The meet on the 1st October was in a field near Toad Corner, THE go to place for the NCH. Before the hounds were even unboxed both mounted and foot followers surrounded that covert to “hold up”, i.e. frighten any hunted fox back towards the pack of hounds to “blood” the new entry and to “train” surviving foxes to run. “Aye, aye, aye”, and holloas were soo heard the other side of the covert.
There is a rota in the hunt for at least 2 people to follow any sabs/monitors/other anti hunt folk until the hunt have packed up. The “stalkers”, as they are known, have several reponsibilities.
- to stay very close to us on foot and in the vehicle
- to create a noise, this is dual purpose. To scare any hunted fox away from passing us and to drown out any sounds that would be evidence of illegal hunting. Talking, playing loud music, singing, coughing etc.
- to try and stop us if we get too close to a kill or hounds marking to ground either on a public right of way or not
- to make sure that the huntsman knows where we all are so they can be elsewhere or when to leave a hunted fox that we have filmed, to abandon an area so this can be useful
The two out today were polite but kept trying to block the camera and kept chuntering on about “trail hunting”.
The video shows a hunted fox crashing into stock fencing in their panic to escape hounds. The couple in the high viz were on the rota for this morning for staking duty. The hounds came through a few seconds later and got rated i.e. told to “leave it” in a very gruff voice. They responded well and ran back to huntsman Ollie Dale who left to find another fox.
They then hunted a fox to Hinchwick Manor, crossing the border into Heythrop country. If this was a trail then why lay it in the territory of another fox hunt when there were plenty of places in your own? On seeing Terrierman Chris Trotman move sharp on his quad to Hinchwick, and hounds and huntsman looking a bit caught out a bit of a battle of wills took place between sab’ and stalkers re checking the area out. After all they may have killed or marked a fox to ground.
It was wondered why they were blocking the camera and insisting that they were agents of the landowner and at the same time insisting it was a trail. After all, any drag/clean boot hunt we have come across are keen to show us what they are doing. A farm worker was politely asked if the area could be checked and he was very reasonable. The stalkers left the sab to check.
The quad had left.
Back at Scarborough pits they hunted another fox to Lower Slatepits, appeared to lose him and boxed up for home at around 11.00.This is in Gloucestershire badger cull zone 9 in year 6 of culling. The setts that were checked were found to be really active and healthy with no signs of blocking.
On the 4th October a sab’ got in on the footpath where they were hunting along a small brook. “Ware heel” was heard which means at least one hound was hunting in the opposite direction the fox had gone, on a heel line. They moved away from there into some hedges away from the public footpath. The lone sab’ now had 4 stalkers in high viz there to do their utmost to enable illegal cub hunting without the huntsman getting caught out.
One fox came running past quickly followed by another, a brace. They were ahead of hounds who were on their line some way back. Stalkers do have their uses, one is to let he huntsman know if a sab’ or monitor has seen/filmed a hunted fox so that they do not then incriminate themselves by allowing hounds to follow the exact same route. This means that the hunted fox at least gets more time to escape as they will sometimes leave the fox alone, sometimes take the pack further on and hope that they can pick up the scent away from the camera. This is what happened here.
The pack was gathered up and taken on elsewhere albeit right past where the brace had run. They were not amused. The second whipper in even tried to close a gate so the sab would have to open it themselves and it nearly closed on one horse and rider instead. They then spent hours in maize fields ( a crop grown for cattle feed, where foxes often seek shelter) before going back to the exact same place the 2 foxes had escaped them earlier where they hunted for a while before going home. The mantra all day was “we are trail hunting”. If so then why go to where you know foxes are likely to be ? Why go through crops? Blatant cub hunting and saddle slapping heard as well.
