Top Stories

HUNTING ACT – Hunt Saboteurs were invited into the House of Commons to discuss the ongoing fight against the cruel and illegal activities of the hunts. On 9th Jan, the MP for Poole in Dorset, Neil Duncan-Jordan, welcomed the North London Hunt Saboteurs (NLHS) and North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs (NDHS) to present their case for toughening fox hunting laws to a cross-party group of MPs. This is unprecedented and campaigners hope this signals progress in Labour’s commitment to fully ban so-called trail hunting.

DRONE FOOTAGE – A video taken on the 4th Jan by Kernow Sabs, Monitors and Animal Rights Team, demonstrates “blatant” fox hunting caught on a drone. It’s a fine demonstration of smart sabbing and the usefulness of drones in reaching and capturing hunt crimes previously inaccessible on foot or by vehicle.
https://www.facebook.com/kernowsabs/videos/1151124696586243

GUILTY – Wiltshire Hunt Sabs gave us news this week of the guilty verdict delivered upon Simon Tomlinson, Beaufort Hunt host, owner of the Beaufort Polo Club, and a friend of King Charles. Tomlinson received a Section 59 Warning (Police Reform Act 2002) issued by Gloucestershire Police for driving his ATV at a sab on a public footpath on 21/12/24. For a further insight into the man click here: https://www.facebook.com/wiltshirehuntsaboteurs/posts/pfbid0eCQ4icxAtUwUPk6p1W6QuwTDZV2yGermcMNxiGMBFSH6C5YRCvZCNw26L183JiiMl

DIG OUT – The Cottesmore Hunt terriermen were caught on film trying to flush a fox from a badger sett. They were seen removing a terrier from a quad box, and placing a tracking-device collar around its neck. A second Cottesmore terrierman was filmed removing a spade from the quad’s other box. Huntsman Sam Jones was on foot nearby waiting with hounds. The terriermen gave up the dig, but there was clear evidence of their interference with the badger sett.

DIG OUT – On 4th Jan, West Kent Hunt Sabs witnessed a terrierman with the Kent Hunt, flush a fox to a net, bag it, and stuff it into his quad box. Two other sabs groups, South Coast Hunt Sabs and South Thames Hunt Sabs, were also present that day, meaning more sabs than riders. The incident is on film, and sabs are deciding on the next best step.

DIG OUT AND KILL – On 12th Jan, Cheshire Monitors videoed a dig-out and kill of a vixen by the Llansannan foot pack. The snow was thick that day. https://www.facebook.com/cheshiremonitors/posts/pfbid02N1WkviCXsLyo72BmFYyUCz6Nxskx458AtEAQyJkxpwvehBpZT2SVfbjeJPqwqvk8l

ADMISSION OF ILLEGAL FOX HUNTING – A supporter of the rarely sabbed Cotley Hunt admitted on video that the hunt “gets” foxes. He said on video, “…there’s a lot more shot than we take.”
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AmXpn9iHj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

CHILDREN WHO HUNT – Campaign groups are very concerned about the number of children who get drawn into the hunt world. Many who observed the Boxing Day Meets have commented about the number of often very young riders being taken along. Campaigners are often accused of filming children for evil purposes. However, filming children in a public place is not illegal.

HUNT VIOLENCE – On 11th Jan, Tony Holdsworth, ex-Beaufort Huntsman, pulled the hair of a Wiltshire Hunt Sab. He kept pulling as others egged him on, and then another, Toni Ponting, joined in. A sab managed to film the whole event, and the worse-for-wear (drunk) Ponting was arrested and taken to Gablecross Police Station. Holdsworth ran, escaping both arrest and breathalyser.

Also on Jan11th, Weymouth Animal Rights were subjected to assaults, threats, and had quads and horses used as weapons against them whilst out with the South Dorset Hunt. A terrierman threw a small rock at a female sab’s head. WAR did, however, save three foxes that day. For insight into the day’s work of a hunt saboteur, this hit report is an interesting read.
https://www.facebook.com/WeymouthAnimalRights/posts/pfbid02aohtU3Nu4wJ1G1G5Mzd3GmBsRDCvBY97sUJwqTxqb51b8nNbEgvD6abqGBoePxWZl

KILL – On 4^th Jan, the Eggesford Hunt in Devon killed a fox.

