Sadist incriminates himself filming his dog killing deer
Yet another man has been prosecuted after encouraging his dog to torture and kill a wild animal, filming the whole sick event, and posting it on social media. 28-year-old Sampson Richards, from Penryn, Cornwall, pleaded guilty on 21 March to attempting to take, kill or injure a deer without lawful authority – an offence under […]
Hunt monitors urge us to complain about Horse & Hound magazine
Hunt monitors are asking people to complain about Horse & Hound’s recent cover story, which misleads its readers about the criminal Wynnstay Hunt. The ‘struggling hunt propaganda‘ publication’s feature article, written by Oliver Townend (whose website says he is the World Number One Event Rider and stresses the importance of his sponsors), waxes poetic about […]
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 […]
South Durham Hunt: yet another hunt recorded breaking the law
The evidence that hunts don’t just break the law occasionally but break it routinely has never been seen by so many people. From Channel 4 exposes to numerous Facebook pages managed by monitors and sabs, the lie that fox hunts are just ‘out trail hunting’ has been exposed over and over again this so-called ‘hunting […]
Holderness Hunt kill badger – and run away!
On 27 January this year, Hull Wildlife Protectors (HWP) were monitoring the Holderness Hunt (who are based at Etton, near Beverly) when they witnessed a fox fleeing across one of the region’s wide flat fields. Huntsman Tom Wright (formerly with the notorious Cheshire Forest Hunt) was seen to deliberately lead the hunt’s hounds along the […]
Badger Cull U-Turn: “Sunak now wants all the badgers dead”
Sunak now wants all the badgers dead and this looks like a last chance grab at getting widespread culling back in place so it is difficult for Labour to scrap it as promised, in favour of the urgent cattle testing policy revisions that Defra have suppressed with their BTB partnership cabal which was recently exposed on the Badger Crowd website.”
GREAT NEWS! Yet another hunt is going…
The Pendle Forest and Craven Harriers, a hare hunt covering Lancashire and North Yorkshire and based at kennels at Coniston Hall near Skipton, are disbanding. They join a long list of hunts folding as landowners and the public turn more and more against them. The Hunt made the announcement on 12 March, saying that the […]
Footage of stag hunt reveals blatant lawbreaking by Devon and Somerset Staghounds
The team at Wildlife Guardian recently posted brief but evocative footage of part of a stag hunt that took place on the 7th of March near the three-hundred-acre League Against Cruel Sports’ Baronsdown Sanctuary on Exmoor. While the video isn’t as dramatic as some that have hit the internet this past ‘hunting season’, it encapsulates […]
Illegal to cut a hedge in Spring? Yes – and no…
Despite what the weather outside might suggest (it’s cool and wet across the UK as of writing), wild birds – in an admirable show of resilience – will soon be breeding again. This is the start of a critical time of the year when birds are looking for safe places to nest and to rebuild […]
Industrial scale of pheasant shooting revealed
The industrial scale of rearing pheasants for the shooting industry has been uncovered by Who Owns England’s Guy Shrubsole in a series of FOI requests on the poultry registry made to APHA (the Animal and Plant Health Agency). Every year the shooting industry releases around 40 million Common Pheasants and 10 million Red-legged Partridges for […]
Hunt violence at sickening levels, new report shows
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. The report focuses 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 […]
GOOD NEWS: Another pub disassociates itself from a hunt
The Fox Inn in Stourton has cancelled the Albrighton and Woodland Hunt’s end-of-season supper, which was due to take place on 21 March. It is the latest of a number of pubs that have disassociated themselves from fox hunting. After news of the pub hosting the event circulated on social media, a number of people […]
Cottesmore Hunt’s masked thugs arrested
After weeks of violently harassing hunt saboteurs, some of the Cottesmore Hunt’s hired gang of thugs have been arrested by Leicestershire Police. On Saturday 2 March, Northants Hunt Sabs wrote: “We are currently sabbing the criminal Cottesmore Hunt in Wymondham which has seen the police turn up in force to arrest their hired thugs!” Meanwhile, […]
OPINION: Philip Seccombe not fit for role as Police and Crime Commissioner
Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Seccombe, is once more running as a candidate in the 2 May PCC election. In a two-part series, Protect the Wild takes a closer look at his extensive links to hunting – including to his friends in the Warwickshire Hunt – and argues that someone with such an obvious […]
Llanberis man guilty of interfering with badger sett
35-year-old John Riley, from Llanberis, has pleaded guilty to interfering with a badger sett, and has been fined a pitiful £242 at Caernarfon Magistrates’ Court. He must also pay prosecution costs of £400. Riley had previously pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea ahead of trial. He was charged with sett interference “by causing a […]
Equipment Fund #19: North East Hunt Monitors
As an organisation we do prefer to look forward rather than look back, but it has been a good month for the Equipment Fund – and ‘Equipment Fund 2.0’! How so? Because we recently saw paid subscriptions on our Substack soar over the 600 mark! That’s great news because every single penny we raise from […]
National Trust: failure to enforce ban emboldening hunts
The National Trust (NT) banned so-called trail hunting back in October 2021, after a hard-fought battle by members and campaigners who took a motion to the Trust’s AGM in Harrogate. But more than three years later hunts continue to trespass on its estates. Protect the Wild takes a look at the charity’s inaction as wildlife […]
Fantastic news! Another hunt bites the dust
Beds and Bucks Hunt Sabs have confirmed that the Oakley Hunt will be folding at the end of this hunting season. The sabs have had the news confirmed by a number of sources. The Oakley has hunted foxes in four counties – Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, and Buckinghamshire. Like other hunts across the UK, it has […]
