Last week, the Hunt Saboteurs Association shared exclusive and shocking footage of the Coniston Foxhounds digging a terrified fox from its earth, before dragging out the poor animal and feeding it live to a pack of baying foxhounds in what can only have been an excruciating fate.
This footage was obtained by the intrepid Lake District Hunt Saboteurs, who brave not only the tough conditions of the upland fells, but also the continued aggression of hunt supporters. Had it not been for this saboteur group’s local knowledge and high-tech camera drone, this sick activity would have continued unknown despite fox hunting being supposedly banned for over two decades.
While arrests have now reportedly been made, we take a closer look in detail at what laws are apparently being broken in this shocking video.
The Coniston have hunted a fox using a pack of foxhounds, to its hiding place underground. This alone represents a Section 1 offence for the huntsman of this pack, Michael Burton. In addition, it is a Section 3 Hunting Act offence for someone to allow land which belongs to them to be used for a Section 1 offence. The meet for this day was Roundhill Farm, Ambleside, and the details of the owner of this farm and associated land are publicly available online.
The Coniston Foxhounds are run by a group of “Masters”, who would be the owners of the hounds. In this case therefore, hunt masters Dave Dixon, Nick Mowbray, and Steve Kennedy could potentially be guilty of further Section 3 offences which concern the owner of any dog used in a Section 1 offence.
Following the initial hunting, a terrier is used below ground to locate and attack the fox. This is an activity frequently and erroneously claimed to be lawful by terrier-men quoting a “gamekeepers’ exemption” to the Hunting Act.
However, the Act is clear that this can only be the case where game birds or crops are being protected by the supposed “gamekeeper”, while the dog (terrier) used may not actually attack the hunted animal. These restrictions clearly have not concerned the individuals in the video, as we see the terrier ferociously clamped onto the doomed fox. This then puts the owner and handler of the terrier also squarely within the sights of a Section 1 Hunting Act offence.
The Hunting Act as it stands however has proven to be largely ineffective in deterring hunts due to the relatively mild fines for offending, and the apparent reluctance from Police forces and prosecutors to take on cases they see as “difficult” to prosecute.
The Wild Mammals Protection Act (S1) makes it an offence to “drag” or “mutilate” a wild mammal with the “intent to cause unnecessary suffering”. While rarely used in the context of fox hunting, the Wild Mammals Protection Act in fact comes with stronger sentencing options than the more well-known Hunting Act. An offence under this law can attract a prison sentence or a sizeable fine and from the video we can see that the individuals dragging the fox from the earth would be clear candidates to answer for this crime.
The Animal Welfare Act of 2006, which was strengthened in 2021 with stiffer sentences, should be the greatest concern to the members of the Coniston Foxhounds.
Section 8 of the Act governs “animal fighting” and states that a person commits an offence if he either causes an animal to fight, attempts to do so, or is even present at such a fight. This section of the Animal Welfare Act should cover every individual stood around watching and waiting while the Coniston terrier is sent to attack the fox in its earth
Section 4 of the Act makes the act of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal an offence. There can be no doubt that this is happening in plain sight in this video. Every stage of the dig and hunt could be said to be causing unnecessary suffering, but the act of handling the fox and physically giving the animal to the pack to brutally kill, clearly lands the perpetrator within the scope of this law.
An individual found guilty of offences under the Animal Welfare Act under the above sections, can look forward to sentences of up to ten years in prison, disqualification from keeping animals, seizure of animals, significant fines or a combination of all of these.
Unimaginable suffering, the hunted fox is thrown to a pack of hounds by a member of the hunt:
Hunt Sabs aim to end hunting with hounds by all available means. The fox shown in the shocking footage captured by Lake District Hunt Saboteurs video suffered an unimaginable fate.
What is clear is that the supposed law against this activity is not enough to deter such fiends from carrying out such despicable acts. The Coniston Foxhounds is an organised group of wildlife crime enthusiasts and is no different to hunts up and down the land. The only difference here is that they were caught in the act.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association hope that this awful case highlights the need for watertight hunting laws, much stricter sentencing and the undeniable need for all hunting to end – with absolutely no excuses or exceptions.
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