KILL – The Wynnstay Hunt killed a fox on 18th January. The kill happened in front of The Welsh Border Wildlife Protectors at 1:20 that afternoon. The Hunt continued hunting until dusk, at 4:30pm https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0hyUNKU2mgHjR39hMPYhLH5pQJXVWvqq1P5FiNcbaGdtvpG8hHNy5BQ1QvHX8LqHCl&id=61568203946577

ROAD CHAOS – The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale continue to terrorise farmed and domestic animals, locals, and wildlife. A report by North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs from an outing on 11th Jan, tells of the usual fox hunts and chases (probably no kills this day), and the usual road chaos as they hunted over A-roads, on into the dark. The BSV has removed the word ‘foxes’ from all its founding documents, twenty years after the foxhunting ban.

SCOTLAND – A newspaper report of 13th Jan in The Daily Record, details how members of the Lauderdale Hunt were filmed “terrorising foxes with a pack of hounds – despite a landmark ban on the blood sport.”. Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs say they now have footage of “multiple hunting offences” which occurred in Renfrewshire on Saturday 11th Jan.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/notorious-hunt-accused-rampaging-through-34459205

COMMUNITY RESOLUTION ORDER – Wiltshire Hunt member, Davina “Beanie” Sturgis, the daughter-in-law of former Conservative Wiltshire Council Cllr Toby Sturgis, and the wife of the Beaufort Hunts’ Field Master Rupert Sturgis, was found guilty of a Hate Crime against a sab, committed in October 2024. She must now attend a course aimed at ‘encouraging empathy’. In the letter of apology (a condition of the Order), Sturgis blamed her lack of judgement on an early morning and her monthly cycle.
https://www.facebook.com/wiltshirehuntsaboteurs/posts/pfbid06ZziKB2fDxgQaQebgXDohCDzq8rDvQf7GjR7MLm9ySwyfKaiUY6j5LfqgBEDyTAXl

COMMUNITY PROTECTION WARNING – A BBC news item on 16/01/25 reports that two Cumbrian hunts, the Blencathra Foxhounds and the Melbreak Foxhounds, have been issued a police Community Protection Warning. This follows “numerous reports [to local police] regarding issues relating to the groups, including antisocial behaviour, noise nuisance and the detrimental impact on the community”. The police have made clear that failure to heed this warning will result in further action, if not prosecution.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cde9kw0rlryo?at_format=link&at_bbc_team=editorial

COMMUNITY RESOLUTION ORDER – Northumberland Hunt Watch report that a Morpeth Hunt supported was given a CRO after reaching into their vehicle to gran a volunteer’s body camera and throwing it into a pond.
https://www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org/aaf-newsbyte-29/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH91HlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfz6Rt2vB9CW8NooXYcDu6Mw-SCGne4fAqsdRhWuTyUCA3vLEMHpXHZnRQ_aem_rxlrGTBYqVuvS4GoguCCEQ

POLICE PRESENCE – On the 18th January, Northumberland Hunt Watch were happy to report that the Rural Crime Team brought a strong police presence to their watch over the joint meet of the Tynedale Hunt and the United Hounds.
https://www.facebook.com/NorthHW/posts/pfbid02YuJB4ZBMXLoyXRUV3zaGJdBpqpBVXuZTRcecx9hcKJVFZGTAvZJtmDJ6SvTLXeX2l

