Coniston Foxhounds in the act of digging out a fox and ripping her to pieces
There’s now less than four weeks to complete the government’s consultation on banning trail hunting. Please make sure your voice is heard before 18th June 2026.
This week, we are urging any of our supporters who have not filled out the consultation to rewatch the horrific video of Coniston Foxhounds and Teme Valley Hunt engaged in a dig-out. To date, around sixteen people have been arrested in relation to this incident.
This is the kind of activity that takes place under the smokescreen of trail hunting.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the video is the way that visibly young individuals – who would not even have been born when hunting was made illegal – are most involved in the abuse of the fox.
For example, while it is an older man who uses a terrier location device to find the site of the subterranean battle between fox and terrier, it is the younger hunters who are most enthusiastic in dragging the animals out. And, of course, it is a youth who takes the lead in grabbing the doomed fox by the scruff of the neck and carrying her off to the woods where she is thrown – alive – to the hounds.
The youths and children present are clearly experts in digging out foxes, handling hunted foxes and working with hardened terriers – this is, of course, compelling evidence that the horrors shown in the video are routine practice for the Coniston Foxhounds.
But it is also evidence that these youngsters have been groomed into this criminality by the older individuals on the scene. Like any other Organised Crime Gang, the Coniston Foxhounds have been passing on a culture of cruelty and criminality to the next generation.
Over the last twenty years, the hunters have proved themselves to be absolutely determined to carry on hunting. To stop them we need a ban on trail hunting – together with our other recommendations – to produce a watertight ban that even the extremist hunters cannot overcome.
You can complete the trail hunting consultation here
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:
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