Ledbury Hunt caught at blocked badger sett

Hunt Saboteurs Association Press Release September 26th 2012

This morning hunt saboteurs, from the Three Counties and Coventry groups, witnessed the Ledbury Hunt chase a fox down an active badger sett that had had most of its entrances blocked by hunt staff.

The hunt had met at Redmarley, Gloucestershire, and were clearly observed to be illegally cub hunting. They had already chased an adult fox and only the intervention of saboteurs had enabled the animal to escape. They then chased a second fox and a saboteur filmed the hounds follow it to an active badger sett. All but one of the entrances had been blocked with logs and soil and fresh spade marks could be seen where the sett had been disturbed. When they realised they were being monitored the hunt staff quickly removed their hounds from the scene.

Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “At a time when badgers are such a hot topic, particularly in Gloucestershire, it is incredible to witness the arrogance of the hunting community. They not only illegally chase foxes but are also illegally interfering with badger setts. With the increased public interest in these issues due to the imminent badger cull, which has led to an influx of new members, we look forward to being able to gather more evidence of illegal hunting and save more persecuted wild life.”