*** Little attempt made to socially distance at Heythrop Hunt meet * Hunt accused of almost causing a crash last week * Hounds rated off scents of two foxes ***

Waaay behind on writing up this report from Saturday because, despite Sunday having no hunting, this sab is trying to juggle many things and just forgot…

The day started, naturally, early. We were up and ready to go out looking for a hunt when someone on their way to work called in a bunch of horseboxes near to Lower Swell. They followed and kept us updated while we jumped in the car and headed over, others also on standby for tip-offs joining us in the area. Two of our sabs got inland before being spotted and headed for the woods we thought the hunt may go to, one sab startling a quad with terriers just outside of a covert with a badger sett. She was called in to the hunt and our regular stalkers Di and Lizzie sped up the side of the covert in a 4×4, sab seeking cover in a sparse bramble… successfully. With Di looking directly at the sab for over a minute we can only assume that, like a T-Rex, if you don’t move, she can’t see you. Lizzie spent quite some time chatting on the phone whilst others did the legwork looking for said sab, before they all decided “we think she’s gone this way” and drove off.

The hunt, not wanting to be caught in their illegal activities, avoided drawing the coverts right by the meet and headed towards Condicote, being picked up by our friends who were waiting for them. They hunted around Banks Fee Farm (where they were 2 weeks ago) and near the weir not far from Doctor’s Walk (where terriermen were caught at an artificial earth at the end of last season) and near to Donnington Brewery (where we caught a guy blocking a badger sett just before a Heythrop meet a few years ago). One of our sabs joined up with those who had been keeping an eye on the hunt in Condicote and stopped hounds when they ran on to a road, no hunt staff on the road for their safety. Lizzie suggested that she was in fact the whipper-in (having arrived after our sab anyway) which is worrying considering it is not up to random hunt supporters to do the job that the actual whippers-in are paid to do. If this is how disorganised and unqualified the hunt staff are it is no wonder they recently got in the news for almost causing a crash on a main road…

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18749135.heythrop-hunt-accused-almost-causing-crash-chasing-fox/

Having been stopped on the scent of that fox the hunt headed back towards the meet, briefly drawing the coverts that sabs had been in earlier that morning before swiftly heading West and to a series of disused (yet still dangerous) quarries. With everyone else now under stalk, having had to come out of hiding to intervene with the hunt’s activities, one sab made her way towards the quarries, arriving as hounds started to speak on a scent. As she turned a corner, the brief flash of a fox caught her eye as he broke covert in front of hounds who picked up on his line, but were rated back by the sab. Hunt supporters immediately called through and it was not long before the hounds, having already checked and lost the scent, were gathered by the huntsman. Sab kept an eye on them as huntsman tried again within the quarry, hounds failing to pick up, sab stalkers just following our sab around (not 2 metres away from her) as she kept watch. Di rocked up, looked displeased to say the least and drove off, a quad turned up trying to intimidate the sab and instead almost running over one of the stalkers.

The hunt packed up around 10.30am and we enjoyed some vegan ice cream in the car…

https://www.facebook.com/1404359116453735/posts/2719209038302063/