MFHA launches 'independent' probe into S.Herefordshire cruelty allegations
23-6-16   Hereford Times     Probe launched into fox hunting group amid animal cruelty allegations   An independent investigation has been launched into a fox hunting group amid allegations of animal cruelty. The probe, which will be chaired by former Appeal Court judge Sir John Chadwick, will look into the South Herefordshire Hunt, where three people have been arrested on suspicion of causing suffering to animals.

It comes after footage was revealed which animal rights campaigners claim shows evidence of "cubbing", using fox cubs to train hounds to hunt and kill the animals. In the footage, filmed by the Hunt Investigation Team supported by the League Against Cruel Sports, an individual can be seen carrying a fox cub into a barn where hounds are kennelled and baying, and later disposing of a dead fox in a wheelie bin. Three people have been arrested and released on police bail.

The Master of Fox Hounds Association, which regulates and represents hunts around the country, said it had launched the inquiry "into conduct which suggests breaches of the association's rules at the South Herefordshire Hunt". In a statement it said: "The Hunt has suspended two members of staff and the kennels are currently closed. The South Herefordshire hounds are being looked after by other hunts which are members of the association. The inquiry will be chaired by the Rt Hon. Sir John Chadwick [left], a former Appeal Court judge, and will include Bill Andrewes, an experienced former Master and Hunt Chairman, and Pauline Tolhurst, a practising veterinary surgeon."...

Hunting foxes with dogs has been banned for more than a decade, with Hunts now allowed to participate in "drag hunting", where an artificial scent is laid for the hounds to track. But animal rights campaigners claim live fox cubs are being kept and used by hunts to train hounds to kill, or as a ready supply of foxes to hunt. Chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, Eduardo Goncalves, said: "The hounds won't naturally kill foxes so they must be taught to do so and this footage exposes the gruesome training secrets of hunts in the UK."

POWAperson comments - MFHA 'investigations' are about as 'independent' as a burglar's mother. Prediction for the outcome - since the video footage appears to have the hunt servants bang to rights, the MFHA investigation will find them alone culpable and state that the officers and Masters had no inkling of what they were doing. The guilty parties will be sacked and, if past form is anything to go by, will likely soon be employed by other Hunts.  The inquiry will mildly criticise the Hunt hierarchy but allow them to carry on as normal.

League releases footage of cubs being thrown to hounds at S.Herefordshire FH kennels

23-6-16   Hereford Times     League Against Cruel Sports obtained the footage which, they claim, was secretly recorded at the South Herefordshire Hunt    VIDEO footage taken by a hunt investigation group appearing to show a huntsman handling foxes illegally [right] - it claims - has been published on social media. The Hereford Times last week revealed in a front page story that three people linked to the hunt had been arrested on animal cruelty charges. Those arrested included a 37-year-old man from Abergavenny on suspicion of failing to prevent the causing of unnecessary suffering to an animal, and a 37-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman from Hereford, both arrested on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. All were all released on bail until a date in August.

The South Herefordshire Hunt would not comment on the allegations when contacted by the Hereford Times at the time of the arrests and has not returned calls this morning to respond to the video footage. The League Against Cruel Sports say the footage shows “damning evidence of the reality of fox hunting”. They add that the footage has been released as part of a major ongoing investigation into ‘cubbing’ - the illegal practice of training young inexperienced hounds to hunt and kill fox cubs.... It was also revealed this week that the South Herefordshire Hunt has suspended two members of staff. The Hunt's kennels, which are in Wormelow, are currently closed while the hounds are being looked after by other Hunts which are members of the MFHA.

23-6-16    Daily Mirror    Live fox cubs 'filmed being fed to hounds so they learn how to kill'  VIDEO  A harrowing video that appears to show fox cubs just weeks old being fed live to hunting hounds at a kennels is being probed. The footage, obtained using hidden cameras, shows four cubs in cages and a man carrying two of them into a shed where the dogs are kept. The hounds can then be heard howling and barking before the savaged bodies of the cubs are ­apparently dumped in a wheelie bin. The Hunt Investigation Team – which shot the film at South Herefordshire Hunt HQ – claims it is grisly proof that hounds are still being taught to kill foxes through a practice known as “cubbing”.

A spokeswoman for the Hunt Investigation Team said: “They don’t naturally hunt foxes. They have to be taught to recognise foxes as prey and not only to hunt them but also to kill them. We believe this evidence shows fox cubs were actually thrown to the hounds , because the bodies came out.  When our investigators took those fox cubs out, one of them was disembowelled, one of them had multiple bite wounds.  Our feeling is that they were fed live to the hounds.”

Since the hunting ban came into force in 2005, hounds are less likely to encounter foxes and it is claimed some hunts have a problem with dogs attacking other animals. Eduardo Goncalves, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said:  “This footage exposes the gruesome training secrets of hunts in the UK.” The film was made earlier this year at the site in Wormelow, Herefordshire.  The group’s surveillance team set up five time-lapse cameras, disguised as everyday objects including rocks, near a yard to the rear of the kennels. Investigators had to go in every night to retrieve and replace the camera memory cards. The footage captured showed a fox cub yowling as it is removed from the back of a truck by a man using a noose.  The group then entered the site at night and filmed cubs locked in wire cages [right], using handheld cameras.  In May, a man was filmed taking two fox cubs, one at a time, into a corrugated metal shed which houses hunt hounds.  He was later seen throwing the bodies into a nearby bin – where they were recovered by investigators.

The HIT spokeswoman added: “We started this probe following a tip-off from inside the hunt.  We were horrified when we saw footage of the cubs dying.  They must have faced hell when they were in that shed.  It was a very difficult time for all the investigators because they had previously seen these cubs eye to eye.  They are babies who shouldn’t even have been away from their mum.”

West Mercia Police launched an investigation after they were handed the video and the cubs’ corpses.  It is believed they will get post-mortems.  Two 37-year-old men and a 27-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.  The three, from Hereford and Abergavenny, South Wales, were released on bail.  The South Herefordshire Hunt confirmed it has suspended a paid huntsman but refused to comment further. The kennels have been closed while a probe is carried out.  The Masters of Foxhounds Association has also launched an independent inquiry. It said the investigation will examine “conduct which suggests breaches of the association’s rules”.

This horrific scandal was also covered, at length though several weeks later, by the Daily Mail

10-6-16   BBC News    Animal cruelty arrests in South Herefordshire Hunt investigation    Two people have been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty in connection with an investigation into the South Herefordshire Hunt. West Mercia Police questioned a 37-year-old man and a woman, aged 27, about suspected cruelty to foxes. The hunt's kennels in Wormelow, near Hereford, have been closed and all horses and hounds moved elsewhere. A message on the Hunt's Facebook page says salaried staff have been suspended and an internal inquiry will begin.The gates at the kennels are shut and nobody was on site earlier. West Mercia Police says the investigation is continuing. The man and the woman have since been released on bail. The RSPCA said it is helping the police with its investigation.

Two sabs suffer head injuries as Cheldon Buckhounds masked followers launch attack

2-6-16   Daily Mirror    Balaclava-clad attackers 'rain punches on animal rights activists' as saboteurs' peaceful protest turns ugly    An animal rights activist was left with blood streaming down his face after being attacked by a masked man when a peaceful hunt protest turned violent. The saboteurs were staging a peaceful protest against the Cheldon Buckhounds, who were out with their hounds in South Molton, north Devon, say campaigners. Horrifying footage apparently shows the moment Andy Kane [right], of the Hunts Saboteurs Association, clashed with several men wearing balaclavas. In the video, a man in a motorcycle helmet wrestles Andy, 53, to the ground, grappling for a few seconds before others arrive and begin raining punches.

Violence flared when the saboteurs interrupted the activity by distracting the hounds, according to the animal rights activists. Andy claims the man in the helmet headbutted him in the face before he was targeted by a gang [below left] who kicked and punched him as he lay on the ground. With blood trickling down his face, Andy, wearing camouflage gear, is seen sitting on the ground immediately after the incident. He says he was later treated in Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital for a cut head and bruised ribs.

Speaking to Mirror.co.uk, he told how the attack escalated during a day of heated clashes in the Devon countryside. He said: “We were staging a peaceful protest and trying to disrupt the dogs when these thugs in balaclavas suddenly came from nowhere. The one who was wearing a motorbike helmet grabbed me and headbutted me to the ground. Then the rest of the gang started kicking and punching me while I was on the ground. The assault lasted no more than two minutes, but the intimidation went on for a good 15 to 20 minutes longer. I was quite badly beaten - you can see from the pictures what a state I was in. It was a really frightening experience. We're just peaceful protesters who care about the welfare of animals. It's just not on.”

Another protester, in his 20s, was also reportedly attacked during the incident and suffered facial injuries, including a suspected fractured skull and eye socket. The victim, who did not want to be named, claims he sustained the injuries as he tried to stop the gang from attacking a fellow protesters. The activist, from Plymouth, said: “We were followed and intimidated by at least seven men in masks throughout the day. But just as the hounds were released, the men got closer and closer to our group. Once the violence erupted, I tried to step in to pull them off one of the members of our group. But as I dragged one of the men away, the momentum made me fall over, and I was also attacked in the aftermath. I now need an operation to restore my skull after tests found it had been fractured." The video was uploaded to the Bristol Hunt Saboteurs' YouTube channel, one of several splinter groups that took part in the protest.

Devon and Cornwall Police have now launched an investigation into the incident, which happened at around 3.45pm on Bank Holiday Monday. A spokesman said: “Police attended Whitfeild Lane, north of Brayford following reports of an altercation between hunt supporters and hunt saboteurs in the area, at around 3.45pm on Monday May 30. “One victim, a man in his late 20s from Plymouth has suffered facial injuries including a suspected fractured eye socket. We believe that a number of people were present who have yet to have speak to us. We ask that if you were in the area or witnessed the altercation, that you contact the police as you may hold information vital to the investigation.”

It is the latest violent altercation involving animal rights activists during hunts. In January this year, footage emerged [allegedly] showing a group of hooded hunt saboteurs armed with iron bars attacking a huntsman. And in March, another shocking video showed hunt saboteurs being driven at by men in balaclavas on quad bikes who were threatening to shoot them. No one from The Cheldon Buckhounds could be contacted for comment.

30-5-16    HSA PR    Hunt Saboteurs Brutally attacked on Exmoor Hunt saboteurs have been brutally attacked by staff and supporters of the Cheldon Buckhounds. The Hunt had met at the Poltimore Arms, Exmoor, Devon and were illegally hunting a deer when the sabs arrived. As the sabs intervened to save the hunted animal they were set upon by a large group of masked men. Sabs have suffered head injuries and at least one has been taken to hospital with breathing difficulties. Another sab has got serious facial injuries after being head butted by an assailant wearing a motorcycle helmet.

Deer hunting is one of the unsavoury secrets of the hunting community and takes place in the summer months, mainly in the West Country. The Cheldon are such an unpleasant bunch that they were kicked out of the Masters of Deerhounds Association on 1993 after their master was filmed slitting the throat of a young buck and sitting on it while it bled to death. This is the second time in two weeks that they have attacked sabs.

Lee Moon, press spokesperson for the HSA, stated: “Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, is endlessly whining on about sabs wearing masks. Maybe the hunting community needs to clean up its own shop first before commenting on the behaviour of others. The rise in violence from hunts and their supporters is alarming and we hope the police focus more of their attention on Bonner and his band of violent thugs. Such violence will not deter us and now the Cheldon and the other buckhound and staghound packs are firmly on our radar and will be receiving increased attention. As the mink hunts can testify it is no fun receiving a summers attention from hunt saboteurs.”

York & Ainsty South FH supporter guilty of assaulting sab and driving offences
Convicted man given sixteen month suspended sentence and driving ban

24-5-16   HSA Press Release     Hunt Supporter Guilty of Assault and Driving Offences   Charles Robert Walker [left], supporter of the York and Ainsty South Hunt, has pleaded guilty to assaulting a hunt saboteur at Beverley Magistrates Court. Walker also pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving without insurance, failing to stop after an accident and failing to stop for police. All the offences occurred at a meet of the York and Ainsty South Fox Hunt at Sandhall, near Goole, East Riding in March this year.

It was the Hunt's final meet of the season and hunt saboteurs from Sheffield and West Yorkshire were present to ensure no foxes were illegally hunted and killed. Drunken hunt supporters abused and assaulted sabs throughout the day, driving aggressively at them and attempting to steal and damage video cameras. Walker was eventually arrested after overtaking the sab vehicle at high speed on a bend, in front of watching police. Walker received a suspended 16 week prison sentence and has been banned from driving for 2 years.

