*** Brace of foxes escape hounds past sabs * Third fox goes to ground in drain * Badger sett found blocked ***

The meet was published on the Malvern Hills Trust website so we headed out to monitor the hunt on the Common and Hills. The hunt don’t usually spend their entire day on MHT land so it is important to have sabs out in the local area to keep an eye on them. We were pleased to see MHT wardens out and keeping up with the hunt, keeping an eye on them and the hunt were careful to only ‘linger’ in coverts not under their jurisdiction. We say ‘unblocked setts save lives’ fairly often and some locals spotted a fox running from an area that hounds were in and going to ground in a sett. Hounds did not pick up on his line but they stayed nearby in case terriermen made an appearance. Loose hounds were spotted all over the area, hunt unable to keep them together and it wasn’t long before they decided to head onto land where landowners are less bothered about illegal hunting.

We caught terriermen up near the site of an old dig-out (some of you may remember violent Ross Loader and Lance King from a few seasons back…) and they quickly left with the hunt taking the hounds off in a different direction to the badger setts. We kept with them and found hounds running through a covert and gardens in Castlemorton village. Foot sabs left the driver keeping an eye on the hounds and headed to nearby fields to look out for any foxes running and, just as they got to the gates, a fox ran past them, soon followed by a second fox who had been hiding up in a hedge (this is why we wait until hounds are closer to us before rating them – shouting and making noise too soon could prevent a hidden fox from breaking cover in our direction or turn one back towards the hounds).

We turned most hounds back, except for one lead hound who lost the scent naturally, and realised that huntsman Mark was still encouraging hounds on… and that they had picked up on another scent. It was a leash of foxes (three foxes hiding up together). Good communication with our driver meant that she drove round, leaving us inland, and caught hounds marking a drain – indicating that the fox had escaped into it. Hunt were forced to leave him alone, but sab remained for some time to deter terriermen from trying to flush him out whilst foot sabs kept an eye on the hunt on foot.

Into The Stanks, an area the hunt love going to, and a sett was found blocked. Scent was good, terriermen were spotted acting dodgy in a corner, followed by a holloa coming from their direction and hounds went into full cry… despite a long and circular chase we believe fox finally got away. Sett had been unblocked and the hunt packed up.

*** Terriermen caught with terrier at badger sett ***

Following Wednesday’s assaults on two sabs (one from our group, one from Bristol Sabs) whilst the North Cotswold Hunt hounds killed a fox, our good friends from Bristol Hunt Saboteurs and Bath Hunt Saboteurs came up to sab the hunt in a show of solidarity. We had eyes on the hunt in the morning as we only had vague information as to where they may meet and we also had sabs out checking on badger setts around the meet and the meet of the Heythrop Hunt which was only a mile away!

With plenty of sabs covering the North Cotswold who were now armed with useful local knowledge (location of badger setts and so on) we decided to take a small group of our own sabs over to the Heythrop Hunt. All of our groups were close enough to offer each other back up in case of emergency.

The Heythrop Hunt have ‘stalkers’ who follow us around as soon as we are spotted so we try to get inland before we are seen so that we can keep eyes on them unhindered. Sometimes, though, we have to blow our cover early and this happened on Saturday… With two sabs on foot near Slaughter Woods another two of us were dropped inland from the A429, a guess as to which way the hunt may be headed. We were perfectly positioned when we heard the hunt coming towards us and we hid in a small covert to keep an eye on their activities. Terriermen rode into the area and proceeded to take a white terrier, locator collar and nets out of the quad box whilst hounds circled the area. Sabs confronted the terriermen and they took the nets and terrier away, our usual stalkers Di and Lizzie being called into the area.

Terriermen refused to tell us what they were up to, telling us that there was ‘nothing in there’ and that they weren’t running away. Why the nets boys? Why mask up when you realised we were present? Why did the hunt then scarper out of the area, being spotted by other foot sabs looking tense and worried? Why have us stalked from then on? Dig-out / fox being flushed or bagged up averted…

Great to hear that locals had spotted the Cotswold Vale Farmers’ Hunt out and about in Sandhurst and kept an eye on them from Nature in Art off the A38 and great that others were able to check setts around the Croome and West Warwickshire meet at Rous Lench. Keep the tip-offs coming in everyone – we can’t make every meet but we have an amazing network of people who will check setts and ‘walk their dogs’ or ‘go rambling’ in the vicinity of hunt meets. When we have some more time we’ll put the finishing touches to our ‘advice if you spot a hunt’ to help people feel more confident about what to do if a hunt is in there area.

