This account is written by one of the AAF members who spoke at the meeting.

On arrival, we were offered seats and an agenda, which had a section for speeches from the public and another section titled “Boxing Day Meet.” It was thought that this section might be answers to questions that had been emailed to the Town Council prior to the meeting—more on this later.

The Mayor of Axbridge, Pauline Ham (Lib Dem), led the meeting. She brusquely informed us that we had an allotted three minutes in which to speak, after which questions could be asked, and that we would not be allowed to speak again. She asked us to introduce ourselves before speaking.

Alyson gave the first speech, detailing the thuggish behaviour at 2024’s Boxing Day Meet. She referred to a past incident where a young girl, at home in Axbridge, required urgent assistance from the emergency services while a Boxing Day meet was happpening, but whose ambulance was delayed because the road had been closed by the hunt—a road closure for which the hunt had sought no permission. 

Alyson asked, “Why was the Hunt permitted to close roads and behave in such a disrespectful manner towards local townspeople, without redress?” The Mayor interrupted to say she had overrun her three minutes. Alyson, almost finished, continued anyway. Some councillors nodded at parts of her stirring speech, but the Mayor remained stoney-faced and distinctly unfriendly. She stated that the Town Council had no jurisdiction over the Hunt meeting in the town, and that road closures were a matter for Somerset Council.

My speech was next. I introduced myself as a veterinary nurse and spoke about Cryptosporidium and other zoonotic pathogens, the strict hygiene rules petting zoos must follow, and the health and safety concerns Somerset Council had raised. I highlighted that hunts had been advised to provide adequate hand-washing facilities to prevent the public from contamination when petting the hounds. I described my observations from last year’s Boxing Day meet: the solitary washing station in the back of a van with no running water, and sweets and mince pies being handed out to people petting the hounds. I asked, “Who from the Town Council would be responsible for this pathogenic time bomb?” The Mayor thanked me for keeping to the three minutes—no questions were asked.

Jane then stood up to introduce herself. The Mayor claimed she couldn’t hear her, forcing Jane to repeat herself—an intimidation tactic! Undeterred, Jane continued, speaking about the dangers of the public mingling around hunt horses that were clearly not used to crowds. (At last year’s meet, one horse with a red tail ribbon struggled in the crowd and had to be walked in a tight circle to keep calm.) Her speech ended with a question regarding the health and safety aspects of horses and humans intermingling.

The Mayor was clearly displeased when we finished speaking. She reiterated that much of what we discussed was “not their job.” She also read out comments from attendees of last year’s meet, showing she had been expecting us and was prepared: protesters had used foul language, the petition was signed mainly by people outside Axbridge (postcode BS26), and protesters had intimidated people by shoving phones into faces. She mentioned a car horn incident which startled a pony a child was riding, but failed to mention that the car had been surrounded and mobbed by drunken yobs, making it impossible for the driver to see the child and pony safely. She also said that the hunt was just a “trail hunt”. She did not acknowledge that they had been caught fox hunting only a few days before. 

The meeting continued to agenda item seven: Boxing Day Meet. To our delight, Councillor Tony Jordan spoke about writing to the hunt to declare they were unwelcome in Axbridge. He described trail hunting as a smoke screen for illegal hunting, mentioned terrier men, repeatedly called hunting “vile,” and requested a council vote to carry his motion. The Mayor was visibly furious. The Clerk, had to guide her through proper procedure.

Councillor Jordan proposed the motion, a new councillor seconded it, and a vote was taken. The Mayor voted first to set a precedent—no. One councillor said no, adding it would be futile as the Town Council held no sway over the Hunt. The final vote: five no, three yes, one abstention, with two members absent. Alyson distributed QR codes for councillors to review; the Mayor immediately put hers aside and tried to move to the next agenda item.

As a matter of form, the Chair should vote last, and not first. Otherwise, she influences the vote. 

I thanked Councillor Jordan as Alyson finished handing out the QR codes. Ms Ham commented on Alyson using her phone camera at last year’s meet, to which Alyson replied that she shouldn’t be outing people at a council meeting, adding with a grin, “I’ll see you at the Boxing Day Meet this year!” We left the meeting.

 Was this the most exciting meeting Axbridge Town Council has ever had? Perhaps we’ll be invited back when they’re bored discussing recreation areas.