Lee Moon, press spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “We are pleased that Walker pleaded guilty and has been punished for this lengthy list of offences. We suspect however, that if a hunt saboteur had committed such offences they would currently be starting a prison sentence. These illegal hunts, and the thugs who support them, think they are above the law and only strict penalties from the courts will show them this is not the case.”

New RSPCA boss attacked over stance on prosecuting Hunts

15-5-16   Western Daily Press   New RSPCA boss Jeremy Cooper 'has betrayed us' say anti-hunt campaign    The new chief executive of the RSPCA has sparked huge controversy after he talked of the 'mistakes' the charity made when it began prosecuting organised fox hunts. Jeremy Cooper [left] said his arrival heralds a new directionfor the charity, and slated the RSPCA's direction under previous boss, Gavin Grant, who is now a councillor in Wiltshire. His statements distancing the RSPCA from its past action in prosecuting Hunts and being on the end of a lengthy campaign from pro-hunt politicians and the media were themselves slammed by animal rights campaigners in the West yesterday.

Within a day of Mr Cooper's first public interview, an online petition was started calling for his sacking, with animal rights activists saying he had 'betrayed' the causes the RSPCA was set up for. The petition was started by Penny Little [below right], the Gloucestershire hunt monitor who is a member of Protect Our Wild Animals and monitors hunts in the Cotswolds. It was her group's evidence that was used by the RSPCA to successfully prosecute the Heythrop Hunt and win four separate convictions for illegal fox hunting. The RSPCA's private prosecution was also the first and so far only time a hunt organisation has been corporately convicted of breaking the controversial Hunting Act.

But that prosecution sparked a furious campaign against the RSPCA, boosted by criticism from the judge that the RSPCA spent £330,000 on legal fees to mount the prosecution. The RSPCA's then-chief executive Gavin Grant, from Malmesbury in Wiltshire, quit citing ill health and told the Western Daily Press he struggled with the onslaught against the charity. Mr Cooper is the first permanent chief executive since Mr Grant, and his arrival heralds a new direction for the charity that will in future try to "make friends and influence people" and depart from the fiery rhetoric deployed in the past. He said the backlash over the way the RSPCA had pursued its aims "hurts" as it detracted from the "fantastic" work of the charity's 1,600 employees and volunteers.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the incoming chief executive said he wanted to see the number of prosecutions brought by the charity reduced and virtually eliminated for fox hunting. "We have made mistakes," Mr Cooper told the newspaper. "We have to be honest about that. We have to admit that and acknowledge that. The important thing when you make mistakes is what you do about it."

The dog owner, who will reportedly be paid £150,000 in the new role, said the RSPCA will move away from partisan tub thumping on big issues, such as the badger cull, which was seen to alienate farmers. "We are going to be a lot less political. It doesn't mean we won't stand up for animals. But we are not a political organisation," he said. The charity's next big campaign will be on tackling the illegal puppy trade, which Mr Cooper said was a 'real problem. People may have had the perception we were becoming an animal rights organisation. It is not the reality now and it won't be in the future," he said. The former RAF corporal with a background in the supermarket trade took up the permanent post after it had lain vacant for nearly two years. He said: "My style of advocacy is encouragement and dialogue. The (previous) leadership was too adversarial. If you want to shout and use rhetoric that's fine, but it isn't helpful to anybody. It is not going to 'make friends and influence people'. People won't like you for it," he added.

Mr Cooper's words were welcomed by the Countryside Alliance, whose executive chairman Tim Bonner said he was pleased the charity had recognised what his organisation had been saying 'for four years'. But Penny Little said animal rights campaigners felt betrayed. She called on the RSPCA to 'dismiss' Mr Cooper for his 'deplorable capitulation to the bullying of the hunting fraternity'. I am outraged that Jeremy Cooper has declared that the RSPCA will remove their protection from foxes and other illegally hunted animals and leave prosecutions for illegal hunting to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who, over the 11 years since the ban, have shown over and over again that they will not prosecute hunts," she said.

Hunt monitors collect the evidence of illegal hunting, thus saving both the RSPCA or the police from the expense and effort. We routinely face violence and abuse from the hunts - the apologist now in charge of the RSPCA is not only letting down the hunted animals, he is also letting down the brave monitors who put themselves at risk to collect the evidence needed for prosecutions," she added. I challenge Jeremy Cooper to join the monitors and see for himself the butchery meted out to foxes, and the thuggery endured by the monitors, and then see if he is comfortable in, effectively, giving the hunters a green light to carry on without fear of prosecution," she said.

Petition to stop Atherstone FH meeting in town square takes off

9-5-16   Nuneaton News    Petition to ban Atherstone fox hunt gains huge support    Members of the West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs are urging people to sign a petition to get the Atherstone Hunt banned from using the Market Square [right] in the town on New Year's Day.  It was launched at the end of last week. In less than 24 hours it had more than 1,000 signatures and continued to climb over the weekend. The petition, addressed to Atherstone Town Council, includes a section listing all the times the Atherstone Hunt have been in the national and local press in just a six month period which totals more than 30 times for a number of different reasons.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said: "There is an overwhelming amount of video footage online to suggest that the Atherstone Hunt are not acting lawfully. This includes an employee of the Atherstone Hunt caught on camera blocking an active badger sett. There have been at least four foxes killed by this hunt that we know about two of which made the national press. The hounds have been filmed out of control on busy main roads endangering road users. This Hunt are out of control and their behaviour is appalling. Last time the Atherstone Hunt were in the Market Square on New Years Day 2016 one of the supporters received a £90 fine from Warwickshire Police for throwing things. The council and town should have no association with the hunt, to do so continues to damage the image and reputation of the town of Atherstone."  The petition can be found online here.

Shock as tracking devices found planted on LACS investigators' cars

8-4-16   Daily Mirror    Anti-fox hunting activists bugged in 'sinister, James Bond-style plot'    Animal rights activists fear a “sinister” plot by fox hunting supporters after James Bond -style tracking devices were hidden under vehicles. Two £300 “Enforcer 4” bugs [right] were found attached to cars owned by undercover investigators. They believe they were planted by pro-hunt supporters in a bid to trace the campaigners as they secretly film hunts. League Against Cruel Sports Chief executive Eduardo Gonçalves branded the discovery a “sinister development”. He said: “Under any circumstances, electronically tracking someone to prevent them from witnessing and filming your law-breaking would be shocking. But to cynically track privately-owned cars that are used by the investigators’ families – including their children – suggests that there are people out there whose sick blood lust has overridden any sense of common decency and acceptable boundaries.”

The vehicles are private, family cars parked outside homes overnight. The first tracking device was found when one of the League’s investigators took their car to a garage for routine maintenance. Shocked mechanics discovered the GPS tracker attached to the engine, in front of the offside front wheel. The worried campaigner alerted colleagues and urged them to check their vehicles - leading to the discovery of a second device. The activist, who asked not to be named, told the Mirror: “It is very disturbing to know that people have been creeping around my property – it feels like a real personal intrusion. These devices would have told the perpetrators all my and my family’s movements - when I was away, when the house was empty and when we were in the vicinity of their hunt.”

The investigators had been tasked with gathering evidence on hunts in the West Country, and were focusing on Somerset. The League has now ordered a security review, urging investigators to regularly check their vehicles. The worrying incident was reported to Avon and Somerset Police. A force spokesman said: “We are investigating after a suspicious item was found on a car in Taunton on Thursday, March 17. Inquiries are ongoing.” The “waterproof, crush proof” Enforcer tracker is described as “the premium long life, covert GPS tracker” and can go six months without needing recharging - raising fears the devices may have been feeding back information since last year. Advertising material says: “No set up required, arrives switched on and ready to use. Popular vehicle tracker for both personal and business use.” Users can “login 24/7 via any computer, tablet or smart phone and see exactly where your GPS tracker is, where it has been and follow any journeys in live time. Shows exact locations, times and dates”.

POWAperson adds - The discovery of the tracking devices follows two LACS investigators being very violently assaulted at a Belvoir FH meet a few weeks ago. 

9 year old girl killed at Cotswold FH 'fun ride' event
Kicked in head by an adult rider's horse

4-4-16   Daily Mirror   Girl aged 9 dies in hospital after falling from horse during Cotswold Hunt event   A nine-year-old girl has died in hospital after falling from a horse during a Cotswold Hunt event. The girl was rushed to hospital at around 11.25am on Saturday after suffering serious injuries during the Cotswold Hunt's Miserden Fun Ride event near Stroud, Gloucestershire. She was airlifted to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester where she later died. Gloucestershire Police confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious.

A spokesman said: "Officers were called to a farm at Miserden at around 1pm on Saturday April 2. "A nine-year-old girl was taking part in an organised event when she was involved in an incident involving a horse. The girl suffered serious injuries and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal hospital by air ambulance where she sadly died. The coroner and the child's family have been informed. Police are not treating the death as suspicious."

The Cotswold Hunt website describes the event as featuring "10 miles of beautiful Cotswold countryside with over 50 optional jumps to suit all abilities". South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust attended the scene with Wiltshire Air Ambulance. A spokesman said: "At 11.25am on Saturday we received a report that a female child had been involved in an incident with a horse. We attended with a rapid-response vehicle, an ambulance crew, a doctor and an officer, and the air ambulance. She was flown in a life-threatening condition to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital."

4-4-16    BBC News   Girl killed in Cotswold Hunt horse-riding accident named    A nine-year-old girl killed in a horse-riding accident while out with a Gloucestershire hunt has been named locally as Bonnie Armitage. She is understood to have been kicked by a horse while riding her pony during a ride with the Cotswold Hunt in Miserden, near Stroud, on Saturday.

Her school's head teacher described her as a "truly lovely, talented girl" and said the community was "devastated". Police said her family and the coroner had been told of the death. "Bonnie, the daughter of a member of our staff, was a truly lovely, talented girl who was bright, kind, compassionate, gentle and full of joy," said Andrew Nott, head of St Hugh's School near Faringdon in Oxfordshire. "Our love, thoughts and prayers are with her parents, Nick and Polly, and siblings, Zach and Mamie, at this profoundly difficult time."

Gloucestershire Police said she suffered serious injuries and was taken by air ambulance to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where she later died. A source told the Press Association: "My understanding is that she was riding slightly behind a bigger horse that kicked out at her pony. The kick caught her. It was a tragic accident." Another said: "She is believed to have been kicked off her horse by another horse. It is an extremely sad incident." In a statement, the joint masters of the Cotswold Hunt said: "A sense of overwhelming shock and sadness is with us all as we try to come to terms with her family's overwhelming loss and grief, and I hope that the strength of our community together with the power of our prayers and the sincerity of our condolences will be of some comfort to the family. In truth we find it hard to write this, as a young life lost is very, very hard to bear. We would also like to thank the emergency services who did their very best."

POWAperson adds:- According to an eyewitness, this tragic incident has been somewhat misreported. She says that a big group of children on Shetlands, donkeys and other ponies were there and it was chaotic.  A rider failed to get his horse over a fence and whatever he was then doing, circling for another go or to get a different place to jump, he passed too close to the children on ponies standing in a group and his horse kicked out behind and struck the girl on the head. She was killed instantly.  Obviously he should never have been close to a group of children on ponies anyway. The witness earlier saw a fox running hard, but it  got away. She suspects they were hunting it, but cannot be sure.

Sabs find six blocked badger setts in Cotswold FH hunt country

4-4-16    Facebook – Three Counties Sabs    The hunting season in the 3 counties is now over and we were out yesterday and last week checking setts where the Cotswold hunt met last Saturday along with other groups. For that one meet 6 setts were blocked that we know of so far and we found one sett hard blocked with these huge tree stumps forced down entrances. It is possible that these same setts may be targeted for culling if the cull is rolled out to the North Cotswolds. The good news is that that the badgers have successfully dug their way out of all 6 setts.

POWAperson adds: - Mr. Christofferson is a JM of the Jedforest FH, in the Scottish border country, two of whose members have recently been arrested on suspicion of illegal hunting. It is not yet clear whether or not Mr. Christofferson is one of them. He is an American hedge-fund manager, a partner in the company Christofferson Robb & Co, a private money management firm based in New York and London.. To say he has made 'several donations' to the Tories is an understatement. According to Electoral Commission records, he has made dozens since 2005, totalling approx. £302,000. About £82,000 of this was donations to the constituency party of Simon Hart, both before and after his election as MP in 2010. Simon Hart was previously the CEO of the Countryside Alliance. Prior to his becoming JM of the Jedforest FH, Christofferson was JM of the Isle of Wight FH. He was in office there when the Huntsman and terrierman of the Hunt, James Trousdale and Jamie Butcher carried out an outrageous and illegal stunt, dumping horse and cattle carcasses in locations in Brighton city centre at the time of the Labour Party conference there, as the Hunting Act was going through Parliament. They were charged and convicted of public order offences. Christofferson was found culpable of not restraining his employees by the Master of Foxhounds Association and was suspended for one month. Trousdale went with Christofferson when he moved to the Jedforest FH, becoming a JM as well as Huntsman. Christofferson's terrierman at the IOW FH, Butcher, who continued in that position, already had a criminal conviction, for badger digging and has since acquired another, as well as having his firearms certificate revoked by the police.

