- Fox dug out and killed by Lake District hunt
- BHSA board member present at Lake District hunt kill
- Foxes killed by Cambridgeshire, Dorset, and Wrexham hunts
- Two stag hunts, three dead stags
- Sheep killed by Devon hunt
- Deer savaged and killed by Dorset hunt
- Two hunts, two incidents of horse cruelty
- Dorset hunt hound trampled by horses
- Wrexham hunt hound receives ‘severe electric shock’
- Hares hunted
- Scottish huntsman charged – again
- Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and Scottish hunt violence reported
- Dorset hunt slashes sab-vehicle tyres – again
- Police describe tyre-slashing as ‘knife crime’
- Police responses improve
- Hunting rights over National Trust-run land
- Campaign successes
START OF SEASON ‘25-’26
Hunts will now have had their first full (fox) hunting meet of this season.
Campaigners hope this will be their last.
FOX DUG OUT AND KILLED
The Lake District Hunt Saboteurs have captured drone footage of a dig-out by the Coniston Foxhounds on 08/11/25. The fox was pulled from the terrier, thrown alive to the hounds, and ripped apart.
The video was released on Wednesday 12th November soon after 8.00am. By the next evening, Cumbria Police had issued a statement that six men were in custody relating to ‘alleged illegal fox hunting’. Three vehicles had also been seized, and one of the arrested men, it said, faced a firearms offence. A seventh man was also later arrested: all seven “…on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal”. They were released on bail.
It has since been reported that a representative of the BHSA (British Hound Sports Association) was present on the day of this atrocity. Michael Nicholson sits on the BHSA board as a representative for the Central Committee of Fell Packs (CCFP), the organisation that oversees the seven fell packs which hunt on foot across Cumbria. In his role he helps shape national BHSA policy.
The Lake District Hunt Saboteurs noted that both the Blencathra and the Melbreak Hunts were very subdued on the weekend of the 15th, after the arrest of the Coniston Hunt members – but that they both broke their CPWs
FOXES KILLED
On 29/10/25, the Fitzwilliam Hunt killed a fox. They tried to remove all evidence but some organs were left behind. Immediately after the kill the Hunt returned to their meet, boxed up and left. The Cambridgeshire Rural Action Crime Team attended and will be making enquiries. Footage taken by the Peterborough Hunt Sabs is being reviewed and evidence will be provided to the police. Fitzwilliam Huntsman, Shaun Parish, is currently facing charges under Section One of the Hunting Act, and these charges are due to be heard in court in November.
North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs report that the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt killed a fox in a hedge next to the A30 on 15/11/25. The Sabs report multiple chases that day, from a Hunt notorious for their kills and cavalier attitude to the law, their own governing body’s rules, and the public.
The Cheshire Monitors report that the Wynnstay Hunt killed a fox on 18/11/25
Locals are reporting they believe the Taunton Vale Foxhounds killed on 15/11/25.
Northants Hunt Saboteurs have footage of the Cottesmore Hunt hunting a fox, taken on Thursday 6th November. They are not releasing the footage just now, but leaving it with the police so the police may take action.
STAGS KILLED
Video passed to the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs shows the Quantock Staghounds chased a stag until it collapsed with exhaustion on 16/10/25 and shot it at close range.
North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs also report that on 25/10/25 the Devon and Somerset Staghounds hunted two stags to exhaustion before finally killing them.
SHEEP KILLED
The Devon County Hunt Saboteurs report that on 18/10/25 the Eggesford Hunt caused the death of a sheep
DEER KILLED
The Portman Hunt’s hounds savaged a deer whilst out on their opening meet on 01/11/25. These dogs were clearly not under command or control, and if the huntsmen heard the riot, they ignored it.
The video is distressing.
CRUELTY TO HORSES
Calder Valley Hunt Saboteurs have posted this video of Jason O’Donnell from the Middleton Hunt dealing with his mount.
More cruelty against a horse can be seen in this video, with South Durham huntsman Dick Smith hitting a horse across the head with the handle of his crop, whilst his field master Rob Wilkinson laughs, during their opening meet on 8th Nov, ‘25. This incident has been reported to the RSPCA, and to the police.
HOUNDS INJURED
On Tuesday 28/10/25, a horse rider with the South Dorset Hunt trampled a hound which caused it serious injury. The dog was removed from the scene, but its fate is not known.
The Wynnstay Hunt had to pull their hounds out of a private paddock that a fox had fled through as there was an electric fence within the paddock from which one of their hounds received a severe electric shock. (Cheshire Monitors, 19/11/25)
HARE HUNTS
Two members of the Pipewell Foot Beagles were due to go on trial at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday 7th November for offences relating to illegal hare hunting. The trial was adjourned until 16/02/26. Notwithstanding that fact, on Saturday 8th November, the two accused, Rachael Victoria Lenton and Philip Saunders, were videoed… illegally hunting. Northamptonshire police are now investigating the latest incident.
On Sat 08/11/25, Plymouth and West Devon Hunt Saboteurs had an incident with the Stoke Hill and North Dartmoor Beagles, but they are being tight-lipped about its nature. They have passed evidence to the police. It is unusual for hare hunts to carry on hunting once they have been rumbled by sabs. However, on this occasion, the Hunt continued, and so they were running a considerable risk of providing evidence that the police could use.
