It may be a new year, but hunts are still illegally hunting foxes, using violence and causing road chaos. And some are even invited on to MOD land to do so!

Last Saturday (20th January), the South Dorset Hunt met at the Bovington Camp near Wareham, riding through the barracks and spending most of their day hunting on surrounding MOD land.
At one point, hounds ran across a main road while following a scent, with a hound being hit by a distraught motorist. If the hunt were following a pre-laid trail, as many often falsely claim, they should have gone nowhere near a busy road. The answer to this riddle is much more likely to have 4 legs, ginger fur and a bushy tail.
This particular hunt are no strangers to hunting and killing foxes, or resorting to extreme violence against those who oppose them. So why were they welcomed to meet on a British Army base with open arms?!

Earlier in the month (January 6th) in Wales, the Sennybridge Farmers Hunt chased a fox on the MOD’s Sennybridge Training Area.
Having met at Nantgwared, north of Trecastle, they headed onto the military range with hounds putting up and chasing a fox along a remote valley. Hounds lost the scent, so the huntsman gathered the hounds and put them back into the valley to find the fox, with the hounds picking up the scent and giving chase once again. Despite the best efforts of this hunt, the fox was seen making it to safety by South Wales Hunt Sabs.
The Sennybridge Farmers, and the South Dorset, are just two of around 25 fox and hare hunts given licences by the MOD to hunt on their land.

On the same day in North Yorkshire, the North York & West of Yore Hunt were also on MOD land, but this time without a license and without permission.
As reported here, suspicious terriermen on a quadbike quickly disappeared when they realised sabs were in attendance, returning later without the box on the quadbike that is used to carry terriers.
Calder Valley Hunt Sabs who were present had the unusual task of helping an MOD Ranger evict the hunt, who in their complete disregard for the law were trespassing on MOD land during their fox hunt. Surely this should be the standard response to a gathering of organised crime groups on military land?!
These three incidents highlight just a snapshot of what hunts get up to on MOD land, land owned and managed by the public purse. As we have said before, the behaviour of hunts on MOD land would be enough to get any other users banned. So why isn’t it in the case of hunts?
What can you do?
- Email – Defence Minister, Rt Hon Grant Shapps, and ask why he continues to allow illegal hunting on public land – shappsg@parliament.uk
- Social media – share this story and ask @DefenceHQ, @mod_dio and @GrantShapps why they are allowing illegal hunting on public land.
Find out how you can get involved with our campaign to strengthen the Hunting Ban here.