What is revealed in responses to the North Wales Police hunting review
Reactions to the review of North Wales Police’s handling of the Hunting Act are unsurprisingly polarised, and they were from the outset. In August 2022, just after the surveys were first made public, the Countryside Alliance quickly announced that they were “deeply flawed” and that “the hunting community” would not participate. As a result, as […]
Northern Ireland: Red Kite euthanised after shooting
A Red Kite was so seriously injured in a shooting last month that she had to be euthanised by a vet treating her. Well-known throughout the Mournes, in Co Down, the bird, nicknamed Vivienne after the identifying tags ‘6V’ attached to her wing, was found injured in Newry, on Saturday, April 20. X-rays found that […]
No police action after hunting hounds were killed on busy road
Northamptonshire Police has stated that it will not prosecute members of the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt, even though three of its hounds were killed on the busy A43. The incident took place on 19 February between Broughton and Sywell. Northants Hunt Saboteurs wrote of the police’s decision: “We are extremely disappointed to see that Northants […]
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 […]
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 […]
We created a map of North Yorkshire showing what effect a council ban on hunting could have
A core committee of North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) will discuss a motion to ban hunting from council-owned land on 11 September. We’ve created a map to show how a ban might affect hunting in the county. Labour councillor Rich Maw originally proposed the motion for debate in July. However, the council failed to debate […]
Do you live in Cheshire or north Wales? You can save fox cubs from being murdered
Nine out of ten people have never heard of cubbing. Beginning later this summer, cubbing is an illegal practice, where hunts across the country train their young hounds by hunting and killing fox cubs. Cubbing marks the beginning of the hunting season, and runs from August to October. While the young hounds are trained, hunting […]
Northumberland: Badger suffers excruciating death in snare
Another badger has died unnecessarily after getting caught in an illegal snare in Northumberland. The RSPCA was called out to the badger after receiving a call from the public. The charity said that the snare had become embedded in the creature’s neck and had to be cut out in three different places. The RSPCA’s Rachael […]
Cheshire Police have summoned a man to court on illegal hunting charges
Cheshire Police have issued a summons for a Northwich-based man to attend court on two illegal hunting charges. The unnamed man faces two charges under Section 1 of the Hunting Act. The first relates to an incident that occurred at Chorley Green on 22 November 2022. The second relates to an incident a few days […]
Essex Police serves hunt with Community Protection Warning
Anti-hunting campaigners and hunt saboteurs scored another victory on 3 March when the Essex with Farmers and Union Hunt was issued with a Community Protection Warning (CPW). Essex Police tweeted: “RET [Rural Engagement Team] have issued a Community Protection Warning to a hunt that operates in Essex. Following reports of trespassing and other issues affecting […]
Leicestershire Police can’t decide whether it has powers to stop illegal hunting
Hunt saboteurs were out in numbers on Saturday 18 February, monitoring and sabbing the Cottesmore Hunt. The sabs witnessed the hunt chasing a fox in full view of Leicestershire police. Following the event, the police stated to Protect The Wild that officers had no powers on the ground to intervene and stop the hunt. Northants […]
Police are investigating the Wynnstay Hunt for interfering with a badger sett
North Wales Police are investigating two men for interfering with a badger sett. And video shows the suspects running away the moment they’re caught. Footage released by the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) on 17 February shows two men escaping on a quad bike after they were confronted by sabs. The 27-second video shows the cameraperson […]
Police chief commends hunt saboteurs, saying illegal hunting is ‘prolific’
The Times reported on 11 February that senior police officer Matt Longman has described illegal hunting as “prolific”. Longman is a commander of Plymouth Police and, more relevantly, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for “Fox Hunting Crime”. The newspaper went on to report that Longman wants: “police forces to work with the “volunteers” who […]
Review into policing of hunts in North Wales finds focus on ‘public disorder’
