Round up

Overview

Hunts are falling into 3 general categories:

• those who have given up wildlife harrassment
  (the good?)
• those who hunt as normal but revert to trail hunting when we arrive
  (the bad)
• those that carry on regardless and try to prevent evidence being gathered
  (the very very ugly)

Some of what has been going on in our region

September 2005

Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt (Dorset) monitored. Presence of video cameras causes them to move on from edge of woods. No evidence of a trail but hounds heard to pick up a scent during the morning.

New Forest Beagles monitored. Following trail.

New Forest Foxhounds trail hunting.

Cattistock Hunt (Dorset) caught on video in process of allegedly pursuing fox. Hunt members heard to refer to direction fox went. Hunt monitor driven at. Video handed to police.

Cattistock Hunt (Dorset) using hawk as pretence to carry out hunting as "flushing". Hawk busy chasing crows. Hunt given rough rebuke by Police Wildlife Officer. Hunt Master, Hon Charlotte Townshend, is High Sheriff of Dorset and one of richest women in the country.

Hampshire Hunt. Trail hunting.

October

Hampshire Hunt. Activists arrive as hounds in cry and start filming. Terriermen and supporters of hunt alert huntsman who immediately calls hounds off scent. Very suspicious. Terriermen and supporters then steal map and heard to discuss attacking activists.

South Dorset Hunt. Hunt following drag. Unknown if this was as a result of activists' presence with video cameras.

November

Crawley & Horsham Hunt (West Sussex) caught on camera by independent journalist (Sky News) allegedly pursuing a fox. Video submitted to police.

Surrey Union Hunt. Following trail from Opening Meet. They expected to be monitored so likely this was for our benefit.

Hampshire Hunt. Monitors arrive and told by local which way fox went, mistakenly thinking they were involved in hunt. Activists report being attacked by hunt terriermen and supporters. Full report here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/southcoast/2005/11/328738.html

South Dorset Hunt monitored. Hunt do not go out due to fog but activist's car has screwdriver rammed through radiator and all 4 tyres trashed.

Vale of Aylesbury and Vine & Craven monitored from joint meet at Englefield House, the home of Tory MP Richard Benyon(Berkshire). When video cameras present behaving themselves. See picture here.

Cattistock Hunt (Dorset) believed to have killed fox. Report made to police.

December

Eton College and Radley College Beagles monitored (Oxfordshire). Hunting a drag. This does not stop hunt supporters from riding down activists and threatening them.

Cattistock Hunt monitored (Dorset). Activists report Cattistock are hunting as usual. Police have to escort activists from area after gang of hunt supporters arrives and threatens them. It would seem the Cattistock have something to hide.

Portman Hunt monitored (Dorset). Gang of hunt supporters block in activists vehicle and attempt to gain entry. Then set about trying to smash windows and dent doors whilst issuing threats. Video cameras deter attackers from continuing. Police informed. Why would they react this way if they weren't breaking the law and hunting? Latest: police unable to trace the assailants. We are appealing for information. See picturesand video here

Hampshire Hunt. Report received from walking group that they were verbally abused by supporters of a hunt as they went for a ramble on the South Downs Way near Cheriton. They had not passed any comment on the activity they stumbled across. Cheriton is where the Secretary of the Hampshire Hunt lives so they are the likely candidates. If people acting like this were 15 and wearing hooded tops they would all have ASBOs by now.

Vine & Craven Hunt monitored (Berks/Wiltshire). No evidence of a trail on the first occasion so we kept an eye on them. They got a bit arsey! (see pictures and video). On the second visit they were laying a trail.

Vale of Aylesbury with Garth and South Berks failed to turn up to Mortimer (Berks) on Boxing Day leaving a few disgruntled locals. They were monitored when they turned up the following day and went for a ride.

Sandhurst & Aldershot Beagles took their hounds and supporters for a Boxing day walk and left the fields - and wildlife - undisturbed.

January 2006

Surrey Union were monitored following a trail on Saturday meets when they expect us to be there. Information passed to us regarding their activities on Tuesdays leads us to believe that they are not entirely squeaky clean.

Vale of Aylesbury with Garth & South Berks (Hants) were spotted hunting. Activists present took what evidence they could and then set about calling hounds away from hunting fields. A repeat visit was attended by the police who instead of targeting the hunt decided to harrass the sabs. So no changes there then. Imagine the scene: "What's that sir, these oiks are preventing you from breaking the law? Yes sir, I'll deal with them right away" (tugs forelock)

Cattistock Hunt (Dorset) were observed chasing a fox on land at Abbotsbury - an area mostly owned by their Joint Master, Charlotte Townshend. Footage was taken and we assisted the fox in escaping.

They also outraged locals, reported in the press, when they chased a fox and pets through people's gardens at Bradford Peverell near Dorchester.

The following week, they were spotted chasing deer - and the huntsman, perhaps in an effort to escape prosecution, was wearing a green anorak instead of his red hunting jacket (pic).

A report has been received that the Crawley & Horsham (Sussex) killed a fox in front of independent witnesses.

Hampshire Hunt monitored. Although one fox fled the vicinity, hounds did not pick up that one's scent. No sign of a drag anywhere and hounds repeatedly following scents.

Wilton hunt (Wiltshire) monitored and appeared to be hunting

February 2006

Vine & Craven (Berks) were sneaky as ever. We kept tabs on 'em which kept them on the move most of the day. When they appeared to be trying to actively seek out fox scent - because there weren't no drag being laid - we set up a pincer movement in case they found something, but luckily they didn't.

The Wilton Hunt got a nasty shock when we followed them from the kennels. Despite their best attempts to lose us - cars lying in ambush! - we found them at Cranborne. They looked a bit miffed to say the least and spent the whole day on the run at full speed. We like to think because we were there. Defintely ones to keep an eye on.

Hampshire Hunt appeared to be following a trail. However, this didn't stop the terrierman intimidating a couple of sabs, and then turning on the police saying "you're not welcome here". We would like more information about this man. See here

March 2006

Vine & Craven didn't go out one Saturday due to the cold weather. Woohoo! Day off. On a midweek occasion they had a joint meet with the Tedworth at which we kept tabs on them, despite the best threats an alcoholic badge collector with bad teeth could muster. As the day wore on more of his buddies turned up attempting to block roads and other such intellectual pursuits. Although it appeared that at times they were attempting to hunt, no foxes were pursued and as the day wore on, the huntsman took heed of our presence and seemed to be calling hounds off when they picked up on a scent. Now, what would have happened if we had not have been there?

The South Dorset switched meets and tried their best to give us the slip but we soon arrived and wiped the smug grin off their faces. They seem to have resigned themselves to behaving when we are close enough to capture their antics on film, and consequently spent a lot of time going backwards and forwards over the same ground trying to give the sabs they could see in the field the slip. Meanwhile, other sabs were keeping an eye on them and the hunt packed up early.