⚠️ Community Protection Warnings ⚠️ issued to 4 hunts covering the county of Shropshire.

The following hunts have been issued CPWs

North Shropshire Hunt
South Shropshire Hunt
Wynnstay Hunt (Sir Watkin Williams Wynn)
United Pack

Some of the things included are:

🦊 Provide ‘trial’ maps of every trail and make available to police on request
🦊 Notify the police of locations
🦊 Not to lay trails on or near roads, woodland or hedges where wildlife maybe seeking refuge.
🦊 Stay away from badger setts.
🦊 Not to trespass or cause damage.
🦊 Not to block or cause obstruction to the public highway and cause a nuisance.

A Community Protection Warning (CPW) is a formal written warning that is issued before a Community Protection Notice (CPN) is issued. A CPN is a legal document that can be used to stop individuals, businesses, or organizations from engaging in antisocial behavior (ASB) that negatively impacts the quality of life in a community.

The hunts were each issued with a CPW by West Mercia Police at the start of the season back in late October 2024.

A CPW is issued when there are reasonable grounds to believe that behavior is: Unreasonable, Persistent or continuing, and Detrimental to the quality of life of the local community. Any breach of these warnings can result in the issue of a Community Protection Notice which can lead to fines or prosecution.

A source told us that there were over 100 public complaints to WMP relating to the SSH alone. The hunts have caused damage to property including harassment, alarm and distress to residents and landowners. Reports include foxes being chased and killed by hounds often on land with no consent and protected badger sett entrances blocked and dug in to.

Incidents have also occurred where hunts block roads causing havoc, have had hounds hit by vehicles and trains and the use of illegal quad bike vehicles often overloaded and with no registration plates. One incident included killing a fox in a person’s garden! Another incident included a person being run over by a quad bike!

Well done to the many landowners affected and to the public of Shropshire for reporting with credit to all the monitor and sab groups involved in helping to evidence these Organised Criminal Groups and secure these CPWs. If you witness these hunts in contravention of the CPW or any other law, then please report to West Mercia Police and obtain an incident number.

Make no mistake they act and conduct themselves the way they do owing to the fact they chase foxes, hare and deer illegally despite it being banned for 20 years. It is no surprise that not one single ‘clean boot’ hunt has ever been issued a CPW, but many so called ‘trail’ hunts have including the Albrighton and Woodland Hunt (twice), Warwickshire and the Puckridge & Essex Union Hunt.

The fact that 4 BHSA registered hunts have been issued CPWs by one police force highlights the fact that these are not ‘the odd bad apple’ and that banned fox hunting and the anti social behaviour that goes with it is very much apparent in the Shropshire countryside.

Hunts are registered business and exist to earn money from paying supporters so they can continue to partake in these banned bloodsports for personal entertainment.

Anyone assisting, supporting or allowing the hunts on their land are contributing to this.

In the case of the Wynnstay and South Shropshire Hunts they both have convictions for Badger sett interference and illegal hunting with dogs.

If you have any further information about any of these hunts please email midlands@actionagainstfoxhunting.org