*** more blocked setts at hunt meet * fox escapes hunt due to sab presence ***

First we’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who keeps supporting us, from tip-offs to donations, pick-ups to messages asking how we are after assaults and kills, etc. And a huge shout out also to everyone checking setts before, during and after hunt meets. You’re all awesome and we make a good team!

Today we had a tip-off that the Ledbury had been spotted gathering in the Upleadon area. We were already headed out to look for them following information we had previously been given and caught up with them drawing through some coverts. Remember, this is still all within a current badger culling zone, the West Gloucestershire zone.

One of our sabs was up early to check setts around the area for signs of culling as well as blocking by hunts and others and was soon joined by another 3C sab plus a sab from Bristol Hunt Saboteurs. After a couple of brief draws, the hunt attempted to get away from us by heading inland from Upleadon Court but we’re very familiar with the area from years of fighting the badger cull so cut them off from the north.

Hounds picked up in a stream but were rated by sabs and proceeded to lose the scent repeatedly. Huntsman Mark tried to re-cast them but hounds couldn’t stick to the line. Knowing of setts in the area we checked some (quad bike tracks running straight to them) and found entrances thoroughly blocked. With the hunt nearby we kept an ear out for hounds picking up whilst we unblocked the sett but they were on the move away from us and weren’t spending enough time letting hounds look for a fox.

Back to the vehicle as hunt left the large landlocked area and we kept up with them, despite slow driving by hunt supporters. Inland again and we rated hounds repeatedly off a scent before Mark moved them on again before they ‘second-horsed’.

On to Staunton Coppice and after hounds were chased by the resident ponies, a fox was seen running from the hounds through the covert. His line was sprayed to cover it and hounds were rated to stop them following him but we know huntsman is likely to try to gather them and take them round to pick up on the scent further away. Heading into the adjacent field we saw fox running towards a flock of sheep (which they often do to try to cover their scent) with hunt supporters watching and hounds heading our way through the Coppice. Again they were rated and hunt gathered them up and left the area.

On to Eldersfield and another blocked sett was found so huntsman took hounds away fairly quickly and to Gadbury Bank (owned by the hunt) but were again flushed out by sabs. To Berth Hill where they pretty much drew blank, trying to draw a small hedgeline in desperation but calling hounds off due to sab presence when they did pick up. And it was a 4pm pack up at Pigeon House Farm. Footage to follow. Photos are from the blocked setts found today. Lots of miles covered, many setts checked and those tampered with reported to the authorities.

We’ll be out again tomorrow but sett-checkers will be out in this area (and further afield) looking for other blocked and tampered with setts.

This video is from Friday’s Ledbury Hunt meet in the Upleadon / Redmarley / Eldersfield areas – report has already gone online, but main points include early-morning sett-checking, a fox escaping from the hunt with the assistance of sabs in Staunton Coppice and the hunt having to abandon the chase, 2 freshly blocked setts found (we have evidence of both setts looking healthy, active and not blocked either just days or just hours before the hunt meet) and 1 sett, on land owned by the hunt, having been blocked very recently (probably only days before).

The video shows sabs rating the hounds (basically telling them off firmly so that they stop following the scent) and a fox heading for a flock of sheep – foxes will often run across piles of manure, through farmyards, through flocks of sheep or across roads, even between the legs of the horses being ridden out to the hunt, in order to ‘foil’ their scent, making it harder for hounds to follow their line. Often when sabs have helped to foil (cover) the scent or when foxes have done something like the above, the huntsman will gather the hounds and take them further on where the fox is suspected to have run, trying to get hounds to pick up on the scent again.

