Drone Wars Reach New Heights!

Just two weeks after we reported on the Beaufort Hunt bringing down a sab drone, another hunt has targeted our ‘eye in the sky’ technology.

The North Cotswold Hunt were doing their favourite thing – running all over the rough banks above Laverton and Stanton. With just two local sabs available, one had gone on the footpath to Shenberrow buildings, where they met two groups of walkers, both of which were anti-hunt.

Hounds could be heard in cry around Stocking Close, so the drone went up to keep an eye on them and hunt terrierman James Phillips immediately rode at the drone pilot on his quad and threatened that he would ‘shoot it out of the fucking sky’. A 999 call was made to Gloucestershire Police at this point.

With the drone in the sky, it captured huntsman Oliver Dale and whipper-in Sam Brown casting hounds into scrub and hedgerows inaccessible to even pretend to lay a trail in. The drone ‘returned to home’ meaning it came back to its pilot and landed. A hunt stalker – employed to keep tabs on sabs -followed but couldn’t keep up.

The hunt were seen going to the village of Stanton, so the drone went back up and the pilot waited on the bridleway above Stanton. It was here Sam Brown came through the gateway first and turned his horse at the drone pilot but thought better of it and continued past with the hounds. Oliver Dale came through next and turned his horse and rode at the pilot screaming repeatedly ‘give me the fucking drone’.

A Three Counties sab explained how Oliver Dale attacked her:

“His horse’s head collided with mine as he grabbed at the controller and pinned me against a fence with his horse, ragging me around and grabbing at the controller. I threw the controller over the fence and jumped over to get it when I could. This pressed the stop record button, but most of his attack had been filmed by the drone.

The field of about 20/25 hunt members came through the gate and said nothing. This is particularly worrying. Do they condone a man on a horse attacking a woman who is standing alone? Committing an unprovoked clear assault.”

Gloucestershire Police attended and took statements. They looked at the footage and said he would be arrested. The woman who was flying the drone suffered multiple bruises, ligament damage and a head injury, verified at A&E later. Another sab described her as “lucid but in pain in her shoulder and hand and had a head injury which made her feel unwell.”

Gloucestershire Rural Crime Officers said they were appalled at Mr Dale’s behaviour and that they were going to arrest him for the charge of Assault by Beating. He was arrested four days later on Wednesday 4th of December at his home, which meant no hunting on one of their usual days. After a long day in the cells and him showing much remorse (as said by the Police). He was given a conditional caution. His legal rep argued that he had not shown any violence in the past. He’ll be attending a victim awareness course which he must pay for and write a letter of apology.

A HSA spokesperson commented:

“This latest attack by the North Cotswold Hunt is part of a wider escalation of violence against hunt sab drones and their operators. We’ve seen everything from stones being lobbed, to drones being shot out of the sky, to one hunt even launching its own attack-drone.

These incidents merely confirm that drones are highly effective in coordinating sabs in the field and recording instances of illegal hunting. As always, hunt saboteurs will not be deterred by such attacks, and we will continue to invest in this technology which has opened up a whole new front in the direct-action fight against illegal hunting.”

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