British hunting atrocities going unpunished

Op-Ed: On the 8th Nov 2014, the Fife fox hunt was involved in a disturbing and grisly dig out.  The incident happened near their kennels just South of Ceres.

A fox was chased into a badger sett and a terrier was forced into the hole. As the fox was being dug out, the terrier still fastened onto the fox’s face was pulled out too. The terrier refused to let go. The Whipper-in was pulling on the fox’s back leg and tail so hard that part of the animal’s tail came off in the grisly tug of war. He then stood on the fox’s throat, and as the fox lay choking in its own blood the terrier was removed. The footage is horrific. Someone can be heard to say ‘shoot it in the belly’, and the fox was shot between the legs of the whipper-in. There is some dispute as to whether the fox was actually dead when it was thrown to the hounds to be torn apart. Sadly the hunt saboteurs were just too late to save this poor tortured animal from its horrific end.

A spokesperson for the saboteurs summed it up this way,

“With all the footage caught the police did not act on any complaints made as the SSPCA said the footage was 'harsh' but not illegal, letting this murder go unpunished as they are too scared to act.”

Judge for yourself, but be warned the footage is graphic. http://www.huntsabs.org.uk/index.php/news/press-releases/553-the-drawn-out-death-of-a-fox-by-fife-foxhounds

December 2014, and the Fife hunt again. This incident happened near Cupar. This time the hunt terrier men were involved in a potentially lethal standoff which was played out between the Grampian Hunt saboteurs and the terrier men who follow the Fife hunt. The incident took place on a farm where a terrified fox was chased into a hole by the mounted hunt.  The bloodthirsty band of terrier men armed with spades was not far behind. Their intention was, as always, to end the life of a harmless fox by digging it out and shooting it.  Fortunately the Grampian saboteurs were on hand to remind the men that it is illegal to dig into the active badger sett where the fox was hiding.

 A bizarre standoff ensued, with the terrier boys attempting to bully the sabs away from the sett so that they could begin the grisly work of digging out the poor fox.  Whilst the sabs were at the hole protecting the fox, one of their number was walking up the hill towards the others. Two separate videos show one of the terrier men snap his gun up and point it in the direction of the saboteur for a few seconds before storming off to join his friends at the hole.

The police were called and enquiries were made. It comes as no surprise to discover that after interviewing both sides, and in spite of the incident being captured on two separate cameras, the sabs were accused by the hunt of editing the footage, and the gun man was found by the police to have acted responsibly throughout. No charges were brought.

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SURREY UNION FOXHUNT this time.
On the 31st of December the Surrey police were called by saboteurs about a fox kill following a drag hunt. And, true to form the police sided with the hunt. The Sabs had this to say on their Face Book page,

‘After years of not investigating assaults on saboteurs and doing nothing about constant illegal hunting, the Surrey police have sunk to a new low and without any investigation have issued a statement saying that the fox killed on New Year’s Eve accidentally crossed a false trail laid by the hunt, and the killing was accidental hunting.’

The saboteurs report as to their version of events has been copied in full,

“We started off with the hunt by Redhill plantation, with 3 vehicles and two motorbikes out we covered the area well. The hunt milled about in the area for a little while whilst sabs covered various exit points. One of the hunt buggies later tried to run a Sab down upon leaving the farm - this buggy had no front registration and was carrying passengers on a public road (illegal?) As the hunt left, so did we, unfortunately there wasn't a lot of public footpaths so we had to keep eyes on the hunt from a distance. We lost the hunt momentarily however a Sab heard the hounds in cry so notified us of the position at Hook Lane opposite New Barn Farm. As we arrived we looked down through the woods and seen 4 hounds, as we got closer one of the sabs noticed a fox laying lifeless on the ground with hounds still attacking (we have video evidence)We quickly moved down to retrieve the fox for evidence and to get the hounds off whilst the police were on route. We scouted around the area taking pictures of blood marks and fur that was scattered around, fur was found on fencing approx 100 meters from the kill with a clear struggle path which shows the fox was chased. The body was still warm and shortly after placing him/her in the land rover he/she released their bowels proving a fresh kill. Masked up terrier men arrived soon after to pick up the body of the fox (thus destroying evidence) without knowing we got there first.

From the post mortem:  "The vet observed that the fox had been killed by a large mammal, most likely a large dog with numerous puncture wounds to legs, throat and flank - most significant was a massive trauma to the rib cage that had crushed it and separated it."

By this time one police officer arrived on scene and really wasn't much use, this officer refused to speak to the hunt. “

Is the SURREY UNION FOXHUNT and SURREY POLICE one and the same?

Perhaps we could be forgiven for thinking so. This is the same hunt that sabs say claimed in October last year, that a deer their dogs savaged,  had not been attacked at all, but had torn its belly open on a patch of brambles after saboteurs had frightened the animal into running. The sabs told a very different story of the event, they said that the hunt hounds had in fact chased the deer, which was eviscerated by the dogs before they could get there to protect it. The police were called and the hunt were questioned and vindicated on the spot. No charges were brought and the evidence, in the form of the dead deer, was left with the hunters to dispose of as they saw fit. Two sabs were arrested for trespass at the time.

This is a report of just two hunts, two hunts and yet all of this mayhem. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. The police MUST do what they are paid to do and uphold the Law. There are many reports from monitors and saboteurs across the UK who are telling us the same story, that the police are acting as lackeys and body guards and the hunters are getting away with murder, literally.

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Resources
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/video-police-called-to-tense-stand-off-between-huntsmen-and-saboteurs-in-fife-1.753230