The alleged incident occurred when the men, who are members of the League Against Cruel Sports, were monitoring the Belvoir Hunt, which uses the Duke of Rutland’s hounds, to ensure the law banning the hunting of foxes, with dogs was not being broken. Lady Sarah McCorquodale, the elder sister of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has been a long time member of the Belvoir Hunt and was Master in 2010. Mr Cunnington [left], 58, from Scalford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire claimed they were on a public bridleway when they approached by men riding quad bikes. He said: “One of them stopped then the pair got off and started verbally abusing us. Because there was two of us and two of them, they didn't get physically threatening. One got back on his quad bike and drove off, then he returned a few minutes later with a pick-up truck full of four big men wearing face masks.” He went on: “They started pushing us about. They kicked my camera out of my hand, and then one of them punched me in the face. On the footpath there was a 14ft sheer drop, and they grabbed me and pushed me off it. Then one of them came down and continued to kick me while I was down. I blacked out and came back to a few minutes later. They had gone and Roger had called the police and the ambulance and they had to put me on a stretched to carry me out. I was discharged from hospital at 2am, but the hospital just called and said I've got a fractured neck and need to come back in.” He added: “We were just monitoring the hunt, so if they weren't doing anything wrong they had no need to act like that.”

Mr Swaine, 43, from Derby said: “When the quad bikes arrived they went straight past me, but stopped after seeing Darryl because everyone knows who he is in that Hunt. One of them said to Darryl, 'You should know better than to be here,' and 'Something is going to happen to you eventually.'” He said after attacking his colleague they turned on him and after grabbing him threw him off the same ledge. He said: “"I could feel blood dripping down my face as I heard them driving away. I managed to get over to Darryl, who couldn't move, and call 999.” A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said two men, aged 54 and 23, had been arrested on suspicion of assault and released on police bail pending further enquiries. No one from the Belvoir Hunt could be contacted for comment.

12-3-16   LACS Press Release    Brutal assault on League staff by Belvoir Hunt followers     Two members of staff from the UK’s leading anti-hunting campaigning organisation have today been seriously assaulted and robbed of their cameras while monitoring Leicestershire’s Belvoir Hunt.  The two League Against Cruel Sports employees were attacked by a gang of hunt followers, some of which were on quad bikes and wore masks.  Having been attacked by the gang, League employee Darryl Cunnington [right], being tended by paramedics, having been thrown intong beaten up] sustained injuries so serious that a specialist ambulance was called and he was rushed to hospital.  League colleague Roger Swaine sustained blows to the head and suffered heavy bleeding [below left].

Leicestershire police immediately started an investigation and a police helicopter was called in to search for the gang of men who fled on the quad bike.  Eduardo Gonçalves, Chief Executive for League Against Cruel Sports said: “Our number one priority is the wellbeing of our injured staff and I am on my way to visit them now. We are all shocked by the violence of the Belvoir Hunt followers and this barbaric thuggery must not go unpunished.  Our courageous investigators play a critical role in peacefully monitoring and enforcing the anti-hunting law that some people consider themselves to be above.  Clearly some hunt followers are not satisfied with violence against our wildlife.  They now satisfy their bloodlust by attacking people."

Last year, the Belvoir Hunt hit the headlines when the same investigator (Darryl Cunnington) discovered – and subsequently released - a captured fox in a shed on land hunted by the Belvoir Hunt. Soon after, the hunt was in the national media spotlight again when it was revealed that an animal welfare officer for the Leicestershire Police also hunted with the Belvoir.

POWAperson comments -  Though this attack by hunt supporters was perhaps a little more violent than most, the only really unusual thing about it is the extent of media coverage it attracted. Besides the Telegraph, the story was covered in the Mail, the Mirror, the Indy, the Guardian, BBC News online and local newspapers. Such assaults by hunters and supporters on sabs and monitors are in fact commonplace but normally ignored by the media and often not taken seriously by police, who sometimes even arrest the victims. It is worrying that this case is in the hands of Leicestershire police, a force especially notorious for partiality towards their Hunts. Indeed, one of their wildlife officers was recently revealed to ride with the Belvoir FH

Bishop of Newcastle speaks out in favour of fox hunting

11-3-16     Daily Telegraph    Bishop breaks ranks to back foxhunting    A CHURCH of England bishop has broken ranks with his colleagues by robustly defending foxhunting, saying that while the Church used to support hunting and oppose buggery, the reverse now seemed to be true. The comments by the Rt Rev Paul Richardson, the assistant Bishop of Newcastle, come on the eve of the House of Lords debate on the Hunting Bill. They are expected to outrage many in the Church of England, including a number of fellow bishops who have openly called for a ban on hunting with hounds. They will, however, be welcomed by the dwindling number of clergy who hunt to hounds, who regard themselves as part of an honourable tradition of the hunting parson.

In an article for a Church newspaper, Bishop Richardson compared the issue of hunting to that of abortion, arguing that if it was deemed impossible to protect foetuses because there was no moral consensus, it should be no different for foxes. He said: "According to the Earl of Onslow, the Church of England entered the 20th century opposed to buggery and in favour of foxhunting, but by the start of the 21st century it had reversed its position. The Earl of Onslow has put his finger on a significant point. In terms of public concern, animal rights has moved up in the scale of importance while sexual morality is now widely seen as a matter of personal choice. Writing in The Church of England Newspaper, the bishop said that talk of animal rights was "rhetoric" and animals and humans did not exist on equal terms. Humans did, however, have a duty to treat animals with respect and avoid causing them unnecessary pain.

The Government inquiry into hunting set up by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, under Lord Burns, the former head of the Treasury, had failed to demonstrate conclusively that hunting was an inhumane way of controlling foxes, he said. A ban on hunting would result in the loss of thousands of jobs and remove a traditional activity that strengthened rural communities. He asked: "Is this an issue where the moral argument is so clear-cut that a majority has the right to impose its views on a minority?" Most bishops are believed to be opposed to hunting, and many have publicly called for a ban. The General Synod, the Church's parliament, has never taken an official stance on the issue, although pressure for a ban has grown.

POWAperson is unaware of Church of England bishops speaking up against hunting with hounds, as the article claims. The Church as a whole long refused to condemn the sport and continued to allow hunting on its large landholdings.

Ledbury FH, with mounted kids, blatantly hunted on public land, say sabs

10-3-16   Facebook – 3 Counties Sabs   Ledbury, last meet of the season 10th March 2016   They met at the Elms School, Colwall. As some of you may remember, The Elms include the criminal offence of fox hunting as part of their physical education curriculum. Sure enough, many children were in attendance as the pack hunted through British Camp down to Castlemorton Common where the children were taught how to ride at and assault sabs on land managed by the Malvern Hills Conservators who allow blatant illegal hunting on the public land they are entrusted with. Newborn lambs fled both hounds and the multitude of children on ponies. Despite this sabs from 3C and North Shropshire intervened on a number of occasions to slow the pack down from hunting foxes. One pack finished for the season, a few more to go.

Pics below -  Left - Fox [mid pic] flees Ledbury hounds    Right - Hunt stops traffic to let hounds in pursuit across road

Tory MPs campaign for sabs to be unmasked
Follows claims of assault on gamekeeper

6-3-16  Mail on Sunday    MPs in battle to unmask brutal hunt saboteurs: Police 'need new powers' as thugs get away with wave of attacks Hunt saboteurs will have to remove their masks if police receive new powers demanded by MPs after a spate of countryside attacks. 

Animal rights activists often disguise themselves with hoods, masks or balaclavas at hunts and pheasant shoots. There have been several incidents where people have been injured but no prosecutions as victims cannot identify assailants. Currently, police must get advance permission to demand protesters remove facial coverings, set out in section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. But critics claim this hampers officers faced unexpectedly with masked activists. Police can request individuals remove disguises, but they are at liberty to refuse. Tory MPs are demanding change. Victoria Prentice, MP for Banbury, will raise the issue at tomorrow’s Commons debate on the Police and Crime Bill. She told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It is simply not acceptable that extremists can carry out harassment and assaults without fear of identification or prosecution.’

It follows an incident three weeks ago at the 2,000-acre Cubley Estate in Derbyshire, when gamekeeper Kim Robinson, 55, was savagely beaten by a gang of masked hunt saboteurs, including two women. The activists were protesting against the Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt. Mr Robinson was not part of the hunt but was called out to reports of trespassers on the estate. He said: ‘I told the activists I did not mind them protesting but they had to do it lawfully from the public footpaths or the road. ‘But they didn’t want to stick to the footpaths. It was quicker for them to cut through the estate. So I grabbed one by the collar to insist and then they all set on me. They smashed my head open, one hit me on the head with a radio and the others kicked and punched me.’ 

He had four serious head wounds stitched in hospital and suffered severe headaches for a week. Mr Robinson added: ‘I could not identify any of them but the guy who hit me with the radio would have had my blood all over his jacket. It’s wrong that these activists are allowed to come and cause havoc and put masks on so no-one can recognise them. If you walked down a High Street dressed like that and causing a nuisance you’d be arrested and locked up. But because it’s happening in the countryside and no-one can see it, the authorities seem to think it’s acceptable.’

Tim Bonner, chief executive the Countryside Alliance, said: ‘We think it is ridiculous that officers have the power of arrest but aren’t allowed to ask people to take off face coverings to identify themselves. Animal rights activists are frequently going into the countryside dressed in paramilitary clothing with face coverings and Mr Robinson’s case is the latest in a series of assaults where no-one has been prosecuted.’ Derbyshire Police said a 38-year-old man was arrested and bailed but investigations were continuing. Last January Mike Lane, joint master of the Tedworth Hunt in Wiltshire, was beaten unconscious with iron bars by unidentified protesters in balaclavas. And in 2012 Charles Warde-Adam, a supporter of the Badsworth and Bramham Moor hunt, was attacked by masked men who broke his nose, cheekbone and fractured his skull in three places. No charges were brought as he could not identify his attackers.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: ‘Where an individual is suspected of committing an offence, the police have discretion to use their power of arrest to bring that person to justice. A power to remove a face covering in such situations would offer no obvious advantage.’

POWAperson comments:-   The writer of this pernicious and highly biased article, Valerie Elliott, has been penning virulent pro-bloodsports articles for the right-wing newspapers for many years.  Sabs and monitors seeking to protect defenceless wild animals from being tormented and slaughtered in the name of 'sport' and to expose their illegal activities. They are always heavily outnumbered by riders and their followers, many of whom are thugs. Despite sab and monitor complaints of assault and property damage by hunters, which happen frequently, generally being disregarded by police, the number of convictions for violence over the years of hunters vastly exceeds that of sabs, which are rare.

Two sabs kicked/punched by thugs with Atherstone and camera stolen

5-3-16   Facebook – W.Midlands Sabs VIDEO   Hunt Sabs violently assaulted at the Atherstone Hunt and camera stolen.  05-03-16 Newton Burgoland.   Two hunt sabs were violently assaulted on Saturday. The Hunt had just moved off from the where it met at the Belper Arms when Tom and Harry Milner, sons of Helen Milner a former Master of the Atherstone Hunt, arrived on a quad bike and immediately started pushing the sabs around.  They then took them to the ground punching and kicking them in the head. Then, after stealing the camcorder that had been used to film the incident, they started kicking a sab on the ground repeatedly in the ribs.  Although they stole the camcorder with footage of the attack, they didn't realise that sabs were wearing body cameras that had also recorded the attack. The incident has been reported to the police.

We've had to endure a lot of violence from the Atherstone Hunt this season especially violence aimed at women. A few weeks ago an Atherstone Hunt supporter made death threats towards a sab. Not long after this attack, a fox ran past sabs on Woodland Trust land, Huntsman Stuart Barton can then be heard blowing his horn to encourage the hounds on who have just picked up the scent of the fox.  Barton clearly didn't realise we were there.

Later in the day we came across hounds all over an active badger sett. Neither of these incidents would suggest a hunt acting lawfully, it seems like Barton is sticking two fingers up at the law, the police and even his own organisation, the MFHA, who have told the Atherstone they are not to hunt or even follow trails (or pretend to). Earlier in the year a member of the Hunt,  Peter Taroni told us what a bad huntsman he thought Barton was and that he couldn't catch a cold.  It has come to our attention that the Hunt may not even be paying Barton's wages, which are instead now being paid by an outsider of the Hunt...

