Quick News

• Third conviction for illegal hunting for same person
• Hunt quadbike accident kills woman
• Law-breaking, animal cruelty and dangerous behaviour at Boxing Day Meets
• Two hounds found dead by sabs
• Footage of hunt illegally blocking badger sett appears
• Footage of hunt killing fox in garden appears
• Hunt destroys charity event in Sussex and Countryside Alliance lie about it
• RNLI (Ireland) refuse donation from hunt
• Police refuse to protect protesters
• Sabateurs attacked by hunt

Hunt atrocities

On Saturday 23 December a young woman sustained serious injury after falling from a quad bike that overturned. Two men aged 29 and 30 were taken into police custody in connection with the incident. The Beaufort Hunt were active in the area at the time. The young woman died on Christmas Day.

Following the release of footage of the Avon Vale Hunt throwing a fox to their hounds, another piece of footage has been released by the HSA of a fox being savaged by hounds in a private garden, in Powys, on 22/11/23. It is vile viewing and difficult to understand how this outcome from fox hunting gives pleasure to the hunting community.

Two hounds that probably belonged to the Mid Devon Hunt were found dead or fatally injured at the side of the A30 near Okehampton, having been struck by traffic. The hunt appeared either to have not missed their hounds, or couldn’t care enough to go searching for them.

On Sat 23/12/23, terriermen from the Cottesmore Hunt stabbed a rear tyre of the sab vehicle.

Terriermen from the Mendip Farmers Hunt, the hunt supported by the Rees-Mogg family, have been recorded on trail cameras blocking an active badger sett. On Boxing Day, this hunt paraded publicly on Priddy Green, with the consent of Priddy Parish Council.

On 28^th December, Surrey Hunt Sabs reported that they saw a fox running up a railway line towards hounds.

Hunt fails

On Boxing Day, the Cheshire Rural Crime Team observed the hounds in cry and intervened to tell the Cheshire Hunt to pack up.

The RNLI, whose head office is in Poole, Dorset, has declined to accept an offer of donations from the Irish Dungarvan Foxhounds Hunt. Foxhunting is legal in Ireland. The RNLI advised the hunt that it only accepts donations from organisations, “in keeping with values of the institution.”

Brian May (Queen and founder of Save Me Trust)  is also well known as being opposed to foxhunting. The BHSA (Brutish Hound Sports Association) decided to make a video to promote their activities, still believing they can dupe the world. Unwisely, they chose a tune by Queen to go with the video, “Don’t stop me now”. Spectacularly inept of them.

convictions

Chris Woodward was convicted of hunting a fox on 14/12/23. (It’s his third conviction in three months.) On Thursday 21st December, Wrexham Magistrates’ Court found him guilty, fined him £525, and he was ordered to pay costs and a surcharge, – a total of £1375. That is not much of a penalty but nonetheless, a conviction.

A father and son, Robert and Jack Mills, terriermen for the Kent Hounds, have been convicted of animal cruelty. The Court said, “For each of you we are imposing 23 weeks custody, suspended for two years. You will also each complete 150 hours of unpaid work and we are ordering that you both pay £500 pounds in costs and a £154 surcharge each. We are also granting a deprivation order for Fudge and Rose and the RSPCA will seize your other dogs. We are also granting a disqualification order for both of you in relation to owning, keeping, or participating in controlling or transporting any animals for five years. No application may be made to appeal this for two years.”

police

On Saturday 16th December, the Cottesmore Hunt attracted the attention of the Lincolnshire Rural Crime Team who put up a drone in order to keep an eye on them. This may have disrupted the enthusiasm the Cottesmore Hunt once had for hunting in Lincolnshire.

On New Year’s Day, Essex Police badly let down protesters at the Puckeridge and Essex Union’s last-minute parade in Maldon. Having been rejected by the Blue Boar (their usual venue), the criminal hunt found a new host – the Swan Hotel. A protest was arranged at short notice, but the protesters suffered appallingly. When one protester begged an officer to intervene, the officer said, “What do you expect if you decide to protest?” (or words to that effect).

On 21 December, Dorset Rural Crime team made two arrests following a report of an assault and theft at the Blackore and Sparkford Vale Hunt.

boxing Day

Teams of AAF members collected evidence of law-breaking, dangerous behaviour and animal cruelty at multiple Boxing Day meets around the country. The evidence will be produced in a report, to be published later.

The Southdown and Eridge Hunt continued to insist that they would parade through the town of Lewes on Boxing Day despite not having adhered to any of the requirements imposed upon them in law. They had not applied for road closure nor provided a risk assessment for parading skittish horses in an area with the public present. There had been online threats from the Hunt followers stating they intended to disrupt the Wheelbarrow Run designed to raise money for the local food bank. The race organisers could not offer safety assurances to the public, the runners, the organisers or even the town Mayor. The bully boys won, and the race was cancelled. The hunt’s animals covered the road in faeces, and the hunt did not clean up. The Wheelbarrow Run organisers were right to cancel the event. The Countryside Alliance made up a tale and said it was cancelled due to lack of support. AAF issued a press release containing the whole truth.

On 2 January, South Coast Hunt Sabs reported that the East Sussex and Romney Marsh Hunt (ESRM) who are amalgamated with the Southdowns and Eridge Hunt (from the Lewes report above) were involved in a “horrific pre-mediated attack” on a sab, and criminal damage