On this occasion huntsman Mark Melladay did gather the pack and take them in a similar direction to where the fox had run, but with a road nearby, foot sabs present and right with them and our driver on the road and ready to intervene and without having seen where fox had headed, he abandoned the chase and left the fox alone. A small, but effective, team out on the day – huge thanks to the sab from Bristol Hunt Saboteurs who joined us again. With setts still being blocked* (although far less often than in all previous seasons) we’re planning to purchase some more ‘trail cameras’ (wildlife cameras which we can put up on setts to prove that they are active and that badgers live within them or to catch people blocking or digging out the setts).

*over the seasons we have conducted ‘early morning sett-blocking patrols’, deterring and catching people blocking badger setts which is done in order to stop foxes escaping below ground during a chase. Our data (which we worked on alongside Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch) hit the news earlier in the year and has been handed to the local police forces in our areas who have started to take ‘badger crime’ more seriously. Sett-blocking has massively decreased as a result, although it still occurs, especially with the more cocky of hunts and those that we don’t get to visit very often

*** North Cotswold Hunt kill fox just feet from sabs who are physically restrained and assaulted by terriermen to stop them helping ***

Facebook Video from Bristol Sabs

The hunt meet was attended by a Bristol sab and a 3C sab. They spent the morning drawing the coverts around Cutsdean before crossing over to Stanway Ash and then to Lidcombe wood. We managed to move them on from one fox by rating the hounds but they picked up on another and we believe fox may have escaped to ground. Hounds were then filmed hunting in Guiting quarry! Very dangerous cliffs and no regard to the safety of hounds or quarry workers.

Following this debacle huntsman and master Ollie Dale drew a field of brussel sprouts and it is there at Carey’s Covert that a terrified fox ran towards some of the terriermen and sabs. One terrierman appeared to head (turn back) the fox into the hounds, fox then tried to get over a wall but was ripped apart feet away from sabs who were then grabbed and cameras hit shut.

We were physically restrained from filming or stopping them and we were on a public footpath at the time. Some footage survived and will be posted…

Three Counties Hunt Sabs joined up with our friends Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch & went in just north of Farringdon where the huntsman & hounds were trying to draw (i.e find a fox to hunt).

A few deer ran as hounds feathered along the hedgelines but they seemed to run north after spotting us. Some very ill mannered women tried to scare sabs away by using their horses to usher them away from where the hounds were. In fact one sab was lucky not to go under a horse as the rider tried to push him on. Another sab was surrounded & told about how much trouble she was in for breaching laws on privacy… interesting!!

Anyway, landowner Mr Penser who owns 7000 acres in the area was apparently very cross indeed!! We would not advise inviting any of these people to parties, you wouldn’t get a word in edgeways!!

On north they went & were seen by the Cirencester group hunting a fox from a barn at Rhodes Farm. Just west of Crabbe Tree farm sabs saw a fox run along a hedgeline & into the hounds who were actively being encouraged on by the huntsman. The gizmo & some voice calls lifted the hound’s heads & caused enough confusion for them to eventually abandon the chase. We are happy to report that the fox escaped.

Then followed yet another lecture from the rudest of the rude women who seemed to think that the police were going to come & arrest us all for breaking privacy laws… or something like that… we will see!!

Facebook Video posted on National Dis-Trust

*** Fox chased by North Cotswold Hunt hounds ***

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The hunt met at Carey’s Farm in Taddington this morning, not far from where they met last week for their opening meet at Springhill House. Much of the day was the same route as last Saturday but in reverse as hounds ended up in Bourton Down, Toads Corner, The Warren… all very familiar places.

We started the day early by checking on known setts in the area and happily found none blocked – since the police took notice of our sett-blocking data last season we have seen a massive reduction in incidents. But we’re certainly not letting our guard down around the hunts. Some setts have obviously been hit hard by the hunts, landowners and by the cull where others are thriving and healthy.

Having passed on a tip-off about the Ledbury South hunting at Caradoc Court to our good friends in Bristol Hunt Saboteurs this left a decent little group of us to deal with the North Cots. As the hunt set off from the meet hunt staff asked riders to block the road so our vehicle couldn’t get through – one rider obviously didn’t get the memo as she was asking for others to let us through repeatedly. Foot sabs got inland straight away, being threatened by one rider on a byway that we would be kicked if we wanted to pass. Charming. We carried on regardless and filmed a lead hound pick up on a fox as the hunt drew through a crop field and the pack chased him into a wood. With sabs inland, driver watching from the road and another sab able to run out from the car we stayed on them well as they hunted, keeping an eye on terriermen as well throughout the day.