Pics below:   Left -  Atherstone thug wrestles sab to ground      Right - Another thug, kicking sab on ground

Police kill hound loose on busy road to avoid serious accidents

24-2-16  Daily Mirror    Crime commissioner 'demands answers' after officers deliberately kill hound by running it over    A police chief has revealed he will be asking for answers after officers deliberately ran over and killed a dog which was loose on a motorway. Wintson Roddick, Police Commissioner for North Wales , says the tragic incident on A55 will be 'looked into fully '. He added the circumstances surrounding the foxhound’s death are “highly unusual”. Mr Roddick said: “These were highly unusual circumstances and it was a difficult judgement to make, especially as I understand both officers concerned are dog owners themselves. I will be raising the matter with the force and I will be asking a number of questions because it is important to ensure the matter is looked into fully.”

In the early hours of Tuesday the animal was loose on the A55, dodging in and out of traffic, reports the Daily Post. The foxhound was running into oncoming traffic on a stretch of the road between the Llanfairfechan roundabout and the Conwy tunnel. It ran into the middle of the unlit road forcing traffic, including a car and HGV to swerve to avoid it while officers were on foot on the carriageway. One officer tried to reach out to the dog but was bitten and the animal escaped. As the officers could not bring the animal under control they decided to get back in there car and run it down, killing it. A spokesman for the force said the dog had “posed a serious threat to motorists” and the only safe option was to kill it.

Chief Inspector Darren Wareing of the roads policing unit said: “The potential for a serious collision was present throughout and in the circumstances, there was no alternative way that officers could contain the dog and minimise the risks to motorists. The only safe option was to run the dog over at sufficient speed to ensure that it was destroyed and would not suffer. Other methods of destruction were considered but were ruled out on the grounds of public safety. Fast roads such as the A55 present inherent risks and to have vehicles including a HGV having to swerve in the dark was deemed unacceptable as the officers witnessed a number of near misses and were highly concerned about the potential aftermath of a high speed collision.” He added: “Due to the seriousness of the incident it needed bringing to a conclusion quickly for the safety of all concerned.” Readers took to social media to question whether North Wales Police did the right thing....

POWAperson adds - t's not clear whether this foxhound had strayed from a Hunt pack or not. Latest info is that the dog was microchipped and traced to a person 'outside the county' who seems to have claimed it was a pet. There's no explanation given for why it was running round on a major road in the early hours of the morning.  

Sabs say many hares hunted - some on and across roads 

16-2-16   Facebook – Norfolk/Suffolk Sabs    Hit report – 13/02/16 Easton Harriers Hunt - Sutton, Suffolk This is a personal account written by one of the hunt sabs present at yesterday's meet:- "Norfolk and Suffolk Hunt Sabs took pleasure in teaming up with the Essex and Cambridge Sab groups to keep an eye on, what is now nick-named, 'the chaos hunt'. The name is rightfully given due to their carelessness when it comes to their hounds which have recently been documented chasing hares and causing chaos on roads - week in and week out.

Sabs kept with the hounds all day and were successful until the horrific moment where the hounds discovered a hare hiding (lying flat) in the middle of a field. With hounds dwindling in and out of cry, the hare made a break for it only to run into the hounds more or less straight away. I was only metres away as this happened and sprang into action as best I could. Some of the hounds began to tug at the hare and the remaining hounds tried to join in. The hare screeched as it was momentarily being treated like an old rag doll. That noise can only be described as horrific and will haunt me. I dived straight into the pack of hounds and reached with both arms and managed to pull the hare free from the hounds' grip. This was done while hounds proceeded to momentarily let go of it (due to confusion caused by other sabs calling the hounds off). If these hounds had not let go there would be little evidence left of this creature.

The Huntsman, whipper-ins and some of the ride were present and took no action during this. They proceeded to ride away like the cowards that they are only to be followed by sabs for the rest of the day while hounds were still excited. As the Hunt left the scene the poor hare started to tense up. As I carried it off the field it died in my arms moments later [below left]. We believe this was the result of shock or possible internal injury but this will be confirmed in due course as a postmortem is to be carried out. The Police were in attendance but made it clear they had no interest in the illegal actions of the hunt. They even had the audacity to hand out Dispersal Orders (Section 35) which meant we would be arrested if we refused to leave the area.

The only reassurance I can give myself is that if we were not there that day, many more would have suffered a worse fate. There is no "clean kill" and if the hare was going to die, I'd rather this poor creature had died in the arms of someone who cared deeply for it, rather than being ripped apart from all directions by the hounds. The Police don't care. It is only the hunt sabs who are able to give these creatures a chance of life. As stated before, the brown hare is in danger of becoming extinct by 2050. We can stop this by taking action. Join the Hunt Saboteurs Association. I'm sorry little one. We bloody tried."

Here's another account from another sab in regard to the Police actions/response on the day: 'Suffolk's so-called wildlife crime officer (named after his favourite pastime; crime against wildlife) turned up with at least 4 other officers in two 4x4s to issue section 35 (dispersal order) against sabs, based on a phone call from the hunt. This is the second week in a row PC Bryant and his chums have issued dispersal orders for sabs, meaning they face arrest if they do not leave the land immediately. Several sabs were also issued with section 50 (anti-social behaviour), requiring them to give their details or else face arrest. Three sabs were physically handled despite not being under arrest, and PC Bryant also made the threat of 'aggravated trespass', for seemingly no reason. Bryant also referred to sabs actions that day - including the incident with the hare - as 'pissing around in the field all day'.' **VIDEO COMING SOON** We would add that before this hare died, numerous hare chases had taken place. Sabs had managed to intervene and many hares were saved as a result of our actions.

A video showing the hare being attacked and dying is here. It is distressing to watch. 

                      Hare dies in arms of sab                                       Harriers hunting on road near sharp bend

Below is a vet's report on the corpse of the hare:-

Blackmore FH supporters assault & threaten sabs after they found blocked badger setts

Hunt later chased fox into village and searched for it there

14-2-16  Facebook – Dorset Sabs     Hit report 13/02/16 Blackmore & Sparkford Vale at Bowden   On a cold day we knew there would be good scenting conditions for the hunt. With sabs and monitors positioned strategically we never lost sight of the Hunt all day. Right at the start sabs saw a fox [left] flee from the direction of the meet towards the main railway line! Terriermen north of the covert attempted to send the fox back towards the hunt, but the fox carried on but deer were flushed towards it.

Meanwile, other foot sabs had discovered three sets of fresh quad tracks. After following them into a covert they discovered a large sett had been completely blocked up, six holes here, though it was evident this wasn't the first time that this had happened. All the holes are blocked up to keep the fox above ground and not a dig out. Hounds kept going into cry as the hunt headed west towards Spurles Covert. Both foot sab groups were dropped off to the south and headed in different directions. The group that had previously found the blocked sett couldn't believe it when they found two further setts were found in another covert. All the holes were unblocked and the crime reported to the police. This is breeding season at the moment and the consequences for the badgers and cubs is unthinkable! One hole was blocked with an oil drum and others with logs, rocks and the natural clay that was sodden.

At some point the hunt discovered their criminality had been found and sabs received verbal and physical threats as well as an assault but no injuries. Riders also rode dangerously at sabs and monitors. In the afternoon one of the coverts which contained a blocked sett was reached by the Hunt. Hounds were in full cry then stopped. It's believed a fox ran to ground and was left alone. Shortly after a fox was chased into Yenston where the hunt searched for it looking in peoples gardens and also blocking the main A road. Throughout the day sabs and monitors filmed foxes getting safely away from the hunt. It was clear more thugs were being called in, but sabs won't be intimidated.

As things looked like they were reaching a head, terrier men gave us the finger as we drove past Inwood where riders and supporters had gone to we wondered if they'd packed up. Surely not it was only 3.30! Using several vehicles sabs drove round the area, but saw no sign of the hunt, they had definitely packed up. Often they'll hunt on till dusk here. A great result with no foxes killed and thanks to one of the monitors further film of a fox being hunted. All the info has been passed to the police.

Police Wildlife Officer revealed as hunting with Belvoir FH

Anti-hunt campaigners demand she be re-allocated 

12-2-16   Daily Mirror    Police wildlife officer is 'outed' as member of one of Britain's biggest hunts   Animal rights groups have launched a petition demanding PC Sharon Roscoe is removed from wildlife crime duties over what they claim is a conflict of interest. Police officer PC Sharon Roscoe, who is responsible for investigating illegal fox hunting is coming under pressure to quit over claims she regularly goes hunting. She is a wildlife officer for Leicestershire Police and part of her role is to probe allegations of illegal fox hunting, trapping animals, game poaching and badger baiting. But it has emerged PC Roscoe, 46, is also a keen member of the Duke of Rutland's Belvoir Hunt in Lincolnshire.

In December, the hunt was slammed by animal rights groups after a video emerged of a dehydrated fox which was said to have been held captive for two days in an outbuilding. The League Against Cruel Sports claimed the animal was found in a building on the Buckminster Estate hours before the Belvirr Hunt were due to meet. The Hunt Saboteurs Association has now launched a petition demanding Pc Roscoe is forced to quit, claiming she has a conflict of interests. More than 2,700 people have signed the petition and campaigners have also written to Chief Constable Simon Cole and Police and Crime Commissioner Sir Clive Loader calling for her to be removed from her post.

The letter reads: "PC Sharon Roscoe rides regularly with the Belvoir Hunt, whilst simultaneously having responsibility for wildlife and rural crimes within Leicestershire. "We feel these two positions are completely untenable." Campaigners claim she is in breach of the Police Regulations 2003 which forbids officers from activities which may compromise their impartiality. The letter goes on: "A member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the impression among members of the public that it may so interfere. We would therefore ask that you remove Pc Roscoe from her current role and assign her to alternative duties. We would also ask that you also ask that you also consider membership of any pro or anti-hunting, fishing, shooting or other field sports associations when making further appointments to this and similar roles."  A Facebook campaign calling on PC Roscoe to resign has received mixed reactions.

Story also covered in the Leicester Mercury here. 

12-2-16   Western Daily Press  VIDEO  Somerset hunt banned from National Trust estate on Exmoor for 'significant breaches' of licence   The decades-long row over hunting on National Trust land on Exmoor has taken a new twist after a prominent fox hunt was banned by Trust bosses for more than a month for "a significant number of breaches" of its licence. The Minehead Harriers [right] was told it would not be allowed on the vast National Trust-owned Holnicote Estate in west Somerset in January following repeated complaints that the hunt was illegally hunting.

The Hunt's suspension has lasted more than three weeks, and will continue into March unless the hunt agree to a new 'code of practice' for meets is agreed with the Trust. The row began last month when the National Trust took the unprecedented step of suspending the licence it issued to allow the Minehead Harriers on its land at Holnicote. The question of whether the National Trust should allow hunts on its land in Somerset became a bitter dispute throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, in what was a precursor to the entire hunting debate and eventual ban. Since that ban in 2005, hunts claim to be legally trail hunting and the fox hunts and stag hunts that operate on Exmoor can obtain licences to go onto National Trust land.

But this season the National Trust said it had received many complaints and "have ourselves seen" a significant number of breaches of the licence agreement. The anti-hunt Somerset Saboteurs group claimed those breaches included illegally hunting foxes, among other transgressions.

"Breaches have included, illegal hunting (chasing and killing a fox, digging out on trust land), blocking public roads and riding quads through SSSIs and nature reserves, and refusing to give information on meets when asked by members of the public," said a spokesman for the sabs' group. We believe the National Trust, locally, is to be congratulated on finally taking action against blatant illegal hunting, something which is often ignored by the police and landowners – be they private, public, charities or trusts – in particular the Forestry Comission and National Trust in other areas have failed to act. We will be only too pleased to look out for any breaches that may occur should the Minehead Harriers regain their licence. No one wants to stop a fun day out as long as all animals are protected from cruelty," he added. The National Trust confirmed it was not only third-party complaints but their own staff that witnessed breaches of the licence. A Trust spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we have suspended the annual licence, which would have run to March, of the Minehead Harriers at Holnicote. We have been made aware of, and have ourselves seen a significant number of breaches of the terms of the licence agreement," she added.

The Harriers and the National Trust met on Thursday, and yesterday gave differing versions of how that meeting went. "The Masters and Chairman of the Minehead Harriers had a very productive meeting with the National Trust," said a spokeswoman for the Hunt. "An agreement was reached to lift the suspension of the licence following the hunt resolving to take steps to address the administrative issues that had led to concern. It was made clear by the National Trust that they were highly supportive of the lawful trail hunting that the Harriers engage in as part of the National Trust's mission to preserve the rural traditions of the South West. The Hunt promised to take steps to improve communication with the trust and to publish a code of practice to provide guidance to its followers and supporters. The National Trust recognised the problems the hunt faces from pressure groups determined to cause trouble for lawful hunting in the area. The Hunt appreciates the difficult job that the National Trust has to do in preserving and maintaining their land for the benefit of the public. The Minehead Harriers look forward to a long and productive association with the National Trust," she added.

