Hunt Saboteurs have been using the same basic tactics since our inception 48 years ago; the underlying principle being to directly intervene in a day’s hunting, to tip the scales more in the favour of the hunted animal, mainly by delaying or confusing the hounds.
By observing how hunts operate, reading the available literature and with some lateral thinking, Hunt Saboteurs worked out that they could give hunted animals that extra bit of time to make good their escape from the jaws of the hounds, and on occasions render a whole day’s hunting useless.
Using hunting horns in a similar manner to the huntsman, Saboteurs found they could take control of a pack or at least cause enough confusion for the quarry to slip away. Voice calls to attract the hounds or to fool the hunt staff into thinking their quarry has gone in another direction are extremely effective, as are cracking whips to send the hounds back off the scent line of an animal or away from road or railway lines.
Pungent lemon oil sprays are used if the path of the animal has been seen, which serve to mask the animal’s scent and further delay the hounds progress. More recently, amplified tape recordings of a pack of hounds in full cry have been used to encourage the real pack of hounds away from the animal they are chasing and over to the Saboteurs, out of harms way.
After years of speculation, hunting with hounds was banned in England & Wales in 2005, however most hunts continue much as they did before. The police rarely help enforce the Hunting Act, due to a combination of ignorance on hunting techniques, interpretation of the law, and bias towards those who hunt and against those who try to stop it. In theory, hunting with hounds is a thing of the past but in practice countless animals are pursued and ripped to pieces by hunts in the UK every week.
Bristol Hunt Saboteurs have years of hands-on experience in taking action to save the lives of countless hunted animals every year. By using tried and tested methods such as horn blowing and voice calls. Our group operate throughout the South West of England and sometimes beyond during hunting season.
We are constantly on the lookout for new Saboteurs to join us out in the fields so if you are interested in joining us, please drop us an email with any questions you might have and we will get back to you straight away.