Henley Grove Farm
 
Whilst working against the badger cull in Somerset, a group of hunt saboteurs came across shocking practices at Henley Grove Farm near Bruton. Large numbers of male calves were taken from their mothers, killed and dumped in piles just metres from the public footpath running through the farm. All this because they cannot produce milk and so were of no benefit to the farm.
 
The calves were collected by a kennel-hand from the South and West Wilts Hunt, who feed them to their hounds. The hunt worker was filmed collecting bodies at the site on four separate occasions. This is common practice within the dairy industry as fox hunts benefit by obtaining free food for their hounds and the farm benefits by having a 'fallen stock' collection service that is often free.
 
Both David Bown and his son Phillip Bown (who are directors of Henley Grove Farm Limited) are no strangers to animal abuse, however, as the pair were fined in 2013 after admitting to blocking a badger sett and attempting to gas its inhabitants using their car's exhaust fumes.
 
According to a sign on the farm, Henley Grove Farm supplies milk to Robert Wiseman Daires, who were later taken over by Müller.
 
Shooters taking part in this year's horrific badger cull have also been found and prevented from shooting in the fields close to Henley Grove Farm by hunt saboteurs.
 
Lee Moon, the spokesperson for the HSA said; "Many forms of wildlife persecution, such as badger culling and fox hunting, have strong links with the dairy industry. Fox hunts rely on dead livestock from meat and dairy farmers as a source of free food for their hounds. By consuming dairy products (especially ones manufactured by Müller) you could inadvertently be supporting fox hunts.
 
 
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Footage given to the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) by independent investigators reveals shocking cruelty at Bonson Wood Game Farm near Bridgewater, Somerset. Activists visited the site on numerous occasions over the summer. Pheasants at the farm, who were used for breeding, were confined to tiny wire cages and fitted with plastic devices known as 'bits' to prevent them from pecking at each other due to the extreme stress of life in a cage. Female birds, unable to escape the male in their cage, had their back feathers ripped out due to repetitive mating. The farm's answer to this was to fit 'saddles' to the birds' backs in order to keep them productive. Huge numbers of birds died in these raised cages and their bodies were simply thrown away like rubbish.
 
The conditions for the birds who were destined to be packed into crates and sold onto shoots weren't much better. In one of the farm's rearing sheds, which housed 16,400 pheasants, 689 of these died within seven weeks. In another shed, 1,955 of the 21,040 pheasants who were housed there died within seven weeks of hatching. These birds never even made it out of the farm to be released into the countryside. These were just two of the farm's eight rearing sheds.
 
Among Bonson Wood's customers is the nearby Tetton Shoot. The Tetton Shoot is a member of the newly-formed British Game Alliance (BGA) which runs an assurance scheme that aims to provide 'consumers with responsibly and sustainably sourced produce.' This exposé of Bonson Wood Game Farm, however, explodes this myth and instead reveals the BGA as nothing more than a glossy facade covering up the routine cruelty of intensively reared game birds.
 
Lee Moon, the spokesperson for the HSA said; "The shooting industry relies on factory farms such as Bonson Wood to supply the 50 million pheasants and partidges it releases to be shot each year. The routine cruelty seen at Bonson Wood is the norm among game farms in the UK and our previous exposé of Knowle Game Farm in Kent last year again highlights this. Feather pecking, cannibalism and appallingly high mortality rates are the standard on pheasant farms, no matter how much the industry attempts to say otherwise."
 
Help us take action against pheasant shooting! If you have any information on a shoot or game farm, please contact us via our tip off hotline: 07443148426
 

Over 2,644 Pheasants Die In Somerset Game Farm's Sheds from HuntSaboteursAssociation on Vimeo.

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Hunt Saboteurs Association News Release 9th July 2018

 

The Tesco store in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion is fundraising for the Gogerddan Hunt Pony Club as part of their Tesco Bags of Help Grant Scheme. The scheme will enable customers to donate tokens to the Pony Club and Tesco will then convert this into money.

Pony Clubs are an essential part of fox hunting, not only providing financial support, but also grooming future generations to believe that chasing and killing animals for sport is acceptable. Hunts hold special pony club meets, often in school holidays, where young riders are welcomed along and encouraged to become part of the hunt.

Last year Tesco received international condemnation after selling a children's doll dressed as a huntsman. Media outlets from as far afield as America and China covered the story and Tesco were forced to recall the product.

Lee Moon, Spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “If we're feeling generous we can assume that Tesco don't understand the close links between pony clubs and fox hunts. If this is the case then we expect them to quickly withdraw their support once it's made clear to them where their money is going. If they continue to support the Gogerdden hunt it's clear they have no ethics at all and are happy to publicly endorse the chasing and killing of wildlife. Following on from their gaffe last year when they sold a childs toy dressed as a huntsman Tesco need to seriously consider their PR approach as they're starting to look like they're actively recruiting the next generations of hunters for the Countryside Alliance.”

 

tesco 
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  2. Hunt Saboteur found not guilty of public order offences
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