But the National Trust said it was not quite like that, and there was no guarantee the suspension would be lifted. "We have agreed to lift the suspension, potentially from March 1 for the last month of the season, provided we have evidence that a mutually agreed code of practice has been developed and communicated to the Hunt's members and followers. A number of other conditions we have discussed with the Hunt will also need to be met," she added.

POWA person adds - the video taken by LACS investigators is one of the pieces of evidence that led to the Minehead Harriers licence being suspended. 

Police probe after sabs film Atherstone FH hound carrying dead fox

27-1-16     Coventry Telegraph     Video: Gruesome footage shows mutilated fox carried in hound's jaws during hunt - Police investigating Atherstone Hunt over allegation of fox hunting for the second time in weeks     Gruesome video footage of a mutilated fox being carried in a hound’s jaws during a fox hunt has emerged. Police are investigating after they were called to reports of a fox being killed illegally during a meeting of Atherstone Hunt on Tuesday. Officers were called to the scene by members of the West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs Group who captured the video footage.

The images show the lifeless body of the animal being carried in the teeth of one of the hounds. Later images, too disturbing to show on our website, reveal the horrific extent of the fox’s injuries as it lies dead on the ground. Members of the Hunt then appear to leave the dead animal behind, riding off into the distance after the saboteurs arrive. A spokesman for West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said: “We heard the hounds and then they crossed over the road, they were either side of a hedge making lots of noise. The hunt was stationary and one huntsman was off his horse, that’s when we saw the dead fox in the hound’s mouth. They looked completely indifferent, they just got back on their horses and carried on hunting.”

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said: “Police were called to Hall Lane, in Osbaston, at about 12pm yesterday following an allegation by a member of the public that a fox had been killed illegally. Officers attended and have began an investigation in to the circumstances surrounding the incident. Inquiries are in the early stages.” It is the second report of a fox being killed during a meeting of Atherstone Hunt in just weeks and follows an incident in Warwickshire which saw a fox being chased down and mauled by a pack of about 20 dogs. That incident is being investigated by Warwickshire Police, but a Hunt spokesman insisted the animal had been accidentally killed. They suggested the fox was injured when the hunt stumbled across it, which meant it couldn’t escape.

Scottish sab family fined after taking own film of hunting to the police

27-1-16   STV News    Family of fox hunt protesters fined after taking own film to police   A family of masked saboteurs have been found guilty of causing fear or alarm to members of a fox hunt in a ground-breaking legal case. Colin and Beverly Milne and their daughter Amy Lilburn were convicted of acting in a threatening or abusive way on an estate owned by one of Britain's richest families.  Ironically, the clash with the huntsmen only came to light when the trio reported their suspicions about the legality of the hunt and showed video footage to police, before being locked up themselves.  They were detained in custody over a weekend and found guilty after a week-long trial on Wednesday, although the sheriff also criticised the police's failure to investigate their claims about the hunt on Snaigow Estate.

Perth Sheriff Court heard how the trio were dressed in "paramilitary" gear and had snoods pulled up and hats pulled down to mask their faces as they confronted members of the hunt. Sheriff William Wood said: "It is my view you went overboard and were reckless about the consequences. If you are not behaving reasonably then you have to take the punishment. "Any reasonable person would feel threatened by your conduct, even in the context of a fox hunt in which you say you were seeking to monitor events. Any person would suffer fear or alarm due to the persistence of your conduct. You all accept you entered Snaigow Estate while you were masked. You were certainly wearing snoods that covered your faces and hats that came down to your brows. You also accept you filmed members of the public. You gave that footage to the police. You also accept you followed Mr Broad and his son for an extensive period. This was a joint enterprise. The outcome and impact on other people had not been fully thought about by you. It doesn't seem to me that your conduct could be said to be reasonable in any way. You followed them over a distance of ten to 12 miles, for a period of one to two hours. You lay in wait for them at a private road. You followed them on foot and continued to follow them even though there was no hunt in progress. You continued to film them when there was nothing to film. I will take account of the somewhat surprising decision by the police not to investigate the circumstances and the time you have spent in custody."

He fined offshore labourer Mr Milne, 49, and toilet attendant Mrs Milne, 39, £200 each and admonished unemployed Lilburn. All three live in Toutie Street, Blairgowrie, Perthshire and were found guilty of causing fear or alarm to Angus and Edward Broad on March 13 last year. Defence solicitor Jim Bready previously told the court: "It was clear from the reaction of the huntsmen at the time and also from how the Milnes behaved that there was no prospect of danger to them. The conduct of the Milnes was impeccable in the situation even under the most extreme provocation. The one thing they seem to abhor more than anything is violence. The way the Milnes were conducting themselves didn't give them any cause to have fear or alarm. They tried to conduct themselves carefully. They simply did not anticipate the sinister notion of being masked. There are many innocent situations where people can be masked. They did not anticipate that what they were doing was criminal. It was all done with the best intentions."

Solicitor David Holmes argued the conduct of the trio had been reasonable as they believed they were interfering with a potentially illegal hunt. During the trial, gamekeeper Peter Nicol said the decision was taken to abandon the hunt after a masked person, dressed all in black, crept up behind a fellow huntsman. The 2800-acre Snaigow Estate, about four miles east of Dunkeld, is owned by the Cadogan family. The Earl of Cadogan was listed as Britain's second wealthiest peer with a £6bn fortune in 2009.

25-1-16   You Tube – LACS  &  PR   Video passed to police suggests top public school Eton is hunting illegally   Potentially incriminating video footage of Eton College’s beagling club has been submitted to the North Yorkshire police by the League Against Cruel Sports. The material appears to show Britain’s most famous school hunting hares illegally. Hunting mammals with dogs has been illegal for more than 10 years. Yet footage taken by the League Against Cruel Sports’ undercover investigators clearly shows a hare being pursued by the Eton College beagles.

The video shows the hare fleeing from the dogs after hunt staff and supporters are heard discussing its whereabouts. The Eton College Beagles’ hunt staff – identifiable by their distinctive uniform of brown velvet jackets - urge the beagles on and make no efforts to call the dogs off.  Following a tip-off, League Against Cruel Sports investigators filmed the Eton College Beagles at Buttercrambe in Aldby Park, North Yorkshire during the half-term holidays on Tuesday 27th October. It is likely they were there with permission from the landowner.

Nine out of ten people in the UK want the ban on hare hunting to remain. Brown hare numbers in Britain have declined by 80% since the 1880s and they are now a conservation priority in the UK.  Before the hunting ban was introduced, hares could be hunted with packs of beagles and the hunt staff would typically follow on foot. The hare hunting season would run from September or October, depending on the type of pack used, until March. Hares are reluctant to leave their territory and don't venture onto new ground and as a result, hare hunting normally takes place in a limited area of the country, of not more than one or two miles square. Hares spend their lives above ground so do not seek refuge underground like foxes or mink when being hunted. If the hare does not manage to escape the hounds it will eventually tire and the hounds, with their superior stamina, will catch up and kill the hare. The chase can last up to 90 minutes before the hare is finally killed by the hounds.

25-1-16   londondo.com    Eton College investigates claim its Beagling club took part in illegal hare hunt    The League Against Cruel Sports said it believed members of the hunt were wearing the Eton College Beagles’ “distinctive uniform of brown velvet jackets”. The video shows the hare fleeing from the dogs after hunt staff and supporters are heard discussing its whereabouts. The hunt staff urge the beagles on and make no efforts to call the dogs off. Tom Quinn, Campaigns Director for League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The North Yorkshire police will be examining footage that appears to shows the prolonged chase of a hare by the Eton beagles. “Could Britain’s top public school be hunting despite it being very cruel and against the law? Since the hunting ban was introduced, hare hunts use a variety of excuses for their continued existence. Having traditionally hunted hares, they now tend to claim that they are rabbit hunting, trail hunting or even just exercising the dogs in a bid to sanitise their activity. But it doesn’t seem that’s what they’re doing in this video”. Eton College has a proud history of teaching many of our leaders in politics, business, the arts and many other fields. I am sure that Eton would want to ensure those future leaders are respecting the law at all times.We urge the North Yorkshire police to investigate this matter without delay and call upon Simon Henderson, Head Master of Eton College, to carry out an internal enquiry”. Hunting mammals with dogs has been illegal for more than 10 years. Before the hunting ban was introduced, hares could be hunted with packs of beagles and the hunt staff would typically follow on foot. The hare hunting season would run from September or October, depending on the type of pack used, until March. A spokesman for Eton College said: “Eton College takes its legal responsibilities extremely seriously and expects all school activities to comply with the law. We are investigating this allegation as a matter of urgency and will be co-operating fully with the relevant authorities.” North Yorkshire Police are yet to comment. 

                      Hare running field, hounds beyond                                                    Same hare later, still fleeing 

Portman FH filmed cutting a fence on a 'trail hunt'

13-1-16  Facebook - Dorset Hunt Sabs    Film of The Portman Hunt on 09/01/16 cutting down a fence, south of Ashley Farm on Sodem Lane Marnhull. Whether or not the Hunt had permission to cut this fence, this exposes the lie that they were trail hunting.

CA to ask for review of about a dozen Hunting Act convictions

Follows court challenge re. independence of LACS' expert witness

4-12-15   Western Daily Press   Countryside Alliance asks for old hunting convictions to be reviewed after collapse of Lamerton case   The Countryside Alliance is demanding previous hunting convictions which involved Bristol professor Stephen Harris be reviewed by the judiciary after the collapse of the Lamerton court case in Devon. Alliance executive chairman Tim Bonner said the collapse of the Lamerton case yesterday brought other cases into question which saw Prof Harris give evidence as an expert witness for the prosecution.

Prof Harris hit back today, saying he was always 'open and honest' about his links to the League, which were questioned by the hunt's legal team and then the judge in the case in Devon. But when faced with the possibility that Prof Harris' evidence could be discounted, the League dropped the case and the six men charged with illegal hunting walked free and innocent.

Now the Countryside Alliance is to write to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, to demand that other cases involving Prof Harris be reviewed. "There have been very few prosecutions of hunts under the Hunting Act, and even fewer that have succeeded – just 14 successful cases in 11 years, however evidence from Professor Harris has been crucial in securing conviction in a number of those," said executive chairman Tim Bonner. We shall be considering all hunting cases in which he was involved - particularly those of the Fernie hunt, Leicestershire, from 2011; the Crawley and Horsham, Sussex, in 2012 and the Meynell Hunt, Derbyshire, in 2012 – and shall ask the Criminal Cases Review Commission to consider whether those convictions are safe or if they should be overturned. Prof Harris' work for the League is not purely as an expert witness – his research was fundamental to the case for the banning of hunting with dogs in England and Wales and continues to be used in arguments against hunting here and in Scotland. This case surely brings the trustworthy nature of that work in to question," he added.

But today Prof Harris has spoken out for the first time about the case, and the 'shameful' attempts to 'rubbish him'. The Bristol University professor, the world's leading expert on foxes, said it would be 'strange' for him not to 'interact' with the League Against Cruel Sports 'from time to time', and denied ever being told to hide his links to the animal welfare charity in a controversial court case this week. In the trial of the Lamerton Hunt officials, which was a private prosecution brought by the League, Prof Harris gave his evidence about video footage taken by anti-hunt monitors. But then the hunt's lawyers questioned him over his impartiality, claiming he had close links with the anti-hunt charity and, in particular, its Somerset-based head of operations Paul Tillesley.

The League complained it was wrong to 'shamefully savage' Prof Harris' reputation, and yesterday the academic himself spoke out. "I have a professional relationship with the League Against Cruel Sports, which is what you would expect," he said. "As the leading expert on foxes in the world it would be strange for me not to interact with the League from time to time. I did not discuss this case with the League's Head of Investigations. I would never say anything that I didn't believe because someone asked me to and besides the League have never asked me to. No-one from the League told me not to disclose the extent of our relationship – I was only ever told to be open and honest," he added

A League spokesman hit out at the Hunt for attacking the Professor, and not defending their actions in the case itself. "Professor Harris is internationally recognised as a world expert on fox behaviour, so it is natural that his scientific research is used to demonstrate that hunting has nothing to do with fox control," a spokesman. It is for this reason alone that the pro-hunt lobby want to see the back of him, because he has exposed the true nature of what they do. Professor is a neutral, expert voice on this subject, and any attempt to rubbish him is unwarranted and shameful," he added.

