Top Stories

CUB HUNTING This week, the Portman Hunt appeared court charged with cubbing. 

SECOND NO SHOW Once again, the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt failed to turn up for a court hearing, set for 11^th September. Their previous hearing was for 14^th August, but they were at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show instead.

DOG POO Suffolk Action for Wildlife report that the Essex and Suffolk Hunt have received penalties for allowing their dogs to foul on public roads.

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR Charles Carter, huntsman with the Royal Artillery Hunt, has been served with another CRO (Community Resolution Order) by Wiltshire Police. He used his horse to assault a female sab on 17th February, and he also kicked and whipped her. His previous CRO was issued for ripping the bumper off a hunt monitor’s car in November 2022. Mr Carter led the hounds at the South West Wilts Trail Hunting Day on 14^th September.

SCOTLAND NatureScot, the Scottish Government department responsible for issuing licences, has confirmed that no mounted packs currently have licenses to hunt foxes. There had been a suspicion that licences may have been issued to hunts.

ASSAULT Marc Birney, with the Pychley with Woodland Hunt was found guilty in his absence of assault by beating. The offence occurred on 18th March 2023 and he will be sentenced in October. The sabs express gratitude to the Northamptonshire Police for helping bring Birney to justice.

BOXING DAY Wymondham Town Council has banned the Dunston Harriers from holding their Boxing Day meet in the town centre.

DIG OUT On Thursday 13^th March 24, the Axe Vale Harriers were caught on video digging out a fox and discarding the live animal by tossing it into the air. After discarding the fox, the terriermen continued to dig out the badger sett in order to rescue their blooded terrier.

HUNT BEHAVIOUR

BASEBALL BATS East Yorks Coast Hunt Sabs report that the Middleton Hunt informed the police that they had seen sabs with baseball bats. It seems the police that attended had a polite and informative conversation with the sabs and left the scene, content that this was just another false call.

HOUND WHIPPING North Dorset Hunt Sabs Facebook page shows Duncan Cinnamons from Seavington Hunt whipping hounds after a morning of cubbing.

HORSE BEATING East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs videoed the huntsman of the Derwent Hunt (Damian Readman) both kicking and punching a horse at the hunt kennels on Saturday 24th August. Readman was to be the host at the BHSA ‘Smokescreen Saturday’. He was removed from the BHunt SabsA promotional website and the incident is being investigated by the police.

STAG KILLS From 03/08/24 to 16/09/24, 15 stags are known to have been pursued and 8  killed by two Stag Hunts.

court, Police and prosecutions

ILLEGAL HUNTING John (Max) Logan and Mia Cleary, two members of the now defunct Oakley Hunt, have pleaded ‘not guilty’ at Luton Magistrates’ Court to charges under Section 1 of the Hunting Act. Their trial is set for next March. The offence occurred in February. Bedfordshire Police investigated and the CPS approved the charge.

DIG OUT West Cornwall Hunt Sabs caught the East Cornwall and the Taunton Vale Foxhounds actively digging out a badger sett. They provided evidence to the Police who dropped the case saying “insufficient to charge”. AAF on reporting this have remarked ‘what more do the Police want…a written statement from the badgers?’!

MORE BADGER SETT INTERFERENCE League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) secured the video footage that resulted in Dylan Boyle, formerly of the now disbanded Fife Foxhounds, being found guilty of interfering with a badger sett.  He dug a fox out of a badger sett, shot it, and then used it to rag his terrier. During his trial the hunting offences were dropped.

Smokescreen  Saturday

Beds and Bucks Hunt Sabs reported that the local police force would not attend the event known as Smokescreen Saturday. The event is being hosted by the Fitzwilliam, the Cambridge with Enfield Chace, Thurlow, and (apparently) the defunct Oakley Hunt. The Fitzwiliam have been convicted twice in recent times. A conviction against the Thurlow Hunt for fox hunting was achieved in 2019 and they continue to hunt foxes. Hunt staff from the Oakley are currently on hunting charges. The host hunt, the Cambridge with Enfield Chace Hunt, killed a fox on Boxing Day a few years ago. They have recently been filmed undertaking terrier work – work which has no relevance to trail hunting.

Smokescreen Saturday generated several very different stories from different hunts:-

The Ledbury Hunt, who were a host hunt, used the Cotswold Hunt’s instead of their own hounds as they were not sure their hounds would follow an artificial trail.  The Cottesmore Hunt was joined by the Quorn, Belvoir and Fernie Hunt. The Stewards for the event were masked up.  The Essex and Sussex Hunt spoke of ‘wonderful hounds’ and how much the hunt contributed to rural life. The spokesperson omitted to mention that there are members of their Hunt awaiting trial for hunting and animal cruelty offences.  The West Midlands Hunt cancelled their Smokescreen Saturday showpiece probably because of the pressure from sabs and that their egregious track record would be exposed to a more general audience.

The day before Smokescreen Saturday, the Holcombe Harriers, along with the Holme and Colne Valley Beagles, were denied use of the planned venue as the Greene King chain withdrew permission for access to the selected meeting point. Greene King state that they were not made aware that the event planned was linked to trail hunting.

There was no Smokescreen Saturday in Cumbria. With so much wildlife on Helton Fell, the risk of the hunts being seen to kill a fox, or foxes, in front of their invited audience was too great.

The Flint and Denbigh Hunt, along with the Wynnstay Hunt, managed to assault people, leave behind an injured horse, and have a baby driven around attached to the front of one of the quad bikes.

THIS ALSO CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION

MOD LAND Following a freedom of information request it appears that the Royal Artillery Hunt have not been granted any licences by the MOD to trail hunt on Salisbury Plain.

FOX HUNTING Gareth Watchman, member of the BHSA, has objected to Labour’s plan to stop fox hunting. FOX HUNTING, not trail hunting.  Fox hunting was banned in 2005, but the hunts are so inured to their pastime they have forgotten they are supposed to be claiming that they are trail hunting.

Campaigns and things to do (now) 

Landowners Letters –

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 to 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