All charges have been dropped against members of Severn Vale Hunt Saboteurs who were arrested back in January 2025 as they prevented illegal hunting by the Radley College Beagles near Faringdon in Oxfordshire.
Severn Vale sabs – who specialise in disrupting hare-hunting beagle and basset packs – arrived in the vicinity of Pidnell Farm near Radcot to find the beagles hunting across open fields. They take up the story in their own words here:
“A hunting horn was heard, and we saw a pack of beagles being encouraged to search for hares across an open field. It was clearly an illegal hare hunt with the hounds giving voice as they picked up on the scent of a hare. With no time to waste, our three sabs climbed the fence, waded across a drainage ditch and entered the killing field intent on peacefully intervening to save the life of the hunted hare.
The hunt’s next actions demonstrated their guilt. The hounds were gathered on the opposite side of the field and the 25 staff and supporters took them back towards the meet.
The three sabs followed on over a hundred yards behind until we saw them enter the farmyard and put the beagles back into their van. We were then approached by another group of supporters who were clearly unhappy that their sick fun had been stopped. One was particularly unpleasant and squared up to our sabs, calling us cowards and acting in a threatening manner. Our de-escalation training kicked in and we moved away from him as the insults continued. Satisfied that the hunt had stopped for now, we headed back across the fields to our truck to await any further developments.
And then Thames Valley Police arrived.
First the Rural Crime Team…then a dog unit… swiftly followed by an armed response unit and then yet more police vehicles. Clearly it was a quiet Saturday in rural Oxfordshire!
We are used to dealing with the police – we have a shared interest in stopping illegal hunting – and we engaged with the rural crime officers in our usual polite and respectful manner, explaining why we were there and what we had observed.
Showing a total lack of professional curiosity, Thames Valley Police simply regurgitated Countryside Alliance propaganda about “legal trail hunting” and appeared unable to comprehend what everyone else in the country knows: it is a smokescreen designed to disguise illegal hunting.
Nevertheless, we explained what was really going on and the lead officer was happy to discuss the issues while the armed officers hung around looking bemused. The officer then stepped away to take a phone call. He returned to inform us that we were all under arrest for “threatening children and aggravated trespass”. The dog handler then took obvious pleasure in forcibly handcuffing the only woman sab present even though the rest of us were not. They even arrested our driver, who had not left the vehicle, and which had been on the public highway throughout. They then seized our vehicle, our cameras, our phones and subsequently our clothing.
We were transported to Abingdon police station and imprisoned overnight. One of our sabs, who is a diabetic, was refused food which placed his health at risk. We were aggressively interviewed in the early hours of the morning despite being sleep-deprived. The questions appeared to have little relevance to the earlier events, instead featuring such gems as “Do you wear black clothing to intimidate children?”, from a police officer who was wearing black clothing.
We were released at 5am after 14 hours in custody and bailed not to enter Oxfordshire or to enter private land. Happily, one of our supporters had driven from Gloucestershire to pick us up and ferry us home for which we are very grateful.
We were recently informed that no further action would be taken and that all the charges had been dropped.
Thames Valley Police were clearly acting on the instructions of the hunt and its powerful supporters at the elite level of society. Radley College is one of the most prestigious private schools in the country and its former pupils go on to occupy positions at the heart of the Establishment. Thames Valley Police acted to protect an Organised Crime Gang and with the intent of stopping us exposing their illegal activity.
We are not going to let this rest. We intend to take legal action against Thames Valley Police for false arrest and imprisonment. As we all have jobs, we are not entitled to Legal Aid. We have been quoted £3,000 to start these proceedings.
We need your help to make this happen. Please consider donating to our fundraiser: www.gofundme.com
We will not be stopped. We will stop illegal hare hunting. The Radley College Beagles and the other illegal hare hunts operating in Oxfordshire are now firmly on our radar. They will be stopped.”
We are the only organisation that works directly in the field to save wildlife through direct action.
