North Dorset Hunt Sabs were attacked by a drunken hunt master and his accomplices at a meet of the Somerset-based Quantock Staghounds yesterday.
North Dorset and Mendip Hunt Sabs were in attendance to try to stop the hunt from chasing and killing female deer, known as hinds. The day began with hounds and riders separating a terrified hind from the herd and then relentlessly pursuing her.
North Dorset sabs bravely stepped in and called the hounds off, allowing the hind to escape. The drunken hunters, furious at being deprived of a kill, then launched a sustained attack on sabs, hitting them over the head with a riding crop and smashing a video camera in an attempt to destroy evidence. One sab went to hospital with a cut hand from a whip handle and Avon & Somerset Police attended the incident.
Sabs will not be deterred and will continue to visit the Quantocks to disrupt the vile practices of stag and hind hunting.
An HSA spokesperson commented,
“Yesterday’s serious assault follows an attack back in August when another stag hunt – the neighbouring Devon & Somerset – also tried to deter sabs through the use of extreme violence. Such attacks have never deterred hunt sabs and serve only to strengthen our resolve – as the Quantocks Staghounds will quickly find out.”
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