A recently published review reveals the complexities of policing the Hunting Act in North Wales. And it shows that it’s high time for new legislation. On 12 January, Glyndwr University’s Social Inclusion Research Institute (Cyfiawnder) published a long-awaited review into policing of the Hunting Act in North Wales. As Protect the Wild previously covered, the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #1: Cheshire Borderland Monitors
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund provides equipment like radios or cameras to individuals or groups who are working in the field to protect wildlife. We have asked each recipient to explain what they do and how they are using the equipment we have provided – not only to show supporters how their donations are […]
GUILTY: Huntsman Chris Woodward in court yet again
Chris Woodward, ex-huntsman for the Wynnstay Hunt, has pleaded guilty to interfering with a badger sett near Malpas, north Wales. The guilty plea comes after the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) released footage back in February 2023, showing two men escaping on a quad bike after they were confronted by sabs. The men were named as […]
Wynnstay huntsman pleads guilty of threatening behaviour
Wynnstay huntsman Chris Woodward has pleaded guilty to causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress, an offence under the Public Order Act. The hunter rode his horse at a Cheshire Monitors volunteer during a fox hunting meet on 7 January 2023. Woodward galloped towards the monitor on his horse, almost knocking the man to the ground. […]
Wynnstay Hunt supporter filmed giving nazi salute to hunt monitor
The Wynnstay Hunt’s questionable reputation reached a new low on 7 February 2023 when a prominent hunt supporter harassed a hunt monitor, repeatedly performing the Nazi salute at her. Lesley, a Cheshire Monitors volunteer, was on foot, observing and filming the hunt. Field riders blocked her way, while a man called Ian Jones continually talked […]
Mounted huntsman charges at monitor and threatens to kill him
On Saturday 7 January, the Wynnstay Hunt stooped to a new low when its huntsman threatened a Cheshire Monitors volunteer. The monitors were on the ground, preventing illegal hunting from taking place, when huntsman Chris Woodward charged his horse at one of them. The monitor was shouting the command “leave it” to the hounds to […]
Huntsman found not guilty after video dropped ‘at the eleventh hour’
Wrexham Magistrates’ Court found Chris Woodward not guilty of illegal hunting. Woodward, huntsman of the Wynnstay Hunt, was filmed behind a pack of hounds chasing a fox. But monitors say that the not guilty verdict came after the CPS dropped this evidence from the trial “at the eleventh hour”. Dropped and shocked Cheshire Monitors published […]
Criminal Dwyryd Hunt master jailed – again.
Criminal Dwyryd Hunt master jailed – again. Snowdonia farmer David Thomas admitted breaching a disqualification order, causing unnecessary suffering to a hound by kicking it, and failing to look after twenty-nine dogs and two ferrets. On the 10th of October sheep farmer David William Lloyd Thomas, 56, of Cwm Bowydd Farm, Blaenau Ffestiniog, appeared […]
Glyndwyr university team will conduct independent review into fox hunting
Police across the UK are renowned for allowing illegal fox and stag hunting to take place. It’s common knowledge to hunt saboteurs that the police ignore the hunting that goes on under their noses, instead turning their attention towards the activists on the ground who are trying save foxes. There’s countless footage all over the […]
‘SMOKESCREEN SATURDAY’: the sham that is ‘national trail hunting day’
The hunting industry’s Big Day is approaching: the moment when it desperately tries to convince the Labour government that it isn’t breaking the law – despite 20 years of evidence showing otherwise. The National Trail Hunting Day – dubbed ‘Smokescreen Saturday’ by hunt saboteurs and monitors – will take place on 14 September. The British […]
New evidence strengthens claims hunts bypassing Scotland’s recent anti-hunting laws
Scotland’s Hunting with Dogs Act came into effect in October 2023. The new legislation replaced the previous Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002 and was intended to close loopholes in that law which hunts had exploited since its inception. However, there is mounting evidence that Scottish hunts have found loopholes to exploit in the new […]
GUILTY: Wynnstay Hunt security guard convicted of racial abuse
A security guard working for the notorious Wynnstay Hunt pleaded guilty in court on 15 July. He was charged after racially abusing a hunt saboteur, which is a hate crime. Anthony Williams was one of the Wynnstay’s hired thugs on 6 January 2024. Cheshire Hunt Saboteurs reported that Williams acted like the Incredible Hulk. He […]
Cautious optimism: What a new government could mean for wildlife
The Tories are out. Labour has won the election with a huge majority, taking almost 300 seats more than the Conservatives. What might this mean for wildlife? Protect the Wild outlines our hopes for the next government.
