- Government publishes long awaited Consultation
- Foxes chased by Gloucestershire and Kent hunts as season ends
- Five known stag kills by Somerset and Devon stag hunts
- Horse beaten by Surrey hunt member
- Attacker from Cornish hunt identified
- Violent assault by Somerset stag hunt
- Sab. car window smashed in Somerset
- Police looking to identify man after Dorset sab. car windscreen broken
- Three charged from Somerset hunt
- Six charges against Scottish hunt
- Trial date set against Scottish huntswoman
- Guilty pleas from hare hunters
- Case against hunt monitor thrown out of court
- Cheshire hunt associate enters terrier into artificial earth
- ‘Master Huntsman’ leaves Devon hunt
TOP STORIES
It’s here!
On 26/03/26, the Government opened its ‘Consultation on Proposals to Prohibit Trail Hunting in England and Wales’.
Action Against Foxhunting has put together guidance to help address this fully.
FOX CHASES
There were more saboteurs than riders out with the Cotswold Hunt’s end of season meet on 21/03/26. Despite the presence of members from the Mendip Hunt Saboteurs, the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, the West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs, Cotswold Hunt Saboteurs, plus an independent saboteur, the Hunt still chased a fox, with sabs spraying the line.Typical fox hunting behaviour is described in the report.
On 20/03/26, the Kent Hounds chased three foxes and a hare, with sabs from the West Kent Hunt Saboteurs having to call the hounds off. The police were called, arrived promptly, and watched the Hunt until having to leave.
STAG KILLS
The North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs report that the Quantock Staghounds killed a young stag on 19/03/26, shot at about 5.30 pm, after it was so exhausted that it was reduced to walking
On 21/03/26, the Devon & Somerset Staghounds killed a stag. The North Dorset Hunt saboteurs describe the presence of around seventy field riders and seventy followers’ cars attending the meet, and “all around a two hundred supporters joining the quest to terrify, torture and exhaust a stag before killing it”. For nearly two hours, in warm weather, their victim was forced to run steep valleys before his death.
On 23/03/26, members from the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, the Mendip Hunt Saboteurs, the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, Somerset Saboteurs, Wildlife Guardian and Holford Against Hunting all sabbed the Quantock Staghounds, who killed a stag with the help of the Tiverton Staghounds. Drawn out of Forestry England land, and then National Trust land, he was chased across the hills to complete exhaustion.
The two Hunts out also meant more than the usual amount of quadbikes tearing around this SSSI Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
A lame stag was chased for over an hour before it was shot by the Devon and Somerset Staghounds on 31/03/26. As the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs point out, euthanising a deer does not involve the torment of a chase. This is another abuse of exemptions under the Hunting Act.
On 04/04/26, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds chased a stag that became a victim after getting stuck in a fence. He was chased for 3 1/2 hours before being killed. The Hunt postponed carving it up for their trophies as they realised that they were being watched and filmed.
Sabs from the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, Devon County Hunt Saboteurs, Mendip Hunt Saboteurs, Herefordshire Hunt Saboteurs, and the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs were all present on the day.
HORSES
Surrey Union Hunt rider, Hannah Good, also of The Sussex Riding School/ Sussex Horse Hirelings in Crawley, was seen beating her horse repeatedly on 21/03/26.
HUNT VIOLENCE
The Kernow Hunt Saboteurs, Monitors and Animal Rights Team have identified the rider that attacked one of their female members on 14/03/26, causing extensive bruising after attacking her using his whip handle. He is Henry Collins from the East Cornwall Hunt. His mother also rides with the hunt.
A member of the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs was violently assaulted by a supporter of the Quantock Staghounds during their outing on 02/04/26. Whilst the assailant was wearing a crash helmet his identity is well known, and the attack was captured on several cameras.
On the morning of 20/03/26, the South Wessex Hunt Saboteurs found the driver’s window of their vehicle had been smashed, but nothing taken from the car. They still went out to sab the Seavington Hunt that morning.
POLICE
Dorset Police have asked for help in identifying a man who, on 13/12/25, (reportedly) climbed on top of a vehicle, jumped up and down on the roof and then broke the windscreen. The vehicle involved belonged to Weymouth Animal Rights and the man is a supporter of the Portland Hunt.
ARRESTS/ CHARGES/ CONVICTIONS
Three men, Ross Cordery, Wayne Greggory and James Parish, who hunt with the Vale of Taunton and Banwell Harriers Hunt, have been charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs under the Hunting Act 2004. The (alleged) offence occurred on 26/11/25. The three defendants will appear at Taunton Magistrates’ Court on Monday 20/04/26.
Hull Wildlife Protectors report that a court case against the Holderness Hunt has been postponed due to illness. Regrettably, their Facebook page does not reveal any more information.
Six charges under the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 have been filed against Trevor Adams and Mathew Wilkinson from the Jed Forest Hunt. Both have been charged with illegal hunting. No plea has been entered, and there is a court hearing scheduled for Monday 30/03/26.
Claire Bellamy, former Huntswoman of the Lauderdale Hunt, will go on trial on 15/06/26 having been charged in January 2025 with illegal hunting under licence.
In Chester Magistrates’ Court on Friday 27/03/26, James Callaghan and Connor Waring pleaded guilty to multiple offences which included, for a second time, hare hunting. They will be sentenced on 24/04/26.
A member of the Cheshire Monitors has had a case against them for driving offences “thrown out” of court after the charges “failed to meet the bar required” for prosecution.
The incident involved damage to a quad bike driven by Wynnstay Hunt support. The case, which rested on 5 hunt witness statements but no evidence, was dismissed after 15 months of stress and anxiety for the driver. The Monitor’s own dashcam showed their vehicle had been deliberately blocked, and the car was moving at “2 -3 mph”.
OTHER WILDLIFE CRIME
This activity of a Cheshire Hunt associate on a hunt day (21/02/26) is further testament to the myth of ‘trail’ hunting. The terrier is entered into the artificial earth to check for foxes. No doubt the Hunt will still claim it is trail hunting, and the BHSA will continue to turn a blind eye to their own decrees.
OTHER NEWS
Hunt saboteurs in Devon have cheered the departure of ‘Master Huntsman, Jason Marles, from the Eggesford Hunt.
A Substack article by Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs discloses that a drone is “an unmanned aircraft“ and so enjoys the same protection as an airliner, and if a hunt goes after a drone they are likely in breach of Air Navigation Order 2016 and the Aviation (Offences) Act 2003. The penalties for breaching these acts can run to 5 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. The Sabs have had some run-ins with the Beaufort Hunt regarding attacking their drone.