Just like last week, hounds picked up in Toads Corner where we found that an old artificial earth had been put back into use, sabs being followed all the while by hunt staff on a quad. Hounds picked up and hunted at speed away from us, driver radio’ing through to say she thought they were marking to ground near Bourton Down. Driving down she saw a panicked terrierman on the phone and huntsman swiftly took the pack away to hunt elsewhere. We’d only just dried off from the first heavy downpour when the rain began again, the scent of a beautiful big dog fox washing away up on the hills as the pack missed him.

Toads Corner again. We’d already seen several muntjac running from the hunt today and yet there were more to come. The artificial earth had been scratched around and bricks moved but the hunt moved out again as foot sabs turned up. Some more blocking of our vehicle on the road… and we lost them for a short while.

An eagle-eyed sab spotting a fox, and then a deer, running across a road alerted us to the presence of the hunt in a wood back near the meet and a different mix of us headed inland on foot. Hounds were heard picking up and another large fox sped past us through a wood, two sabs slowing hounds down behind them then another sab stopping the pack as they exited the wood. Huntsman re-cast them and encouraged them on to the line, shrugging when told that we had fox on camera, but the fox had a good headstart by this time. Despite losing his pack and them splitting into 2 groups, running on to a road with no one near to control them or slow down traffic and despite encouraging them again once back with the hounds, fox escaped into a nearby large wood and the chase was abandoned as the light was quickly fading.
A very grumpy huntsman was seen waiting for the houndbox in Snowshill before we headed home to dry off and debrief.

*** Worcestershire Hunt supporters holloa fox sighting during hunt meet ***

No rest for the wicked as we seem to be having an influx of information coming in at the moment (which is great – keep it up guys!) We’ll be writing an information sheet for what to do if you see a hunt to help people feel more confident when they spot them.

Today we got tip-offs about the North Cotswold meeting in Pebworth (sett-checkers went out this afternoon and will be out again tomorrow checking the area), the Ledbury South (Ledbury Hunt hunting with hunt masters and supporters of the South Herefordshire Hunt in the SHH country whilst the hunt are still banned from going out) at Home Farm Dulas and the Worcestershire Hunt meeting up at Inkberrow.

A couple of sabs who were busy over in Herefordshire took a swing past the Dulas meet and spent a little time inland observing the hunt during a break. We await further updates on how the SHH court case is going…

Another couple of sabs meanwhile decided the Worcestershire hadn’t been looked at in a while (well… we do have local eyes and ears but our supporters need support sometimes too) and off we headed to gauge the general feeling towards us. Jacqui and Simon from the Croome were out* and seemed happy (amused?) to see us and there were some bewildered looks from the supporters as they tried to figure out who we were. Obviously not everyone got the message because, having hunted around a large landlocked area between Holberrow Green, Feckenham and Stock Green / Bradley Green a fox was spooked from a covert just off Hollowfields Road and he ran through a farmyard before being holloa’d 3 times by a supporter. Not long before this whistles had been heard inland**. Hounds picked up and were heard in full cry around the farm buildings.

* rumour has it that the two hunts are thinking to amalgamate ‘somewhere down the line’

** a holloa is a shout made by someone to alert hunt and hounds to the fact a fox has been spotted. Whistles are often used these days instead of a holloa

Over towards Goosehill Green and terriermen were spotted leaving a wood soon after hounds picked up on a scent… coincidence or highly suspicious? We intend to find out more about this hunt in future and give locals a helping hand in gathering evidence of the hunt’s activities. Keep the intel’ coming in and we’ll keep doing what we can ourselves. Watch this space for more info on what you can do if you see a hunt out and about and give us a call if you do see them. If you’re local and can help out with sett-surveying or other intel on badger activity contact Worcestershire Against the Badger Cull who work closely with our very own Gloucestershire Badger Office

*** Blocked sett at Cotswold Vale opening meet * Hounds repeatedly riot on deer ***

The CVFH held their opening meet today (at Apperley Hall Farm instead of Apperley Court and a week later than last year to try to avoid us). Apperley Court have chosen to stop hosting hunt meets! Our foot sabs (and an awesome sab from Bristol Hunt Saboteurs who had come to join us for the day) who had been watching the meet from the fields behind, moved on to check on a known artificial earth before getting inland at Apperley Grove as the pack were anticipated to head there first.