HUNT CHARGE
Trevor Adams from the Scottish Jedburgh Hunt has been charged in connection under the Hunting with Dogs Act. Two incidents took place which drew the attention of the police: one on 21/12/24 and the other on 14/01/25.
HUNT VIOLENCE
A member of Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs was attacked whilst filming from a public road. The assailant, who strode across a field to do so, was a supporter of the BSV Hunt, at their opening meet on 25th October ‘25. It’s reported that this supporter has a previous conviction for assaulting a female sab. This attack is now being investigated by the police.
The North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs report that on Saturday 01/11/25, members of the Cattistock Hunt slashed a sab’s vehicle tyre. A Dorset police officer has recently advised that a tyre-slashing merits a 999 call as it is a knife crime.
Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs have posted this video showing violence perpetrated against those filming evidence of activities that could lead to prosecution. This is the Duke of Beaufort Hunt, from last season.
Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs report that the Jedburgh Hunt divided their opening hunting day on 08/11/25 into two parts. The morning part was where the master of the Hunt didn’t bother to turn up but where the Hunt conducted itself within the law. The second half of the day however, saw the Huntmaster in attendance and the usual blood lust ruling the afternoon. There was an attempt to bolt a fox but with the Sabs in attendance the hunt and their supporters turned their aggression towards the Sabs.
On 18/11/25, a member of the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs was attacked by a member of the Heythrop Hunt. The Three Counties Hunt Sabs’ Facebook site says thank you to Gloucestershire Police and the NHS minor injuries unit, for assistance given.
POLICE
The Welsh Border Hunt Saboteurs contacted police on Sat 25/10/25 whilst out with the Cotyville Farmers Hunt. Four police cars turned up, and a lot of interest was shown in the Hunt’s overloaded, unplated quad bike support.
Police attended the Heythrop Hunt on 28th October, with the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs reporting that, ‘The police arrived and stayed to monitor the hunt for the duration that they were out.’ The Hunt had to keep moving due to the presence of both police and sabs.
Until the release of the hunt webinar which described how hunts can create a smokescreen behind which to cheat the law, it seemed always the sabs versus the hunts and the police. As police have become more aware of the lawlessness of hunts, so also does this seem to be changing.
On 10/11/25, the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs arrived to check a badger sett before the hunt set out, only to find that the police were already there, alerted by locals who had seen the quad bikes. The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt avoided that area throughout the rest of their rather disjointed hunting day.
On 08/11/25, the Puckeridge with Essex Hunt summoned the police using a 999 call to claim aggravated trespass and criminal damage. The Essex Police did attend and this is a further occasion where sabs speak well of, or defend, the police response. This is part of what North London Hunt Saboteurs had to say: “The law is clear that alleged trespass is permissible if there is a genuine belief the law is being broken. It must also be mentioned that the officers were, in their engagement, very decent. There is no suggestion of corruption or them dipping the knee to some powerful landowner. This incident is simply down to a lack of knowledge of this area of policing.”
Locals Against the Warwickshire Hunt are asking who won the competition to determine which group in the public’s eyes had ‘made a difference across Warwickshire’, held by the Warwickshire PCC. The group is curious to know the vote count, and wondering whether the Warwickshire Hunt Saboteurs may have garnered a fair few votes, possibly even the most?
HUNT TRESPASS
Calder Valley Hunt Saboteurs along with Rydale Hunt Sabs report that on 15/11/25, the Derwent Hunt twice trespassed into Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Chafer Wood Nature Reserve.
It is believed the Quantock Staghounds pursued a stag and hunted on Forestry England land on Monday, 27th October, though the presence of the Mendip Hunt Saboteurs helped prevent a kill.
Trespass is less clear when the Stag Hunts hunt Exmoor, where land run by entities such as the National Trust may be leased from the Badgworthy Land Company who continue to own hunting rights. Winsford Hill, the site of a stag kill on 11/10/25, is one example.
DRONE SUCCESS
Sab groups around the country are making a huge impact on the hunts with many groups finding that a drone has become a vital piece of their equipment.
OTHER WILDLIFE CRIME
Herefordshire Hunt Saboteurs report that a terrierman with the Ledbury Hunt, Ross Loader, was in Worcester Magistrates’ Court on 11/11/25, charged with illegally keeping wild peregrine falcons. Over the past two seasons he has regularly been out with the Hunt on his quad with terriers on board.
The case was adjourned until 09/12/25
CATAPULTS
Protect the Wild (PtW) would like us all to sign the following petition making the carrying of catapults illegal.
‘Make it an offence to carry a catapult in public without lawful defence’:
CAMPAIGN SUCCESS
And, finally…
Good news, as The Coventry Diocese, after much cajoling, has finally nailed its colours to the mast and declared they do not permit either fox hunting or trail hunting on land that it owns.
After a long campaign, on Monday 17/11/25, Tiverton Town Council passed a motion declaring, “the Tiverton Hunt is not welcome“ for its Boxing Day Meet in Tiverton. Chris Packham supported the motion, and described participants of fox hunting as “ethically and morally bankrupt sociopathic savages“. The Tiverton Meet may still go ahead, but it would do so against the expressed wish of the town itself.
