No Land, No Hunting

Thank you to West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs for this guest article.

On Thursday 8th October, West Midlands Hunt Sabs (WMHS) held a protest outside The Bower House in Shipston on Stour. The restaurant is owned by Andrew Stephen Bower Knight, who continually allows, not only the Warwickshire Hunt to illegally hunt foxes on his land at Compton Scorpion, but the North Cotswold Hunt too.

The protest caused quite a stir amongst the pro-hunt community prompting the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) to publish a social media post stating “Rural businesses are under attack by urban saboteurs.”

The campaign against the Warwickshire Hunt is one that spans back years and is steeped in controversy, including the fact that Warwickshire Police entered into a “secret deal” with the hunt when they withdrew the Community Protection Notice that they had been issued.

WMHS have always highlighted the importance of holding landowners to account, something which featured heavily in the campaign against the now defunct Atherstone Hunt. The Hunting Act stipulates that should a landowner allow the hunting of a wild mammal with dogs on their land then they are breaking the law.

Section 3.1 of the Hunting Act 2004 states; “A person commits an offence if he knowingly permits land which belongs to him to be entered or used in the course of the commission of an offence under Section 1.”
Section 1 of the Hunting Act states; “A person commits an offence if he hunts a wild mammal with a dog.”

“Trail” hunting does not exist, a fact which was openly discussed during a 2020 webinar held by the then Hunting Office, now the BHSA. It was the hunting community who coined the term “smokescreen” to describe “trail” hunting, as they discussed ways that hunts could continue to break the law. Now they are acting the victim, especially when landowners are reminded of their part in this pantomime.

WMHS work alongside other anti-hunt groups such as Locals Against the Warwickshire Hunt and Warwickshire Hunt Watch to use a varied approach to their campaigning. One of which is writing to landowners to remind them of their responsibilities and to inform them of what the Warwickshire Hunt are capable of.

As well as detailing the contents of the Hunting Act, the letters remind landowners that only last year, Ben Halsall of the Warwickshire Hunt was convicted under the Hunting Act after a fox was killed. The letter also states that the presiding judge at the trial made a statement that there was “no evidence at all of any trail being laid.”

The letter goes on to say that “The new huntsman, Jack Weedon has previously been caught on camera blocking an active badger sett in a Site of Special Scientific Interest and has recently been cautioned under a Section 4a Public Order offence.”

The protest held on 8th October took place during a book signing event by Dame Prue Leith. The aim; to make people aware of the fact that the business, through its owner, is linked to illegal fox hunting. However, the pro-hunt community have tried to claim that by protesting, sabs are putting people’s livelihoods at risk, rather than focusing on the fact that the only person putting any livelihood at risk is Andrew, by continuing to break the law and enable an illegal fox hunt.

If people choose to not use an establishment or support a business because they facilitate fox hunting, that’s their prerogative.

The Warwickshire Hunt have already lost a lot of land, some of which is through landowners rescinding their permission due to public outcry. In October 2025 Warwickshire Christmas Tree Farm very publicly withdrew permission for the hunt to use their land, stating that due to the public’s disgust at their affiliation with the Warwickshire Hunt they were left with no choice.

This has a knock-on effect as more and more landowners begin to feel empowered to stand up to the hunt and this has resulted in a drastic reduction of land for them to use. On 12th March 2026 WMHS published a post about how during the end of season meet the hunt were forced to abandon an area where they always “find a fox to hunt.” Landowners in the area stood firm and informed the hunt they weren’t welcome, remaining present to ensure that they did not trespass.

Regardless of what hunts say, the truth is a large proportion of those who live rurally do not support hunting. Landowners that allow hunts onto their land often experience tensions with neighbours due to the hunt trespassing and being the cause of road chaos and anti-social behaviour.

Many people would not want to support a business that is intertwined with illegal fox hunting and there lies the true panic behind the pro-hunt posts stating that saboteurs are trying to ruin livelihoods. They know that when the public vote with their pockets landowners will be forced to make a choice; continue supporting an illegal activity and risk losing custom, or cut ties, abide by the law and receive the support of over 80% of the population.

There are landowners who may feel intimidated by hunts who use manipulation techniques to try and gain access to land. However, what we have seen more of during this campaign is the fact that a domino effect occurs once one landowner says no, others feel more empowered to follow suit. We have also seen more and more landowners confronting the hunt when they are trespassing.

Recent footage taken by a landowner shows the hunt rampaging across her land. Despite her cries of distress, the hunt ignored her and continued on. Had the owners of Hayne’s Barn in Sibford Gower not given the hunt permission to meet on their land, then this landowner would not have been subjected to this distressing ordeal.

Landowners not only need to be held to account over their involvement with illegal hunting, but they must be held to account for the distress they bring to their neighbours and local community. WMHS have gone into further depth about landowners, their involvement with hunting and the fact that they are just as much a part of a hunt as the masters and hunt staff are. You can read this article here.

On Saturday 17th October, Locals Against the Warwickshire Hunt alongside other members of the public held a protest outside St John’s College Oxford University. The Warwickshire Hunt illegally hunted foxes on land owned by them on 1st September and since then the College has vehemently tried to deny any responsibility.

A report from the day of the protest states that students from the college took the time to speak to those who were speaking up for our wildlife, and were horrified to learn that fox hunting is still happening, and that it has happened on land owned by the college.

Protests such as these not only raise awareness of fox hunting but spark conversations, and it gives people an opportunity to voice their disgust and sometimes gives them a space to talk about their own personal experiences.

A prime example of the law not holding landowners to account is a recent case in Devon. Lloyd Heard, a landowner who should have been prosecuted for his part in a Boxing Day dig out, had the charges dropped by the CPS, with no reason cited as to why this was. Heard is also married to BHSA employee and four time convicted ex-huntsman Julian Barnfield’s daughter, so make of that what you will.

On Boxing Day 2025, Heard, the owner of Pudson Farm not only allowed the Eggesford Hunt onto his land, he participated in moving rubble and digging at the ground where a fox was seeking refuge. The fox was bolted from the rubble and thankfully escaped, but the entire incident was caught on drone by Devon County Hunt Sabs. The huntsman Jason Marles pleaded guilty to the offence but there were no repercussions for Heard, despite damning evidence.

The law is continuing to fail our wildlife and while the government is still not delivering on their promise to tighten the laws around hunting; wildlife is still being persecuted, hunts are still getting away with it and landowners are avoiding repercussions.

So, if the law will not hold landowners to account, then saboteurs will.

You can find out more about West Midlands Hunt Sabs’ campaign against the Warwickshire Hunt here and support them here.