Latest News 3 June 2023

Bad News for Hunts

Somerset County Council have contacted all hunts that parade in public on Boxing Day and asked them to apply for an official road closure, if they intend to obstruct the highway. One of them, the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt (BSV) is planning to take their Boxing Day meet out of public view (they usually meet in Castle Cary). Two others, say they will apply for road closures, and the others (so far) have not responded, with the exception of one who are meeting with the council next week. This is the result of a long-running campaign by Action Against Foxhunting to stop Boxing Day meets happening in public. 

Lewes Town Council has decided to ban hunts from its town centre and its land. Here is the link.:-

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0bYWA4D6CwvBnawWGc4bnPCi3NpAGvT4g8DUuQFaGY8G8oFfufvVgQTKuLuuQurnxl&id=1671069682959280

The hunt likely to be most affected by this decision is the Southdown and Eridge Hunt.
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Prosecutions and convictions

Members of the West Norfolk Fox Hounds Hunt will be in court on 23rd June in Norwich Magistrates’ Court.  This is the hunt that chased and killed a fox in someone’s back garden. CCTV picked up the incident.  Edward Bell, 29, and Adam Egginton, 22, both of Moor Lane in Necton in Norfolk, and Andrew Kendall, 66, of Hulver Road in Henstead, near Beccles in Suffolk have been charged with: three counts of criminal damage; two counts of owning or being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control; two counts of hunting a wild mammal with dogs. These offences occurred on 20^th Feb. Additionally, they have been charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs on 8 February 2023. Adam Egginton and Andrew Kendall have also been charged with intentionally encouraging/assisting the commission of a summary offence.

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Cheshire Police have issued a summons for a Northwich-based man to attend court on two illegal hunting charges.
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A member of the Cotley Hunt has been charge with common assault after an incident involving a length of rope and a protester at the Cotley’s Boxing Day Meet in Chard, Somerset.
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Words fail me. Onanist (known member of hunt) convicted. If you want to know more, here is a link:https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02WUqcqRYgAYFGdSrJqum6LFSnmirn1LzUABCyG5SJz9ExVjhJYMCxmxXyxzyUvuSel&id=10008099009382

Police

Avon and Somerset Police have decided to drop investigations into three illegal hunting allegations. All three of them were supported with good video evidence and all three of them had witness statements. None of the cases was referred to the CPS for advice. The reasons are varied, and in our opinion, thin. AAF, together with the three different sab/monitor groups involved, will be working together to ask A&S Police to justify their extraordinary decisions.
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On 26th May Wiltshire Rural Crime Team published a photo of a “female” alleged to have “damaged a legal trap” near Salisbury. The photo appealed to the hunting community, who shared it over a thousand times. Given the known violent behaviour of some members of the hunting community, we believe that Wiltshire Police have knowingly put the woman in danger. There was no need to identify the nature of the alleged offence. Then, a high-profile member of AAF Cornwall (Deborah Hall) was actually named on the police Facebook page and the name remained visible for over 12 hours. The person in the picture is DEFINITELY NOT our Deborah. Police had now put two women in danger. Multiple complaints have been made to the police, but so far, no one has received any answer. The original photo is still on WRCT’s page. 
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On Saturday 13th May, Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) held a protest outside Dorset Police headquarters in Dorchester. Dorset Police have made no progress with an investigation into two assaults on monitors. One monitor was beaten with a metal bar, and the other was shot with what may have been an air rifle. The monitors (both in their 70s) attended the protest along with a number of members of the anti-hunting community. 
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Go back a few years…a sab was head-butted, and his nose broken. By the time the police interviewed the “suspect“, he had lined up three witnesses who weren’t actually there, but said they were, with their account of what had happened. The case was, of course dropped. Move to the present time and Cheshire police have reopened a case concerning a quad bike that was ridden into two Sabs. The rider told the police he wasn’t there but there is plenty of video evidence proving that he was. It should not have to come to a referral to the police complaints department but at least they are investigating it further.
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West Midlands Hunt Sabs have successfully sued Thames Valley Police for a fifth time (yes, a fifth time). TVP have reached an out of court settlement to pay the saboteur damages. They were accused of false imprisonment, assault, trespass and aggravated damages. A spokesperson from the West Midlands Hunt Sabs said,  “The settlement is a result of TVP Rural Crime Team acting upon false information given to them by a member of the Warwickshire Beagles. Edward Law, joint master of the Warwickshire Beagles, conspired with two members of the Warwickshire Hunt to concoct a story about harassment. Law then made a statement to TVP where he claimed he was being stalked and harassed by two members of West Midlands Hunt Sabs and feared violence from them as a result.” TVP took Law’s statement at face value without any actual evidence. TVP‘s response was to pose as postal workers to gain access to homes in a dawn raid. One member of the TVP rural crime team, PC James Gunner, assaulted a female saboteur by throwing her to the ground. She was assaulted a second time by PC Grace Shayler and Sergeant Ruff. Footage from the officers’ body worn cameras showed a completely different account to the one they had given where they claimed they had not assaulted her. More detailed information is available from the West Midlands Hunt Sabs Facebook page.

Thames Valley Police have “previous”. On 12/12/20 the Kimblewick Hunt were caught on CCTV hunting a fox in an industrial yard. All the elements of a successful prosecution were recorded and the video was released by ITV News on 26/12/20.  Thames Valley Police dropped the case. They said it was because the huntsman did not set out with the intention of hunting a wild animal. Clearly, Sallis’ intention changed when he accidentally followed the fox into the yard and encouraged hounds to kill it. While this directly ignores the comments of Judge Cooper  (convicting the Fitzwilliam Hunt in 2019 – again) who said: “whatever might have been the intentions of the organisers of the meet on the I6 January 2016, it degenerated as a matter of fact into simple hunting with dogs, a practice banned in 2004 by the Hunting Act. The Crown submits that the conduct visible in the videos taken on the IS January 2016 was exactly what would have been expected with a traditional unregulated hunt prior to 2004, namely hounds chasing down and killing a fox”. TVP concluded that if you don’t get up in the morning intending to break the law, then whatever you do later in the day isn’t illegal. Good news for quite a few criminals here.

Other News

On Sat 27th May, three Sab groups joined forces to successfully sab the Three Counties Mink Hunt. The vandals of the river banks were found on a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), ie, the River Teme.
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Two Cheshire Sabs were assaulted by a man on a horse. The incident is well videoed but the name of the horseman is not known to sabs or the police. He is well known to the Hunt as he has been recorded conversing with them. The hunt will not reveal his name claiming not to know who he is. The police could release a photo, and ask the public, but just now they are doing nothing. 

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Since there probably isn’t a single sab out there who hasn’t had dealings with a firearms unit, it is such a common occurrence for the hunt to invoke their presence, readers should be aware that there is now  a petition that has exceeded 1 million voters. It concerns a London firearms unit, a homeless man and two dogs shot dead by heroes with firearms. It’s nice to remember these firearms officers are carefully selected. If the petition interests you, Google ‘Marshall and Millions’ the names of the two dogs.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment!