*** Two foxes helped to safety by sabs * Four blocked setts found * dug-out sett found on Forthampton Estate the same week the West Gloucestershire cull zone ends for good ***
The hunt met near Tirley Knowle and headed west where hounds picked up. Sabs were well-placed nearby but the scent was lost and hounds were brought back towards the meet. Sab on foot predicted hunt would head towards Town Street Farm and made sure she got there first – hunt drew through nearby areas quickly and did not pick up on any scents as they were not thoroughly searching.
Near Haw Bridge a sab witnessed hounds pick up a scent having drawn through a covert alongside the main road. Hounds ran west and north and sab inland spotted fox making his escape. The pack split temporarily with some hounds heading for a nearby badger sett then the pack picked back up on the scent of the fox, but were rated back by sabs, the scenting conditions also negatively affected by the strong wind. Huntsman Mark attempted to take the pack away from the sab and pick up on the line of the fox further north, but hounds failed to pick up on the line.
North now towards Chaceley Stock, sabs ensuring they were relaying the hunt’s location consistently to ensure they were either side of the pack, and the hounds picked up on a fox near to Rye Cottage. Sab on the road rated the pack when they picked up on a line and they checked (temporarily lost the scent) before finding it again and running through a garden and into a nearby field, another sab having predicted this and stayed inland. Sure enough, fox ran through near to her and she was able to spray his line with citronella and rate the hounds when they came through.
Having failed again to stay on the line, Mark took his hounds north to Forthampton Estate and did a runner after ‘second-horses’. One sab was suspicious about an area nearby and went to check on a sett, only to find blocked entrances and areas which had been back-filled, indicating that a serious dig-out had occurred today. There were no signs that hounds had marked at the sett, so we believe this was done this morning. The sett was heavily targeted during the badger cull which has been going on for the last nine years in the area and which (in theory at least) finished for good on Monday night.
Sabs checked other setts and found another four blocked, but not dug-out. Did Forthampton Estate believe that we would just stop checking setts when the cull finished? Sett-checkers, as always, will be out checking on other local areas over this weekend. We will only stop when wildlife persecution stops…
This video is of the first fox we encountered today and rating the pack. While it’s not the most exciting footage it shows the reality of sabbing in the field: making decisions on the spot, sometimes waiting about, having back-up cameras in areas to film other perspectives, communicating well between team mates:
This video is of the second fox we encountered and of a sab rating the pack. While it’s not as fast-paced as some videos are it shows the reality of sabbing in the field: making decisions on the spot, trying to predict which area to be in to be most effective and communication between team mates. Thanks also to the sab on the phone with expert local knowledge of setts in one area who was able to give directions and advice to a sab in the field.