BADGER SETT BLOCKING – North Dorset Hunt Sabs report that on 16/01/25, they found an active badger sett blocked by both huge spadefuls of earth and logs, on the hunt route. The police were called and attended. The hounds later entered a property, often invaded by this hunt’s dogs, who ran amok over the residents’ garden. Foxes often find sanctuary in this wildlife lovers’ outdoor space, and one of the property’s residents showed sabs where the hounds had tried to dig beneath her shed. Her sheep and horse were also terrified. Sabs are also fairly sure a hunt follower’s car was ticketed that day by police (using ‘blues and twos’), as it hadn’t been taxed since April.
https://www.facebook.com/NorthDorsetSabs/posts/pfbid02qyZx7xwiLLuUv6LjUPN1EDdHYppxUv9DPJQFusjagt6mpYhQNa97pyKs1QBuNCPl

TRESPASS – On 20/01/25, BSV hounds invaded another garden. Police have been informed that they killed a fox in someone’s garden on 18/01/25
https://www.facebook.com/NorthDorsetSabs/videos/4034366186840383

TRESPASS – Hounds from the Mendip Farmers Hunt chased a fox into the garden and entered the house of a resident in Upper Godney on 20/01/25. As of the time of writing, the resident is still missing a chicken and a cat.
https://www.facebook.com/mendiphuntsabs/posts/pfbid02XwpWLYLFGhQqBrvZjLPrXKfVhZnquhsWVTzUupqG4puCXWFc7Ft89qumeR4WHAFal

HUNT RECRUITMENT – More evidence this week that hunts are finding it harder and harder to recruit staff as Grantham Against Bloodsports have provided a screenshot of hunting post vacancies. The list is a very long one for mid-season. The Flint and Denbigh are again advertising for a new huntsman for the third time in as many seasons.
https://www.facebook.com/GranthamAgainstBloodsports/posts/pfbid02GqWpfgrwA3uJvo8zvdmWQzDAGhpU52S4mfbapV6SRLAA4QVXkYhVdvwmM1nCCwj2l

DWINDLING NUMBERS – Hunt numbers appear to be dwindling. On the 6th of January, the once popular Ledbury Hunt, had only eleven riders at their Brainge meet, held on the first Monday of a New Year. Half of these were children. On 15/01/25, Norfolk/ Suffolk Hunt Sabs reported an entire ride of just five, whilst on 16/01/25 Suffolk Action For Wildlife reported a ‘drastic’ rate of fall in the number of regular attendees with the Essex and Suffolk Hunt. Members of AAF have heard, anecdotally, the same from some of its own members.
https://www.facebook.com/nshuntsabs/posts/pfbid035MSZUPqKbfSJVKpuK2u2CS7k2Zi242owH5DkM3qw4c1WpSjFf8GqUqrsCMQraEtPl
https://www.facebook.com/61551071406569/videos/1335136821007938

HOUND INJURED – Suffolk Action For Wildlife reported on an Essex and Suffolk Hunt dog caught, screaming, on barbed wire https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0mjEnW4FaXdHt5QsHeEN8wDkKoNXV9MeD6VPnT7F6jSozE1kEN1NLyti74yPLUyLYl&id=61551071406569

HOUND LOST IN MOUNTAIN – The BBC carried the headline, “Hallucinating Mountain Runner Rescues Lost Dog”. This dog was found “whimpering and crying”, freezing and alone near the summit of the highest peak in Northumberland. The animal was later returned to the Borders Hunt.
https://www.facebook.com/SBHuntSabs/posts/pfbid07Tm7mEmqGo8c8pjyLxNiX35XCp9kXvQWGMdUunz2RM25wBBkZGMFgFVbbVd323KYl

Campaigns and things to do (now)

We have three new leaflets coming out in AAF: “Nuisance Hunts – Help for Locals”, an update of our card to send to Defra to encourage the Government to make a plan for strengthening the hunting ban, and a post-Boxing Day leaflet for delivery in towns where there is a public meet. To order leaflets, click here.

AAF Outreach

Outreach is our business. We need to talk to people outside of Social Media. Standing in the street, talking to people about foxhunting is easier than you might think.  Please contact Alyson Rogers, Outreach Advisor a.rogers@actionagainstfoxhunting.org and she will help you with everything you need.

Thank you to all the saboteur and monitor groups whose hit reports we have used in our Newsbyte. Please let us know if we have made any mistakes – info@actionagainstfoxhunting.org