“You’re a scabby c*nt on benefits” – Ledbury Hunt rider yells abuse at landowner after hounds trash his garden.

We caught up with the Ledbury Hunt this morning up Catsbury Hill after checking various badger setts in the area – some setts around here used to be blocked tens of times over a season and, due to our work against the practice, are no longer blocked or tampered with. Hounds picked up on a scent within the wood on the hill and a hare was seen running to safety. After a short while in the wood and no definite line to follow, the hunt moved on and crossed the road… leaving at least 9 hounds behind, 4 of whom picked up and ran back into the wood at Catsbury, 2 of whom ended up trying to rejoin the pack at different points and running on to the road and at least 1 hound gave chase to “a large terrified fox” who ran across a road at Blackwell’s End, witnessed by a local who contacted us immediately to tell us that the hound was running around all over the road. It took some time to gather the pack again, whipper-in stating “well they were all-on a minute ago” (by which he must half meant half an hour when they were first leaving the meet…).

We were with the pack on and off over the next few hours, flooded roads and fields causing issues for drivers, hunt and farmers alike. It was a very early pack-up, around 2.45pm… but when you’ve just trespassed in someone’s garden, trashing it, then yelled abuse at the home-owner it’s probably a good idea to get out of the area. We met the guy and his family who told us of the incident just off the A417 in Hartpury and were told that when he came out to ask what was going on he was questioned as to why he wasn’t at work (recovering from an operation, not that it’s any of the hunt’s business, especially as most of the hunt riders were also not at work at the time of the incident). We were told that he was called a ‘benefits scrounger’ and ‘a scabby c*nt’. We gave advice regarding legal action and wish him and his family all the best.

If anyone recognises the guy in the red coat there are people wishing to talk to him (unusual to see red at this hunt as the very-recognisable hunt staff don’t want to be recognisable while breaking the law, so change into black coats). There is also the young female driver of a white mini with the reg. number RJ09 XDZ who tried and failed to block in sabs at a church, then executed a dangerous overtake on wet, bendy roads by Corse End – do you know her?