As the hunt headed towards Apperley Grove through the fields from the meet, some of the hounds picked up on a scent within a hedgerow and half of the pack ran at speed towards Coombe Hill Nature Reserve, the rest splitting with some heading north on another scent and some standing bewildered in a field. Huntsman was already losing control of them and they’d only just set off. He finally gathered them and they drew a covert alongside the road, hounds rioting on a deer but being rated off the scent.

Over the road and a scent was picked up on in Apperley Court so we drove round and got inland from the other side, threats and insults from huntsman Gary Williams even embarrassing his own hunt members who told him to calm down. Despite hounds picking up briefly, he took the pack away from us instead – this is the shortest amount of time we’ve known them to spend here.

They moved off back towards Apperley Grove again and with other sabs arriving and heading inland behind them, our driver headed them off by road as we ran with them next to the river, another scent being lost by hounds as huntsman ran away from us.

Apperley Grove. Again. Hounds rioted on deer. Again.

Through the fields behind the meet and we anticipated the hunt heading towards Deerhurst. With other sabs watching from the road at the Farmer’s Arms pub to the west of the pack we decided a nice pincer movement was in store and headed north of them and to the location of a healthy, active badger sett. It was freshly blocked.

With the hounds in full cry on a scent and heading towards us our driver kept an eye on them and kept us updated as we did an emergency unblock of several entrances to provide an escape for any hunted foxes, then moved away quickly in case any headed our way, so as not to scare them off (we did a more thorough unblock at the end of the day).

Hounds picked up, losing the scent repeatedly for around 25 minutes, until it went completely quiet. We were inland and couldn’t see or hear the hunt at all – they had run away again. Then our driver was passed by the hound van, going back into the meet. We did a circuit, headed inland to listen for the hunt at various points, checked more setts… but no sign of them. Two hunt masters drove past us separately. It was an very early pack-up.

Hunt on the run all day, terriermen being watched by sabs most of the day, a sett unblocked to help foxes and badgers, one (very) frustrated huntsman, more people out checking setts later and fighting the cull*… support us if you can by liking and sharing our posts and page and financially if possible – we couldn’t do as much as we do without our fantastic supporters!

*the blocked sett (and any others found around this meet) is within the West Glos cull zone where a ‘supplementary cull’ continues

*** Blocked badger setts at Ledbury Hunt opening meet ***

The Ledbury Hunt held their opening meet today from Corse Lawn Hotel. It was a smaller gathering than we’re used to seeing at this meet, but known members of hunt staff from the South Herefordshire Hunt were in attendance, including Major Darling. Hunts in Gloucestershire have been a lot more wary about blocking badger setts since our data went public last season and a dossier was sent to the police – good teamwork with our sister group Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch and written about in the latest issue of Howl (magazine of the Hunt Saboteurs Association) – but we still find the odd sett tampered with and so some of our group were out early this morning having spent the night fighting the badger cull (the supplementary cull in West Gloucestershire continues).

Known artificial earths, badger setts and drains were checked and documented – finding and unblocking setts can save lives as open entrances allow foxes to escape below ground and dig-outs by terriermen are easier to spot and intervene in. Once at the meet we listened to perhaps the shortest speech ever given, especially by this lot, and the hunt crossed the road and headed inland just after 11am. We got ahead of them and intercepted them as they hunted between Werth Lane and Lower Farm in the Chaceley area, scent being disrupted both by the sun, as the day was now warming up a bit, and by our two foot sabs. Hunt staff had changed into black coats from red ones in order to be less identifiable, a tactic used by the hunt for several seasons now. This is an area in which we’ve caught them hunting on several previous occasions. Hounds did pick up several times but only once did this lead to the chase of a fox who we believe escaped into the Forthampton area (where the hunt cannot go during shooting season as the gamekeeper becomes livid at them for scaring away the pheasants). On another occasion hounds rioted on a hare, rated back by sabs and then by the whippers-in when they knew we were filming them.

