After last week’s blatant illegal hunting we thought we would return to the Ross Harriers Hunt today. We headed to Orcop, Herefordshire, where we found a number of horse boxes and support arriving. No sign of the hound van or the huntsman for a while with some of the riders off around country lanes with us in tow. A poor attempt to throw us off them perhaps?
The huntsman and hounds arrived a little while later and joined the small field just before 9am, a fair bit later than previous weeks.
Hounds were soon put in to draw a maize field in an attempt to put up a fox, so sabs used horn and voice calls to bring most of the pack out to us! The whipper-in and supporters then spent some time trying to gather the hounds up before the huntsman again moved off.
Sabs stuck with the hunt as they rode up and down a few more lanes, probably in an attempt to put some distance between them and us, again to no avail.
Hounds were entered into a wood shortly afterwards, quickly picking up a scent and going into cry. The huntsman could be heard encouraging the hounds on before taking off to follow them. Sabs tried their best to rate hounds, splitting the pack somewhat, but they were now heading away from us in cry on the other side of the wood.
At this point the field were getting more agitated and it wasn’t long before supporters started attacking sabs, often a sure sign that the hunt are up to no good and are wanting to keep us away. Sabs were shoved around with hunt riders charging at sabs, using their horses as weapons against us. Video evidence we obtained during the attack is astonishing.
While this was happening vehicle sabs saw a fox, looking disorientated, being closely pursued by a handful of hounds. When we next got eyes on them the huntsman was on foot with support gathering up the hounds. With this members of the hunt were heading back to their horse boxes to pack up. Unfortunately we do not know the fate of this fox but we can only presume the worst.
When will these hunts learn? The more they blatantly hunt wildlife and push sabs about, the more attention they will get from us and the more determined we become to stopping them and their barbaric acts. Ross Harriers Hunt, consider yourselves firmly on our radar.