteur with a shovel on 18 November. Avon and Somerset Police announced: “A man has been arrested as part of an […]
DEER HUNTING: Has the British Deer Society landed a death blow?
Quietly, and without any fanfare, the British Deer Society (BDS), a charity ‘dedicated to building a strong future for wild deer in the UK’, has (belatedly, it could be strongly argued) published a Position Statement on Hunting Deer with Hounds. In it the BDS states, “The BDS is unable to justify the deliberate pursuit of […]
SHOCKING: Hunt rider filmed striking whip at cyclist
On Saturday 11 November, a Kent Hounds field rider struck his whip at a cyclist. His action shows the complete disdain hunts have for the public. Footage released on KentOnline shows the woman sitting on her bike in the road as the hunt moves past her. As the rider meets her, he aggressively strikes his […]
Scotland: Shooting industry fails to bully politicians over snares
It’s welcome news that the Scottish government has announced that it will push ahead with a change in the law that would fully ban snares. As we previously reported, the shooting industry had been lobbying hard so that it could continue using the torture devices. Gamekeepers and landowners had been trying to influence legislation in […]
The Secret Monitor: Stag hunting not cruel enough? There’s always hind hunting…
[PLEASE NOTE we have included a short video clip in this post. It shows a running deer and hounds but it is NOT graphic and the hind is not caught. It is used solely as an example of the Quantock Stag Hounds breaking the Hunting Act 2004 by using more than two dogs to chase […]
Northern Ireland urgently needs to change hunting law as another pet dies
On 5 November Coco the cat was murdered by hunting dogs in Northern Ireland. Her death is a stark reminder that the law in Northern Ireland needs changing urgently. Coco was 13 years old when she was killed last week. Her guardian Tracy told the Belfast Telegraph that her two children are understandably devastated by […]
New investigation reveals widespread use of rat poison to target raptors on Northumberland shooting estate
Hunt Investigation Team (HIT) has published an investigation into malicious practices by a Northumberland shooting estate. It showed that Allendale Estates has used a “notorious” rat poison to kill not just rats but raptors and other wildlife too. As a result, the bodies of dead animals were left “strewn” next to areas of public access […]
The King’s Speech: biodiversity and climate clearly not a priority.
King Charles III addressed Parliament this morning setting out the government’s policy priorities for the year ahead. Well-trailed in advance, the speech was expected “to put criminal justice “at the heart” of its plans”. Speaking ahead of the speech Rishi Sunak said: “I want everyone across the country to have the pride and peace of […]
Equipment Fund #10: Monitoring badger setts in Derbyshire
One of the UK’s most charismatic mammals, badgers are also one of the country’s most persecuted. Since the government began an ‘experiment’ in badger annihilation on behalf of the dairy industry (tearing up the Protection of Badgers Act 1992), hundreds of thousands have been slaughtered (see ‘The biggest wildlife genocide of our time is happening […]
Covid-19 Inquiry: Government put more thought into hunting and shooting than supporting women
This week’s Covid Inquiry has highlighted the Tory government’s incompetence during the Covid pandemic. Former deputy cabinet secretary Helena MacNamara gave a witness statement arguing that Johnson and his “macho” and “toxic” team gave more thought to hunting and shooting interests than they did women’s issues. MacNamara’s 97-page statement, criticising the governing of the pandemic, […]
This is the solution to end stag hunting forever
Stag hunting is possibly the UK’s most gruesome blood sport. When the Hunting Act came into force in 2005, stag hunters evaded the ban by using different loopholes in the law to their fox hunting friends. Protect the Wild argues that in order to end stag hunting once and for all, we need a complete […]
Call for new law to protect children from the brutalities of hunting
Celebrities have joined the animal rights charity PETA to call on the government to protect children from hunting. PETA has launched an online petition, urging the Sunak government to introduce new legislation. The charity says: “The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has published General Comment No 26 which recommends that children be […]
Shooting industry fails to criminalise Chris Packham
Hampshire Police has said that it won’t press charges against Chris Packham. The wildlife presenter’s supposed crime? Sniffing a goshawk chick on the BBC’s The One Show. Packham appeared on the programme back in August with three ringed chicks in the New Forest. He sniffed one to detect their “characteristic scent or perfume”. An individual […]
Hunting hounds run rampage in Devon
The Dartmoor Hunt has run rampage, its hounds terrorising animals of Farm & Feral Animal Sanctuary in south Devon. This is, once again, a reminder that the Hunting Act needs replacing with stronger legislation which shuts down fox hunting for good. The sanctuary’s Missy Freeman-Davies reported that the hounds caused havoc as they tore through […]
Ben Wallace and the Right’s doomed push for the ‘countryside’ vote
Ben Wallace, the belligerent and unloveable Conservative MP for Wyre and Preston North, is all over the media today after yet another attack on sabs and monitors. Writing in the increasingly hysterical Daily Telegraph, Wallace, Secretary of Defence until he resigned in August to ‘invest in the parts of life’ he claims to have neglected […]
Hunt sabs say huntsman sacked for ‘beating a hound almost to death’
Hunt saboteurs have announced that huntsman Guy Fitzearle has been sacked from the Kimblewick Hunt. East Herts Sabs wrote that he beat a hound “almost to death”. They said: “Well the truth is out. The hound wasn’t doing as it was told so he grabbed it by the tail, beat it around the head until […]
UK FIRST: Wales snare ban comes into force today
The Wales snare ban has finally come into force today, on 17 October 2023. The country is the first in the UK to implement such a ban. Scotland, too, is likely to be following in Wales’ footsteps. Meanwhile, England lags far behind both countries when it comes to the welfare of our wildlife. The Welsh […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #8: Salisbury Plain Monitors
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund was set up in Summer 2023 to help put ‘eyes in the field‘, empowering people to protect British wildlife. We set the fund up because we know that many monitors are largely unfunded volunteers. That usually means that to be able to keep an eye on the countryside monitors […]