As mink & otter hunts take to the water, Hunt Sabs are appealing to you – our eyes and ears in the countryside – for information.
The summer bloodsport season is well underway, with these hunts taking to the nation’s waterways from April to October to target mink and otter.
They may meet at a country pub or farm, or more commonly a less conspicuous track or the corner of a field next to a river. The pack of hounds are taken on foot to the river or watercourse by the hunters (the same people normally found at fox and hare hunts in the winter months) and are encouraged to search the banks and undergrowth for the scent of a mink or otter.
When the hounds find a scent, they pursue the hunted animal across land and water before they catch and kill it. If it seeks refuge underground or in a tree stump, it will be dug out or bolted by terriermen using spades, drainage rods and terriers, and forced to run on. If it climbs a tree, it will be dislodged by the hunters – some hunters openly carry an extendable pole for this very purpose.
This type of hunting is in decline, and the remaining half a dozen or so packs are among the most secretive of all hunts. Many have dropped prestigious meets, changed their traditional meeting days and times and are only involving a tiny number of trusted supporters.
Their small number, large hunting countries and increasingly tight-knit circles make them particularly hard to track down, which is why the HSA is asking for help from you!
We are appealing for information on these illegal groups: where and when they will be meeting, hunts forming or folding, kennels or personnel involved and so on.
Whether it’s a post on social media or gossip overhead in a pub, no piece of information is too small to be of interest and we treat all sources with 100% confidentiality.
If you hear a hunt is going to take place, or you’re out in the countryside and suspect you see or hear one of these hunts meeting or in progress, (eg. a collection of suspicious vehicles like those pictured above, or hear a hunting horn and hounds on a river), then let Hunt Sabs know ASAP!
Please contact our tip-off line on 07443 148 426 at the earliest opportunity. Together, we can stop them!
The government has launched a public consultation on Trail Hunting – this is our chance to stop cruel hunting for good. You can read the HSA’s guidance and take part in the consultation here. The deadline is 18th June 2026 – make sure your voice is heard.
Take part in the Trail Hunting Consultation now:
Support our vital work by becoming a member.
We are the only organisation that works directly in the field to save wildlife through direct action.
