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 […]
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 […]
What is ‘rating’ hunting hounds and why do it?
Hunting – and hunt sabbing – is packed with jargon and arcane terminology that can be very confusing at first glance. Written reports often feature terms like ‘casting’, ‘cap fees’, and ‘marking’. They will say that the hounds were ‘speaking’ or were perhaps ‘rioting’. All have very specific meanings. Another term that is often found […]
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 Just a few weeks later that post is already very out of date!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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Equipment Fund #15: Bodycams to protect sabs in Derbyshire
As we wrote recently – in a post that more than 30000 people have now read – we reached a major milestone earlier this month: 500 paid subscribers here on Substack. And as we explained in that same post, every single penny we’re raising through those 500 paid subscriptions is going straight into our Protecting […]
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 […]
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 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 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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #13: Radios for Roaming Sabs
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Damning WhatsApp messages show how Tory MPs looked after their gun-wielding friends
The Covid Inquiry has been telling of how Britain’s most influential looked after their friends during the pandemic. And now more revelations have uncovered how politicians lobbied hard to ensure that hunting and shooting were exempted from Covid restrictions. Protect the Wild recently reported on comments made by former deputy cabinet secretary Helena MacNamara. She […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hunt kills deer and uses ‘falconry exemption’ to hunt illegally
On 25 September Suffolk Action For Wildlife (SAFW) posted a distressing video online. The footage showed a deer who had just been murdered by the Essex and Suffolk Hunt. Protect the Wild spoke to SAFW about the events of that day, and about a little-known loophole in the Hunting Act that hunts are using as […]
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 […]
Scotland’s hunting ban will finally be enforced
Scotland’s anti-hunting activists are celebrating as the government’s hunting ban will finally be enforced from 3 October. The Hunting With Dogs (Scotland) Bill was passed in January 2023, and it became an Act on 7 March 2023. But despite this, saboteurs have been catching hunters pursuing foxes red-handed. This is because until now, NatureScot has […]
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 […]
Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund #5: Shropshire Wildlife 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 people who monitor are largely unfunded volunteers and often have no umbrella organisation to support them. That means they have […]
Restore Trust and Countryside Alliance aim to take control of National Trust Board
Lobby groups ‘Restore Trust’ and the Countryside Alliance (CA) have seemingly joined forces to once again try to take over the Board of Trustees of the National Trust. Emails are being sent out listing five people the lobbyists would like members to vote for: Philip Gibbs, Andrew Gimson, Violet Manners, Philip Merricks, and Jonathon Sumption. […]
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 […]
Mid Devon District Council should ban the Tiverton Hunt from parading this Boxing Day
The Christmas season is approaching surprisingly quickly, and hunts across the country are preparing for what is supposedly their most prestigious meets of the year: Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Protect the Wild and Action Against Foxhunting are urging Mid Devon District Council to ban the Tiverton Hunt from parading through Tiverton town centre. […]
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 […]
GUILTY: Ollie Finnegan convicted of illegal hunting three times in less than a year
Ex-Cheshire huntsman Ollie Finnegan was due to stand trial this week, charged with two counts of illegal hunting. He didn’t show up to court, and was found guilty in his absence. Finnegan was charged after being caught illegally fox hunting at a meet that took place at Chorley Green on 22 November 2022. The second […]
Sarah Moulds case shines a light on speciesism in the UK
Cottesmore Hunt rider Sarah Moulds was found not guilty on 25 August for punching and kicking her horse Bruce. Her defence argument, and the subsequent verdict, once again highlights the speciesism that is rampant in society. As I already covered in a recent article, speciesism is where someone sees one species as superior to others, […]
‘Eyes in the Field’: Monitoring hunting in the North York Moors National Park
The Protecting the Wild Equipment Fund provides equipment like radios or cameras to individuals or groups who are working as ‘eyes in the field’ to tackle wildlife crime and 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 […]
Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show: Who’s not telling the truth?
Over the last few weeks Protect the Wild has supported an Action Against Foxhunting (AAF) campaign which was asking for clarity about which hunt packs organisers had invited to parade at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show (which was on 16/17 August). Looking at the show’s website it was clear there would be ‘Hound Parades’ but […]
Hunting community blames ‘extremists’ for being issued Community Protection Notice
Back in December 2022, the Warwickshire Hunt was issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN). But now the police have backtracked, having negotiated with the hunt to come to a “sensible working arrangement”. It should come as little surprise that the hunting community has used this news as an opportunity to complain about police “criminalising […]
MoD silent despite 23000 emails urging hunting ban
Fox hunting has suffered a number of major blows over the past few years. Major landowners such as the National Trust have banned hunting from taking place on their land. But one of the UK’s biggest landowners, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is still refusing to ban the disgusting blood sport. Protect the Wild wants […]
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 […]