After going back and forth in the area for nearly 2 hours, the hunt finally moved on (with sabs being told to f**k off by master Roger Warner). We could see that they were heading in the direction of Haw Bridge. Getting in front of the hunt, we covered the line of a fox who had darted along a hedgeline and watched as hounds struggled to pick up the scent properly.

Due to our presence, huntsman Mark Meladay spent far less time than he usually would trying to encourage them to pick up again and they moved off once more, crossing the road and heading in the direction of a known artificial earth and an old badger sett where a dig-out took place a couple of seasons back. Other sabs were spotted arriving in the area and were able to keep up with the hunt whilst our foot sabs came back out to the road.

Second-horsing happened mainly on the move near a wildlife reserve in Ashleworth, the driver of white pick-up GJ58 PLV swerving towards our sabs on a track at around 25mph, annoyed at our mere presence. Hounds again failed to stay on any scents and the hunt returned to Tirley where they hunted near Roger Warner’s Townstreet Farm. Hearing hounds pick up and believing that they may be marking to ground, foot sabs ran inland once again (we covered a fair few miles throughout the day!) Sab driver told us that terriermen left a covert soon after a fox broke cover and ran… coincidence or highly suspicious? We headed back to the road and chased the hunt up a nearby hill, followed by terriermen. Hounds had “checked” (lost the scent temporarily and were trying to pick up again) and Mark re-cast them, making a swift U-turn and leaving once more as we came across a blocked badger sett in the field.

Hounds drew blank in hedgerows and coverts through Tirley, our two foot sabs inland as they drew through fields of kale while our driver covered the road where we’ve known foxes to run in the past. But hounds drew a total blank for the ten or so minutes they were running around. Mark took them quickly towards Eldersfield and straight up to Berth Hill from here. Spotting other sabs on one side of the hill, we stayed on another so the hunt were well covered as hounds chased round and round the hill on a scent. A muntjac broke cover in our direction (foxes often run the same lines as the scent of the deer helps to cover their scent) but we heard rating by other sabs and a fox had broken in their direction. We could see whippers-in whipping hounds back from the road and Mark gathered the pack and took them towards Pigeon House Farm.

You could be forgiven at this point for thinking that the hunt were packing up. The hound box was at the farm and it was getting dark quickly (and therefore less safe to hunt). But no… Mark took hounds inland and down towards Nash End where they picked up on a scent intermittently. We made our way over towards a very well known badger sett, a good place for foxes to try to head to in order to escape below ground and, sure enough, found it blocked. Having been unable to hold a line despite trying now for around 20 minutes, with visibility decreasing rapidly and having seen us unblocking the sett, filming the hounds and looking still fresh enough to intervene if needed, Mark made the wise decision to finally pack up. At 5pm.

A long day, but well worth going out!

Reports and film to follow for last couple of days but today saw sabs early in the field sett checking prior to the North Cotswold Hunt opening meet at Spring Hill. No blocked setts found. Sadly though the pheasant shooters and their beaters were out in force.

Ollie took his hounds first to Beauchamp Clump then ran away from sabs. We found him soon enough and kept with him all day with hounds picking up intermittently around Hinchwick Manor and Kinetonhill farm. As dusk drew in they had a fast hunt in the quarry into the dark with sabs struggling to see the hounds and hunt staff still trying to gather the pack in the dark.

Yesterday it was the Ledbury Opening meet at the Corse Lawn hotel, Gloucestershire (supplementary badger culling zone 1 with the cull continuing). So it was a late night Thursday sett checking and meeting up with our friends Newent Badger Alliance in the field and then out at dawn checking for cull activity and sett blockers. Report and film to follow on that.

Working alongside Gloucestershire Badger Office we also have people going out to check setts around other hunt meets – the Cotswold Hunt were due to meet in Hawling today, just south of our location, the CVFH would be out and members of the Heythrop Hunt were spotted earlier around the Moreton-on -Marsh area. Working alongside Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch we’ll have people checking on setts around the opening meet of the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt in Badminton and the VWH hunt meet!

So even more sett checking tomorrow…