27-11-15   Rutland & Stamford Mercury   Oakham Town Council votes against Cottesmore Hunt using Cutts Close for Boxing Day meet    Decades of tradition could end this year after Oakham Town Council voted to reject the Cottesmore Hunt’s annual request to meet at Cutts Close on Boxing Day. The Hunt has met in the park the day after Christmas for many years. But at a meeting on Wednesday, councillors rejected the Hunt’s request to use Cutts Close for the traditional meeting.

At the meeting Coun Joyce Lucas said the hunt left too much mess and should meet somewhere else. Coun Brookes argued that Cutts Close should not be used by groups such as the Hunt which were politically sensitive, and that too much alcohol was consumed at the meet. But the decision was not unanimous, with some councillors arguing in favour of the Hunt... two councillors were in favour of the meet and seven were against. After the meeting, mayor of Oakham Alf Dewis said: “The council realises that the Boxing Day meet is a spectacle that brings hundreds of people into the town and we certainly do not want to stop it. Alternative locations have been suggested such as the Market Place and Burley Road Car Park, which are metalled areas and easier to clean, but neither site is under the control of Oakham Town Council. The meet in Uppingham is held in the Market Place and not in the children’s play area and park on Tods Piece. Unfortunately, the request from the hunt arrived at a late stage which makes finding an alternative location more difficult to secure in the time available....

The Hunt raises money for charity at the Boxing Day meet. Last year more than £1,000 was handed over to For Rutland In Rutland. A post on the hunt’s Facebook page yesterday (November 26) said: “The Joint-Masters are currently considering their response to this wholly unexpected development. Watch this space (and Twitter and the Cottesmore’s website) for further information.” A petition calling for people to support the Cutts Close meet already has more than 1,700 signatures just a day after going live at www.gopetition.com.

Two Cheshire FH members trespass on railway line

22-11-15  You Tube – Cheshire Monitors   VIDEO   Cheshire Fox Hounds all over the railway line 20.10. 2015    'Fieldmaster' Keith Shore plus another figure (carrying a loaded shotgun, no less) wandering along the line at Beeston. British Transport police refused to prosecute.

21-10-15   Nuneaton News    Protesters call for Atherstone Hunt Ball to be scrapped   Members of an animal rights group have protested outside a popular events venue calling for the Atherstone Hunt Ball to be cancelled. Campaigners from Leicester Animal Rights and Derby Animal Rights group joined West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs and councillor Keith Kondakor for the demonstration against the social gathering at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre.

Jack Riggall, a spokesperson for Leicester Animal Rights, told the News that the group is calling for the event, which is taking place on November 21, to be stopped as an ethical response to hunting. Mr Riggall said: " A demonstration was held outside the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre to highlight the centre's hosting of the Atherstone Hunt for an event on November 21.

"As the Atherstone Hunt have been repeatedly filmed in breach of both the Hunting Act 2004 and the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, we urge the conference centre management to cancel this event immediately and bring in a policy of upholding and respecting wildlife laws that are in place to protect what remains of our once rich natural heritage."

The News contacted bosses at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre who said that the ball will go-ahead as planned. Stephen Hammon, managing director for the Heart of England Conference Centre, said: "Heart of England will be honouring the venue booking for the Atherstone Hunt Ball. We will not be drawn into discussions or comments regarding allegations against Atherstone Hunt. "We hire out rooms for parties, events and conferences, it's what we do and we will not be coerced into cancelling anything. Part of our good reputation is built upon us reserving the right to hire out our venue and services without prejudice or bias and we would like to remind everyone that this is a booking for a ball and not a hunt. It is for those reasons that we will honour the booking made for the Atherstone Hunt Ball."

10-10-15   Facebook - 3 Counties Sabs   Opening meet of Ross Harriers in Gloucs cull zone. Hound killed by lorry on A40, Ryeford. Police attending. Sabs in field at present, more to follow. 

16-10-15   Ross Gazette   Death of foxhound on A40    Anti-hunt protesters have denied claims that they drew a dog to its death using a device which creates sounds that attract hunting dogs.  A foxhound was killed by a lorry on the A40 near Ross, close to the Drybrook turn on Saturday, October 10th, during the first meet of the season for Ross Harriers.

A spokesman for West Mercia Police confirmed that they were called at 11.59am on Saturday, October 10th, to reports of an RTC which happened on the A40 in Hereford, in which a dog was fatally hit by a lorry. “The lorry received damage to the front, but no-one else was injured.” The dog belonged to the Ross Harriers Hunt, which was hunting nearby and was being disrupted by the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs Association

Supporters of the Hunt and protesters have made comments and accusations against both sides on social media. A member of the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs group contacted the Ross Gazette to say that they had arrived at the scene after the hound had been killed. She said that they had not had anything to do with it being on the road at the time. The spokesperson said that they saw the lorry and spoke to the driver, this meeting was recorded and can be viewed on the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs Facebook page.

The Master of Ross Harriers, Simon Dunn told the Ross Gazette:?“We are aware of allegations concerning a road traffic accident on Saturday. We are also aware that the Hunt saboteurs present have admitted to having a ‘gizmo’ (which creates specialist sound designed to attract hounds to them) with them on Saturday.  We understand that investigations are continuing on this matter and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

Officers have spoken with witnesses to establish what happened, but were not aware of any independent witnesses to the incident. However the police have seen comments on social media from people claiming to have witnessed the incident, and even filming it on a dash cam. PC Barradale-Smith said that in light of claims that there is evidence which should be investigated, anyone with information should contact him via 101.

Two sabs have police dispersal orders quoshed by court

8-9-15    Shropshire Star   Hunt protesters walk free after police order ruled invalid   Two hunt protestors have walked free from court after a judge ruled that an order made by police – the first of its kind under new legislation – was invalid. Andrew Edgerton, 47, of Longleat Close, Minsterley, and Isla Humphreys, 39, of Rock Terrace, Llanidloes, had been charged with failing to comply with a dispersal order requiring them to leave an area on the outskirts of Denbigh during a meeting of the Flint and Denbigh hunt on January 24.

Mr Wyn Jones, prosecuting at Prestatyn Magistrates Court, said the order was made under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Inspector Gareth Jones, of North Wales Police, told the court that on January 20 he, in liaison with Sergeant Neil Stringfellow, felt that an order was necessary to prevent trouble at the meet four days later. Deputy District Judge Richard Williams upheld a submission by Mrs Anna Price, defending, that the authority signed by Insp Jones was invalid as it did not specify clearly the area covered by the order, named as the Plas Heaton estate, and didn’t include enough details in the rationale for making the order. Sgt Stringfellow said after receiving a report that hunt supporter, Edward Lloyd-Ellis, had been assaulted, he went to the Plas Heaton estate and found Edgerton, the alleged assailant, sitting in a car. When asked to get out he refused, so Sgt Stringfellow decided to activate the order. Sgt Stringfellow tried to serve an order on Humphreys she argued it was unlawful. Both defendants and Mr Lloyd-Ellis had originally been charged with assault but all the cases were dropped.

Sabs say they stopped Christ Church Beagles hunting leverets

7-9-15    Facebook – Berkshire Sabs    Bad hare day for Oxford hunters    We've just caught the Christ Church & Farley Hill Beagles attempting to hunt for leverets (baby hares) in Whittingham, Northumberland. The hunters were not happy to see us - to be fair, they had travelled 300 miles from their usual Oxfordshire hunting grounds to get away from us! They are here for the week on a pre-season hunting holiday....but so are we! They won't kill on our watch, so check in for updates throughout the week. Leveret hunting is the beaglers' equivalent of cubbing and is one of the dirtiest secrets of the hunting world. As in cubbing, new inexperienced hounds are taken out in the early morning - when the scent is best - and encouraged to chase leverets. The young hares are easy to catch and so the new hounds quickly get a taste for killing their quarry.

2-9-15   Western Daily Press    Huntsman Mark Doggrell bailed after latest court appearance over hunt saboteur GBH charge    Huntsman Mark Doggrell has appeared before Taunton Crown Court this morning charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a hunt saboteur, who was knocked down by his horse.  Mr Doggrell, aged 45, huntsman with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, has been bailed until the next court hearing which was set for December 11.  He pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before South Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil last month and the case was sent for trial at the crown court.  The injured saboteur, Nicola Rawson, known as 'Nid' among animal rights campaigners, was left with seven broken ribs and a collapsed lung when she was hit by a horse while out monitoring the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt in August 2014.

POWA person adds:- After originally arresting Doggrell for this life-endangering assault, the CPS, astonishingly, decided not to charge him. This provoked such public fury that they eventually changed their minds. For the full story see here , here and here.

Sabs upload film of Albrighton & Woodland FH chasing fox

CPS decided they could not prosecute 

1-9-15   Vimeo – W.Mids Sabs    Fox Hunted by Albrighton & Woodland Hunt    "With the law as it stands, hunting is a pale shadow of what it used to be" - Peter McColgan Albrighton & Woodland Huntsman - Shropshire Star 15 July 2015    As this video shows for Peter McColgan hunting is very much what it used to be. On the 24/01/2015 we filmed the Albrighton & Woodland Hunt chasing a fox. The fox ran straight past the entire hunt closely followed by the full pack of hounds. At no point did anyone from the Hunt attempt to call the hounds off. The fox is then turned back into the direction of the chasing hounds by terriermen off camera.  The fox then manages to escape down a badger sett. Sabs get to the sett and manage to call the hounds off and get them away from the sett. It is only at this point that the Huntsman decides to call the hounds back. Sabs stayed at the sett to make sure the terriermen didn't try to dig the fox out.

What was the wildlife officer for Staffordshire Police doing whilst this illegal hunting was happening? He was pulling the sabs van over and accusing them of going out to commit burglaries! We reported this incident to West Mercia police who investigated it fully and professionally. Unfortunately the CPS had to drop case which is why we are now able to post this footage up. “In fact the chief outcome of the ban is that all the sick and injured foxes that the hounds used to finish off have led to an unbalanced and unhealthy population. I see so many foxes suffering from mange, which is a horrible disease; the foxes really suffer if they have that. Our hounds would have taken care of the sick animals, but if that happens now we can get in serious trouble.” - Peter McColgan Shropshire Star 15 July 2015.  The fox in this video certainly wasn't sick and neither was the fox this same hunt killed earlier in the season (vimeo.com/126132146#t=0s) as sick foxes don't provide them with a good chase.

        Pack chases fox as field looks on                                   Fox fleeing hounds                                Hounds follow line as as fox doubles back 

POWAperson adds - West Midlands Hunt Sabs have reacted to police refusal to charge the Atherstone FH after providing them with film that they believe clearly shows them illegally hunting a fox on 28-2-15 by setting up a 'Prosecute the Atherstone' Facebook campaign and launching a petition to the CPS. They are publicising this in the local area and urging residents to report any suspicious activity by the Hunt.  

Sabs had filmed terrierman and colleague blocking sett in advance of hunt

19-8-15  Facebook – W.Mids Hunt Sabs   WM Sabs should have been witnesses today at Loughborough Magistrates Court. On Boxing Day 2014 the Atherstone Hunt terrier-man Rob Pickering and John Coote were filmed [video at https://vimeo.com/136698911] filling in an active badger sett after sending in a terrier to flush out any foxes. These are two criminal offences under the Badger Act 1992. Pickering can be seen holding a tracker which is used to locate the terriers underground. Coote can then be seen filling in the entrances to the badger sett with a spade. Hounds then follow later searching over the sett followed by the Atherstone Huntsman Stuart Barton. Does this look like the actions of a hunt who claim they abide by the law and follow a trail?...

Pickering was subsequently charged but even though details of Coote were supplied to the police they failed to act on this information... A badger expert clarified the sett was active and statements from us were supplied to the police. We had heard nothing from the police for some time so we rang them to see if they wanted our original footage for the court case as the court date was drawing near. We were then informed that the case was no longer proceeding. When questioned why, we were reluctantly told it was due to evidential reasons. When pressed further why the CPS had dropped the case the policeman became defensive and said we needed to apply directly to the CPS as he didn't know why.... when we made contact with the CPS, who were reasonable with us, we were told the police were given a deadline by the court which the police failed to comply with, leaving the CPS with no option but to discontinue the case. The CPS also stated that lessons needed to be learnt from this case and they will be subsequently meeting with Leicestershire police.  

Blackmore FH Huntsman Doggerell faces trial on GBH charge

Denies riding over and seriously injuring female sab with horse 

4-8-15   Western Daily Press   Somerset huntsman Mark Doggrell pleads 'not guilty' to GBH of hunt sab 'Nid'    A huntsman with a Somerset hunt has pleaded 'not guilty' to a charge of GBH against a hunt saboteur who was knocked down by his horse last year. Mark Doggrell, from the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, appeared before magistrates in Yeovil on Tuesday charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Nicola Rawson. Ms Rawson, known as 'Nid' among the animal rights campaign, was left with seven broken ribs and a collapsed lung when she was hit by a horse while out monitoring the BSV hunt last August. Mr Doggrell, 45, pleaded 'not guilty' and the case was sent for trial at Taunton Crown Court on September 1.

