This season was a massively successful one for North Wales Hunt saboteurs. We managed to attend more illegal hunts than ever, especially during the cub hunting season when we were out before dawn from the end of August to hit the first cubbing meet of the season of the Flint and Denbigh hunt in Cefn Meiriadog.
Our success didn’t go unnoticed, especially by North Wales Police who upped their game to harass and target our group and individuals whilst also acting as security for the illegal Flint and Denbigh hunt. Often we’re turn up before dawn in anticipation of an illegal cub hunt taking place only to find police cars parked across the drive way to the hunts kennals. On one occasion armed response turned up at Cefn Meiriadog at 5.30am stating they just happened to be in the area, Cefn Meiriadog being a tiny village in the middle of the Welsh countryside we find this to be very unlikely. On another occasion the armed response were deployed again, this time pulling over one of our sab vehicles as it was leaving North wales on their way home.
During the season we made numerous complaints to the police of illegal hunting and assaults not one was taken seriously. The harassment we were receiving didn’t go unnoticed by the public and locals arranged a peaceful protest outside Denbigh police station, Denbigh station being the station that deals with hunt related stuff.
By the end of October we were on the full hunting season and the usual 11am starts, we continued to successfully stop illegal hunting whilst hunt support assaulted us and North Wales police let them do so.
Boxing day saw us in Beddgelert at the meet of the Eryri hunt who trespassed on National trust land. The Eryri hunt support admitted to us on video that on this day they’d had an unsuccessful day hunting but that they do sometimes (illegally) kill foxes with their hounds. No need to say but the National trust have taken no action against this and continue to ignore our emails and evidence we’ve sent.
In January two of our sabs sat trial for numerous false allegations and jumped up charges as North Wales police colluded with the illegal Flint and Denbigh to stitch up sabs. The aim of the hunt and the police was to get rid of us, they attempted to get an order to ban our sabs from hunts and private land in England and Wales for 5 years! Thankfully the magistrates saw through this as it was in breach our of human rights to peacefully protest.
The Flint and Denbigh remained our main priority for most the season but we also managed to hit hunts in Cheshire and Shropshire including our first encounter with the Ludlow hunt, and what a pleasant bunt they are… NOT! We’ll be sure to see them again soon.
This season we were able to deploy a drone on numerous occasions and we believe we’re have great success with this. Not only is it great for getting a birds-eye view of illegal hunting but also in locating the hunt when they go on the run and try hide from us. On a couple of occasions the police had a drone out also, we’re a bit sceptic at the reason for the drone as North Wales police have made it pretty clear they’ll not bring charges against the hunt or it’s members. On one occasion they must have been really close to inadvertently capturing footage of illegal hunting. The Flint and Denbigh hunt were chasing a fox with hounds in cry towards the kennals in Cefn Meiriadog just as near by the police were sending the drone into the air. That could have been awkward for the police and the hunt. DELETE DELETE DELETE!
The police bias and collusion goes back a long way and it had taken until now for North Wales police to pay up for wrongful arrests and malicious allegations from a forged dispersal order from 2015. Lets just say North Wales police paid out a lot of money to a member of Welsh Borders sabs following this stitch up arranged by Sgt Neil Stringfellow and a certain hunt member councillor. With a string of other allegations against Stringfellow for harassment of members of the public he’s conveniently taken retirement. Not to worry there’s plenty more dodgy cops in North Wales.
Just before the end of the season it had got back to us that the Flint and Denbigh huntsman and huntmaster Jeremy Reed had decided to call it a day. After failing to get rid of us with a restraining order Jezza quit stating due to sabs he could no longer hunt effectively. A massive thanks to everyone who’s been out with us as North Wales hunt sabs since 2014 and prior to that as independent monitors.
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