Derwent Hunt filmed trespassing on nature reserve
Video evidence clearly showing the Derwent Hunt blatantly taking a pack of hounds onto a much-loved local nature reserve has been shared with Protect the Wild. On Saturday 27 January this year, North Yorkshire’s Derwent Hunt was filmed riding with hounds into Chafer Wood, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) Nature Reserve which is described as […]
Suspension of disgraced hunt just token gesture
On 26 January, we reported that the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt had been suspended by hunting’s governing body. But it’s now been revealed that the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has only banned the hunt for a total of three weeks. The BSV is now continuing to hunt until the end of February. […]
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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #18: Teesside Anti Blood Sports
It was only a few weeks ago that we wrote about reaching a major milestone: 500 paid subscribers here on Substack. It’s quite something to be able to report now that the figure has jumped to just over 600! That’s incredibly motivating for us, because every single penny we raise from paid subs goes straight […]
Royal Agricultural College: killing hares and ambushing wildlife protectors
Hunt saboteurs have stated that they have been ambushed and chased by thugs associated with the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) Beagles. The pack belongs to the Royal Agricultural University, where students are trained – through hunting hares – to become prominent names in the fox hunting industry after they graduate. On 3 February, three members […]
Permissive path closed because of Quorn Hunt trespass
Woodside Farm in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, has closed a permissive footpath after the Quorn Hunt, along with the Cottesmore Hunt, trespassed on the farm’s land. A permissive path is a path over private land, voluntarily opened to the public by a land owner, who can withdraw access at any time (for more information see our […]
The Secret Monitor: East Yorkshire’s Holderness Hunt
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 but 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 […]
MP demands answers about policing of Warwickshire Hunt
MP Matt Western has written to both the Home Secretary and the Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police. The politician has said he is “making clear my express concerns about the lack of transparency” around the policing of the Warwickshire Hunt. Back in May 2022, Warwickshire Police’s Rural Crime Team gave the hunt a warning notice […]
122 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018
Using data from the RSPB and Natural England, the UK’s leading website on the illegal persecution of birds of prey, Raptor Persecution UK (RPUK), published the details yesterday of each of 122 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in the UK since 2018. Hen Harriers are the most persecuted bird of prey in Britain […]
‘Stop and search’ of monitor at Boxing Day parade raises serious questions
At the Abergavenny Boxing Day Parade of the Monmouth Hunt, Gwent Police made a formal ‘stop and search’ of a monitor. Helen was standing quietly on the side of a busy high street that at the time was almost empty but would soon be filled with people. The police claimed to be acting on ‘information […]
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Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #17: Cotswold Hunt Sabs
As we wrote recently we reached a major milestone earlier this month: 500 paid subscribers here on Substack. Just a few weeks later that post is already very out of date! That figure is now actually nearing 600, which is fantastic news for wildlife up and down the UK because Protect the Wild takes absolutely […]
The hypocrisy of the XL Bully ban
Since 31 December 2023, it has been illegal in the UK to own, breed, abandon or give away an American Bully XL dog. The dogs must now be kept on a lead and muzzled in public. According to Bully Watch, the dog has caused 11 known human deaths, and three suspected deaths since 2021. The […]
BREAKING NEWS! Notorious Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt suspended
North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs’ drone footage has captured the moment the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt’s hounds ripped up a fox. And now the notorious hunt has finally been suspended by hunting’s so-called ‘governing body’. Channel 4 News broadcast the footage to the nation on the evening of 25 January. The harrowing video, captured […]
It’s official – more hunts merge!
The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) – hunting’s self-titled ‘governing body’ – has officially confirmed that the Southdown and Eridge Hunt is merging with the East Sussex and Romney Marsh Hunt. This welcome news shows that hunts are really struggling to stay afloat. The news came on 17 January, when the BHSA announced that it […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
Adopt a hare
ADOPT A HARE TODAY Everyone knows what a Brown Hare looks like. But how many of us have actually seen one? During the late 1800s there were about four million Brown Hares in Britain, but populations have crashed by more than 80% during the past 100 years and in some parts of Britain the Brown […]
Derbyshire man convicted of stealing Peregrine eggs
A man has been jailed after abseiling down a quarry cliff face to steal Peregrine eggs. Christopher Wheeldon was caught on hidden cameras set up by the RSPB as he abseiled down the limestone quarry (belonging to construction company Tarmac Group) in April 2023. Derbyshire Police were alerted and Wheeldon was identified and arrested. Search […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Adopt a bird
ADOPT A BIRD TODAY Most of us love birds. The ones that visit our gardens, the ones that arrive in the summer, the ones we only see up a mountain or over a marsh. All of them. Yet somehow the shooting industry has managed to convince us that some birds – well, some birds just […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]