         Huntsman rides away after mowing down Nid                                           Nid about to be airlifted to hospital 

POWAperson adds - Readers may recall that, despite ample video and witness evidence of what happened, the CPS made the extraordinary decision not to charge the Huntsman. An online campaign and a challenge from the victim under the Victims' Right to Review scheme eventually persuaded them to change their minds. The full trial is probably still a few months away - expect September 1st to just be a case management hearing. See the Mail's account, which includes embedded video of the incident.

28-7-15   Countryside Alliance PR   Tim Bonner announced as new Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance   The Countryside Alliance has announced that Sir Barney White-Spunner will be stepping down as its Executive Chairman after the AGM in September.  The Board has appointed Director of Campaigns, Tim Bonner, [right] to take charge as Chief Executive when he leaves.  Sir Barney has spent three and a half years at the head of Britain’s largest rural campaigning organisation.

Countryside Alliance chairman, Lord Mancroft, said: “Barney has brought much needed stability to the organisation and wrestled with some of the most intractable issues facing the British countryside. He leaves hunting in good heart - if a bit frustrated by the vagaries of the SNP, shooting in a much better place than he found it and a Government far more engaged on a range of rural issues than when he arrived.  He has also started restructuring us so that we are fit to face the challenges of campaigning in the digital 21st century world.   We are hugely grateful for his efforts. The Board was able to appoint an exceptional internal candidate in Tim Bonner who will provide continuity whilst pushing forward the evolution of the Alliance and its campaigns. We remain committed to providing a voice for rural minorities however controversial the issue, and the organisation must continue to adapt to maintain its influence in an ever-changing world."...

Barney White-Spunner said: “... It has been a great privilege to lead the Alliance and to be able to give something back to a world which has been so much a part of my life.” Tim Bonner said: "This appointment is a huge honour, but most of all a huge responsibility. I am constantly aware of the hundreds of thousands of Countryside Alliance members and supporters who rely on us to give them a voice. The Alliance will always focus on the core political and campaigning work it does best, but must also change to face new challenges.

POWAperson comments - As ever, despite their cosmetic work on other rural issues, the overriding interest of the CA is the protection and furtherance of bloodsports.  The appointment of Tim Bonner, who has been their lead spokesman on hunting issues for some years merely confirms that bloodsports will remain their central focus, especially as Bonner will be working in tandem with hunting fanatic Lord Mancroft as CA Chairman.

Gloucs Hunts accused of illegal hunting and sett interference

Much of alleged activity takes place within badger cull zone 

Concerns about Btb biosecurity in badger cull zone raised 

27-7-15   POWA has been sent the following information, and permission to reproduce it here, which details the observed activity of three Hunts that operate within the Gloucestershire badger cull zone. This involves both allegations of illegal hunting and of considerable alleged interference with badger setts in relation to their hunting - and also the assistance some Hunt members render to the badger cull. It also casts light on the historic attitudes of fox hunters to badgers, which were even hunted with hounds in some areas until after the second world war. See the Three Counties Sabs FB page for more info on these Hunts and video evidence of their behaviour.

Some points regarding fox hunting in the Gloucestershire badger cull zone   The cull zone is encapsulated within the M50, the M5 and the A40. Within this area three mounted packs, all of whom hunt foxes, operate as the cull zone forms part of their respective countries - Ross Harriers (who also hunt hares), Cotswold Vale Farmers Hunt and the Ledbury. The fact that they hunt foxes (and we have footage of them hunting and killing foxes, especially the Ledbury) is directly relevant to the cull as foxes co-habit with badgers in setts, a fact recognised by naturalists and hunters alike.

Peter Beckford, writing in the 18th century, describes how to eradicate badger setts in "Thoughts on Hunting" (a very well regarded book within the hunting fraternity.  He regarded badgers as vermin because their setts interfered with fox hunting when foxes escaped down them.  He also describes what he did with badgers which consisted of mutilating them and feeding them to the pack alive. In a book written to celebrate the centenary of the Heythrop "The Heythrop Hunt", by GT Hutchinson, 1935 - "Badgers and foxes go very well together. They tell me that they killed nearly all the badgers in one of the woods in Sir Tatton's old country, and that there was one found the next day, and it was lying curled up in the earth with a fox". Hunting badgers with hounds is mentioned pages 164-166, 80 odd years ago, and no evidence of this happening now but it does show what was commonplace in the past.

The point of fox hunting is that the paying mounted field gets a long, fast run. This does not happen when a fox disappears down into a 20ft deep badger sett and so, for over 300 years, setts have been targeted by hunts just because of this. This, sad to say, has not changed. Sett blocking in order to stop a fox escaping the hunt is commonplace within the Gloucestershire cull zone. Some examples are as follows;

- 7th October 2009. A large sett was blocked just south of Tewkesbury in the eastern side of the zone. On unblocking it there was a strong smell of deisel. The police attended a few days later. The sett was blocked again on another occassion when the CVFH were in the vicinity on 13th March 2010. The sett is now not active.

- 17th January 2012. Just east of the A38 on the east side of the cull zone the CVFH pack were stationary for a very long period. It was dark but I went down to see what was happening. The Huntsman, hounds, masters and field were waiting patiently whilst terrierman Nick Hodges dug out a badger sett. One of the masters, Jason Warner blocked me with his horse whilst they all packed up and escaped very quickly. This sett is no longer active. Nick Hodges was out during the cull, we met him on Cut Throat Lane near Aston Crews at midnight October 2014, he told us that they had just killed a badger.

- In October 2012 in a covert owned by the Ledbury hunt a large sett was discovered with staves and fence posts rammed down many entrances, this had been done some weeks previously. This sett is no longer active.

- Also on 26th September 2012, whilst out with the Ledbury, a sett was found to be blocked on a public footpath, one entrance was unblocked and hounds were marking the fox to ground, he had escaped down an unblocked hole. An ITV camera crew filmed the sett and a wasps nest had been disturbed by the blocking. This area has been attacked many times. The police rebuked the Ledbury 5 years ago for blocking a sett in the area, that sett had deisel poured down it just before the proposed 2012 cull just before the Ledbury were due to meet there.

- On 15th February 2013, I filmed a brace of foxes running together being hunted by the Ledbury from Corse Grove. The Master Louise Daly was following me on foot and made a pathetic attempt to stop the pack for the camera. The Huntsman at the time, Will Goffe, encouraged them on. I noted that they had gone up some badger runs. Later, we went back and an active badger sett was discovered blocked and with hound prints all over it. The 2 foxes had obviously tried to seek refuge but had been forced to go on. It was unblocked and the RSPCA were informed. This sett was targeted in both culls with both cage trapping and free shooting. The owner of the land is Jompy Smith, he was arrested for allegedly hitting an anti-cull activist during the first cull. Roger Warner, another Ledbury Master who is signed up for the cull at Town Street Farm Tirley, was with him on that night. It is thought that they were trying to shoot badgers.

- A major sett on the Forthampton estate was found to be destroyed in the Spring of 2013. It is thought it may have been blocked for the 1st of March 2013 meet at the Hunters Inn Buckbury, near where the Ledbury killed a fox by the main road. The police investigated and the gamekeeper blamed the hunt and vice versa. The RSPCA also investigated.

- 18th October 2014, The Ross Harriers marked a fox to ground in the Rudhall area of the zone. The sett was later dug out. West Mercia police attended along with Natural England at a later date. They confimed that it was an active sett. This sett was targeted during the cull and dug out within the cull zone whilst the cull was still in progress.

- 22nd December 2014. The Ledbury met at Pauntley Court and we found a major sett nearby to be hard blocked. This sett was targeted during both culls and, in 2013, we found a cage on it covered in blood. The police attended and signs of badger activity and fresh latrines were noted. This sett has not recovered.

- On Christmas Eve a sett a couple of fields away was also found to be blocked, this was also targeted during both culls and is now not active. It is thought that the second sett was also blocked for the same day, the Hunt passed both setts and hoof prints were noted around both setts. Horses are not normally seen in either area. Once a Hunt knows that we are watching a sett they are far less likely to target it. We have had anti-cull activists sett checking on days in the vicinity of where hunts are going to be when we have enough notice of meets. This needs to continue and develop. If a sett is not blocked this means that hounds will be chasing foxes down setts and then "marking" i.e trying to get into the sett, digging the earth around the sett and then going on elsewhere.

One day in Eldersfield the Ledbury marked 4 foxes to ground at 4 different setts, all of which were targeted during both culls. It is a normal part of fox hunting which is why it is astonishing that it has continued in what we are told are high-risk areas and practiced by those who were actively involved in the culling, either as participants or as landowners signed up for the cull. The fact that those sett blocking are hardly likely to be disinfecting themselves and vehicles surely makes a mockery of the biosecurity farce, as does allowing 20 couple of foxhounds to dig in earth around supposedly Btb infested setts, before traipsing through fields full of cows and bullocks. If badgers were really such a threat to cattle via Btb we should ask the question as to why Hunts are allowed to carry on regardless in so called hotspots during a cull which has cost the taxpayer millions of pounds. We also need to be asking why those who are involved in the badger cull are also involved in fox hunting within the zone during the cull period when there are obvious contraindications to biosecurity via transmission from hounds and added stress to both badgers and cattle. The illegal tampering with and destruction of setts is not factored in with either the estimation of overall population or it's impact on pertubation within the Gloucestershire zone. I have only included what has happened within the zone but all 3 packs have country outside the zone and act in the same way. For example we caught the Ledbury terrierman trying to dig out a fox in a sett near Upton, he abandoned the dig when we spoke to him on 23rd January 2013.

      Fox fleeing Ledbury hounds 6-3-15           Huntsman, hounds chase fox over bridge               Hare flees Ledbury                   

       Ledbury disrupting traffic 6-3-15                Sett blocked with logs on 6-3-15                    Man pours diesel into sett  25-9-12

East Kent FH five have Hunting Act charges dropped by CPS

Sabs say Act needs changing if their video evidence insufficient 

23-7-15   Kent Online   East Kent Hunt Saboteurs Association hit out at Crown Prosecution Service for dropping charges against suspected Bilsington fox hunters    Members of the East Kent Hunt Saboteurs Association (East Kent HSA), who regularly disrupt organised hunts, said the group is "concerned" about the Crown Prosecution Service's decision to drop the case. Jack Jones, 23, from West Brabourne; Paul Smissen, 61, from Alkham; Michael Manahon, 26, from East Sussex; Alfie Vassar , 24, from Rhodes Minnis and Mary Major, 46, were accused of fox hunting with hounds in Bilsington, near Ashford.  But all charges have been discontinued by the court and the group will not face any further criminal proceedings.

A spokesman for the East Kent HSA said: "It is unbelievable that the CPS believe that there was insufficient evidence - there was video footage, which speaks for itself. "The police clearly thought there was a case to answer, as did the CPS, as charges would not have been brought against them, and the case would not have been allowed to proceed to court if the case was weak.  This is not the first time that this hunt has been accused of illegal hunting, but it is the first time its supporters have been charged and appeared in court for hunting offences."

The court cases have come about in the midst of a national debate about the fox hunting ban, introduced by Labour more than 10 years ago. But the East Kent Saboteurs – or Sabs as they call themselves – said the decision to drop the case has highlighted the need for some amendments. The spokesman, who asked not to be named, added: "Given as none of the hunts can be trusted to obey the law, parts of the Hunting Act need to change. All the exemptions to the act means that prosecution is extremely difficult, or even impossible. This recent decision by the CPS highlights the need for non violent direct action even more. If the institutions of justice fail to act in a fair manner, people will take direct action to see that justice is done."

The CPS defended its decision to drop the charges, on the grounds there was not enough evidence. Kris Venkatasami, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS South East, said: "The video footage was reviewed by more than one of our prosecutors and they concluded that there was insufficient evidence within it to prove the requirements of the legislation to the court."  The East Kent Hunt has been approached for a comment.

                Hounds had been searching along hedgerow                             Hounds catch fox as riders look on

                         Huntsman blows the kill                                        Terrierman about to throw carcass back to hounds 

Landowner acquitted of Hunt allegations after reacting angrily to invasion

23-7-15   Guardian   Court clears landowner of assault on hounds, horses and hunt followers     A Devon landowner who was furious that a hunt had “run amok” on his property has been cleared of running over hounds in his car, reversing at horse riders and attacking a man by grabbing him by his neck. Jonathon Wright-Watson claimed during his trial that the hounds had trespassed on his land and that hunters had struck out at his vehicle with their riding crops. He told Plymouth crown court that about 15 dogs in a “frenzy” had run on to his property, menacing his own dog and cornering his cats. The artist and sculptor admitted grabbing one of the hounds and driving off with it in his pick-up truck. But he denied speeding at any stage, hitting any dogs, reversing towards riders or assaulting a hunt follower. A jury took only 45 minutes after a three-day trial to unanimously acquit Wright-Watson of assault by beating and dangerous driving on 13 December last year....