Trees and the Law
Trees and the Law Trees provide crucial habitat for much of the UK’s wildlife. Birds nest in holes and in their canopies, small mammals live safe in their root systems, bats roost (often in huge numbers) in their trunks. Woodland is of course composed of a full range of plants including trees and shrubs, climbers, […]
Labour PCC victories give some hope to wildlife
Labour has made significant gains in the 2024 England and Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections. This could be very positive news for animals – because PCCs have significant influence over whether wildlife crime is taken seriously by local police forces. Labour gained 9 new seats, while Conservative lost 11. A PCC’s role is […]
BHSA and hunting’s desperate bid to save itself
The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), hunt’s so-called ‘governing’ body, has released details of its “Autumn Campaign” in the run up to the next General Election. The campaign focuses on proving to the world – and particularly Labour candidates – that ‘trail hunting’ is legal. As people who care deeply about wildlife, we should pay […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Red squirrel suffers slow and painful death in unmonitored trap
Scotland’s Daily Record has published a photo of a trapped red squirrel, who had likely suffered a slow death from starvation and dehydration. The horrific image shows just how barbaric and torturous even supposedly ‘humane’ animal traps are if they are not regularly checked by the operator. Dog walker Paula McLachlan discovered the body of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bird shooting and the Law
Bird shooting and the Law Under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (the primary legislation which protects animals, plants and habitats in the UK) all wild birds are protected. In the UK no-one can simply go out armed and shoot whatever birds they want to. However, certain species of game birds (a term Protect the […]
Plants and the Law
Plants and the Law A wild plant is an uncultivated plant that grows as nature intended it to in the wild in England and Wales. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 the term ‘plant’ includes algae, lichens and fungi, mosses, liverworts and vascular plants. All wild plants in England and Wales are offered some […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gloucestershire Council must ban hunting on its land
Gloucestershire Council is the latest council to consider banning trail hunting on its land. The county is home to some of England’s most notorious hunts, including the Cotswold Hunt which made news headlines when it buried a fox alive in March 2023. The Heythrop Hunt also terrorises foxes in Gloucestershire. On 23 September 2023, Three […]
Stop the Mendip Farmers Hunt from parading this Boxing Day
Murdering foxes. Killing its own hounds. Blocking badger setts. Brutal attacks on hunt saboteurs. Traumatising domestic animals. Stealing monitors’ equipment. This is the criminal Mendip Farmers Hunt (MFH). Protect the Wild and Action Against Foxhunting are contacting councils in England and Wales to ask them to ban hunts from parading on their land on Boxing […]
The Royals must be called out for their obsession with wildlife slaughter
The Royal Family is probably the most well-known family in the world. Its members’ daily lives are scrutinised by the mainstream media, their hobbies photographed for the front page. Through their choices, the Windsors have huge power to influence the public. The royals, with all their elite privilege, have always been keen hunters. Queen Victoria […]
Have Your Say: Government Firearms Licencing Consultation
The Home Office is seeking views on recommendations for changes to the legislation on firearms licensing, possible changes to the system of referees, and changes in other areas of firearm licensing. The online consultation, which consists of 20 ‘Yes/No’ questions and a ‘personal details’ section takes just a few minutes to complete. It is “open […]
Chepstow Show won’t review decision to host Curre and Llangibby Hunt
Despite protests by local residents, organisers from the Chepstow Show have told campaigners they will not be reviewing a decision to invite the Curre and Llangibby Foxhounds to parade there on August 12th (coincidentally also the date that shooters will again open fire on Red Grouse on moorland shooting estates). Held at Chepstow Racecourse, the […]
Cattistock Hunt escapes prosecution despite railway line fox chase
On 10 July, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs reported that the Cattistock Hunt will not be prosecuted for trespassing onto railway tracks. This shows police bias in action: hunts continually get away with trespassing on railways, while members of the public doing the same face prosecution. The incident in question took place on 4 February 2023, […]
Hunting ban laws across the UK
There are hunting laws across much of the UK. However, it is a devolved matter so the exact legislation differs between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. First and foremost, it’s crucial to note that the criminal activity in hunting is the pursuit and not the killing of wildlife. While a dead creature may […]