21-7-15 Guardian   Devon landowner ran over hounds as hunt 'ran amok', court hears   Jonathon Wright-Watson denies dangerous driving and assault after becoming annoyed that hunt ‘trespassed’ on to his land near Totnes. A landowner who was furious that a hunt had “run amok” on his property ran over hounds in his car, reversed at horse riders and attacked a foot follower by grabbing him by his neck, a court has heard. Jonathon Wright-Watson claimed the hounds had trespassed on his land and that hunters had struck out at his vehicle with their riding crops.

The Dart Vale and South Pool Harriers [right, credit Somerset sabs] were on a Saturday morning hunt near Totnes in Devon following a scented trail, Plymouth crown court heard on Tuesday. Wright-Watson had said he did not want the hunt, made up of 35 hounds, 20 riders and about 40 foot followers, on his land.  Edward Bailey, prosecuting, said: “Mr Wright-Watson exercised his right, which he is perfectly entitled to do, to say that this Hunt would not have any permission to hunt over his land.”  But Bailey said: “This is exactly what appears to have happened during the course of that morning.” Bailey said Wright-Watson was to tell police later that the hounds were clambering over the roofs of outbuildings, frightening children and scaring his pets.  “He was cross about this to say the least,” said Bailey.

The prosecutor said he grabbed one hound and put it in the back of his pickup before driving off at speed to try to find the owner. When he came upon hunt follower Stanley Wreyford he allegedly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and shouted at him: “Is this your fucking dog?”  Wreyford said it wasn’t and Wright-Watson drove on, the court heard. Wright-Watson, 55, of Harberton, Devon, allegedly hit three hounds who were in the middle of a lane, leaving one of them – called Bounty - with a broken pelvis, which means she cannot hunt or breed. He then reversed at a group of riders, it is claimed.

In police interview, Wright-Watson said he was annoyed that the hounds were on his land. But he said he drove down the lanes in first gear at 15mph and he had merely put out his arm towards Wreyford to stop him falling down a bank. He denied hitting any hounds and said there was plenty of room for the riders to get around his vehicle when he reversed down the lane. He claimed that the riders were “in a frenzy” and were hitting his vehicle with their riding crops and opening his boot to look inside. Wright-Watson denies dangerous driving and assaulting Wreyford by beating. The trial continues.

One pup given to RSPCA, 2 sold after court failed to make banning order 

22-7-15    Alan [aka Dylan] Hill, a terrierman attached to Ross Harriers, was caught with a bagged fox by police and convicted of a Hunting Act and an Animal Welfare Act offence [see article below]. The court, however, failed to make a banning or confiscation order for the terriers found with him, some of which were heavily scarred, obviously from previous baiting encounters. This prompted an online campaign to have the terriers, which were placed in temporary foster care, permanently removed from him. Thankfully the brood bitch, Poppet [left], has now been signed over to the fosterer, but, alas, the other dogs have had to be returned to him.

change.org   22 Jul 2015 — Poppet, the dog in the picture [right], has been officially signed over to the fosterer. Whilst unfortunately they did get the other dogs back this is a huge success as Poppet was clearly badly affected by her previous treatment.

Change.org    Confiscate Alan Hills dogs under the Animal Welfare Act    Ashleigh Louise UK    Today the media celebrates the success of the Hunting act, as 3 Herefordshire men are prosecuted for illegally hunting.  However this is not the full story, and unfortunately justice has still not been served.

In the early evening of Wednesday 29th October 2014, local police pulled over a car towing a trailer carrying a quad bike for a routine traffic offence. However things escalated when one of the men, Alan Hill, grabbed a bag from the vehicle and ran across a field with it. After the police gave chase Hill was caught and the police found a live fox inside the bag, which promptly escaped into the wilderness. Now under suspicion of Animal Welfare offences, the 3 men: Alan Hill, James Smith and Jack Hudd, were taken into police custody. A search of the vehicle revealed 3 small terrier dogs contained in 2 small crates attached to the quad bike.

The dogs were dirty and wet but also obviously bleeding from facial injuries and so veterinary assistance was called for, and the dogs were taken for a thorough examination. The condition of the female was even more shocking. She had obtained a previous injury resulting in her lower lip under her bottom jaw being completely ripped off, leaving only hairless scar tissue to much of the underside of her face. To accompany this were multiple fresh wounds to her upper lip and muzzle, including one very close to her left eye, and another resulting in a large swelling of her upper lip. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the female was also heavily pregnant….

However, the fate of the female now affectionately named Poppet, her 5 puppies, and the 2 males she was found with now hangs in the balance. Although the 3 men, Alan Hill, Jack Hudd and James Smith, were found GUILTY of hunting with dogs, and also GUILTY of not meeting the welfare needs of the fox found in the bag, they were found NOT GUILTY of not meeting the welfare needs of the 3 dogs. Their sentence included a fine and a criminal record but DID NOT include the confiscation of the dogs or a ban from keeping animals. Section 9 of the Animal Welfare act, for which they were charged, states that: “1) A person commits an offence if he does not take such steps as are reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the needs of an animal for which he is responsible are met to the extent required by good practice. (2) For the purposes of this Act, an animal's needs shall be taken to include— (a) its need for a suitable environment, (b) its need for a suitable diet, (c) its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, (d) any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals, and (e) its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.”

Because these men were found NOT GUILTY, all 8 dogs will now be returned to them, and they will likely be forced to return to the “work” that these men made them do which resulted in their permanent disfigurements, pain and suffering. Please sign this petition and join us in calling for the dogs to be confiscated as Alan Hill is not fit to own animals.

23-7-15 Change.org  PETITION UPDATE Victory!  Ashleigh Louise, United Kingdom    As you know Poppet was officially signed over to the RSPCA yesterday. We have now received further information regarding the puppies. 1 has been signed over to the RSPCA and another 2 sold, one of which was sold to the kennels that were looking after the dogs during the investigation. This is fantastic news so thank you to everyone who took the time to sign and share and bring much needed publicity to this situation. Poppet can now start a new life in a loving home.

POWAperson adds:-  Well done to Ashleigh Louise for organising the petition which, presumably played a role in assuring that Poppet, and three other of the terriers, are now safe from her abusive owner. A small correction to the text above. Alan [Dylan] Hill has now acquired a criminal record, having been convicted under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. This is because AWA offences carry a potential prison sentence and are therefore classified as 'recordable'.  Alas, Hunting Act offences do not carry a gaol sentence and are not 'recordable.' So, Hudd and Smith have not acquired criminal records and nor will Hill's Hunting Act conviction appear on his. POWA has long campaigned for a prison sentence of up to six months to be one of the much needed amendments required to strengthen the Hunting Act, if only to bring it into line with other animal welfare laws.

MPs criticise Leics police support of Atherstone's 'illegal hunting'

July 2015   HSA Press Release   Police target Hunt Saboteurs  Two West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs (WMHS) have been informed that Leicestershire police are trying to issue them with a Police Information Notice (PIN) following allegations made by the Atherstone hunt. Over the last season, the two sabs in question attended the Atherstone Hunt on a regular basis, where they gained footage of illegal hunting, assaults, racist behaviour and blocked badger setts. Currently one of the sabs is a witness in a court case concerning the illegal blocking of badger setts. The prospective witness also believes followers of the hunt have been to her home address and committed criminal damage to two vehicles, which the hunt have openly boasted about.

The police are accusing the sabs of goading and harassing a member of the hunt. When asked by the sab's solicitor if they will be serving the hunt with any PINs in response to their law breaking the police replied that they will merely be speaking to the Hunt regarding their behaviour. All of the allegations made by the hunt against WMHS this season have been proven to be false. So the police are now helping the hunt by grossly misusing a Police Information Notice, which they don't need any evidence to issue. They can base it on any allegations made to them, no matter if they are unsubstantiated.

West Mids sabs have video evidence of this particular hunt member assaulting and harassing sabs but the police would rather act on unsubstantiated allegations by the Hunt. Recently WMHS received a copy of a letter from the Atherstone Hunt Masters to it's supporters regarding the 2014/2015 hunting season. The letter shows that the police were advising the Hunt during this season and had even been out undercover with them. The police had been advising the hunt on it's behaviour and had also given advice regarding video footage that the sab group posted online. The letter states "To continue having good sport, we all have to do our bit to discourage the saboteurs/monitors by following the advice of the police".

Lee Moon, Spokesperson for the HSA, stated: “In our opinion this is a gross misuse of PINs. By issuing them Leicestershire police are trying to suppress the right to protest and this must be contested so this does not become a common tactic used against hunt saboteurs and other protest groups. The Hunt letter also proves that the police are once again taking the side of hunts and are turning a blind eye to repeated criminal behaviour on their part. They are further misusing powers to aid illegal hunting. We would like to hear how Leicestershire police can justify their behaviour and we hope they start allocating greater resources to illegal hunting rather than persecuting innocent protestors ”

POWAperson adds - We have itemised numerous reports of the activities of the Atherstone Hunt over the last couple of years which can be found in our UK Hunting News Archive.

12-7-15   POWA Press Release   A male supporter of the Grafton Hunt has just been given a Police Caution for making a malicious and abusive phone call to a female hunt monitor, from near Thame, Oxon, on 27th January 2015. The youth, aged 17 and a pupil at Stowe, the well known public school,  at the time of the offence, left a message on the phone of hunt monitor Penny Little, who has been monitoring the Northamptonshire based Grafton Hunt for the last couple of hunt seasons.

Mrs Little, who is an Associate of Protect Our Wild Animals,  was shocked when listening to the voicemail, in which the song “What Does the Fox Say” was played, interspersed with a hunting horn being blown.  A the end of the message, the male says in an aggressive tone  “Fuck you Penny Little, you fucking cunt.” Mrs Little thought she recognised the boy’s voice, as he had been pestering the monitors, being abusive and unpleasant.  The song “What Does the Fox Say” is often played by Grafton hunt supporters in order to drown out the sounds of the hounds and hunting horn etc., sounds which the monitors are trying to record as part of their filmed evidence.  She reported the call to Northamptonshire Police. The male withheld his number when he made the abusive call, but it was later traced by the police. The monitors have decided not to reveal the boy’s name, on the police advice.

Penny Little said  “Monitors are subjected to appalling harassment and abuse from hunters and their followers. To invade my privacy in such an obnoxious way is a good example of the standard of behaviour we have come to expect from hunters, and clearly this boy’s expensive education has been wasted. In this case I am pleased with the outcome, and grateful to Northamptonshire Police for dealing with the matter so efficiently."

Mrs Little added "My many years of hunting experience have taught me that the vast majority of hunt followers are as loutish as the youth who offended against me and that many are prone to violence. These are the people Mr. Cameron is seeking to reward this week by passing amendments to the Hunting Act that will effectively neutralise it and herald a return to legalised cruelty to wild animals for 'sport'." 

League slams HA amendments as 'deceit' & 'effective repeal'

9-7-15    LACS Press Release   Today's Hunting Act proposals show Government is deceiving the public   Proposed amendments to the Hunting Act, published today by the Government, are so extreme that they will have the same effect as a full repeal if MPs vote it in, warns animal welfare charity League Against Cruel Sports.  So many exemptions to the Act have been proposed that if passed, hunts will be able to go out with a full pack of hounds and behave as they did before the hunting ban was introduced.

Tom Quinn, Campaigns Director for the League Against Cruel Sports said: “This is no simple amendment to the Hunting Act.  The government is trying to bring back hunting by deceit.  Now we know what they are proposing, any pretence that the government was trying to amend the law to enable better fox control has been blown out of the water. We urge MPs to reject the government’s cynical proposal. It is nothing but repeal of the Hunting Act in disguise.”  The League believes that the Government is using upland farmers as a smokescreen. Hunts will be able to go out with a full pack of hounds and if caught, they will be able to use a variety of excuses, including claiming they are retrieving an injured animal, flushing a fox to waiting guns or even conducting research.

Mr Quinn continued: “MPs need to be very clear on what they’re voting for. Claims that these are minor technical adjustments are wildly misleading. This suite of changes will destroy the Act and the Government knows it. The hunts and the government are laughing in the face of democracy by doing this. Eight out of ten people in this country are opposed to hunting and every single one of them is being made a fool of.”

MPs challenged “If you can’t stomach this, don’t vote for it”. A graphic video of the cruel behaviour of huntsmen has been produced to show what effect a vote for the government’s proposed amendments would have on wild mammals.

Shot from the video -