Sabs Eye In The Sky Captures Croome & West Warwickshire Kill

On Saturday 15th March, West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs and Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs attended a Croome & West Warwickshire Hunt meet at Marshall’s Transport Ltd on Pershore Airfield, Throckmorton.

After hunting behind Evesham Crematorium – whilst a service was in progress – the hunt moved on north and the hounds were put into a barn at Middle Buildings which is part of Hill Court Farm. With the hounds hunting through the farm and the huntsman encouraging the hounds on, a Three Counties Hunt sab nearest to the farm radioed through to West Mids Hunt Sabs that they may have been on a fox and they quickly got the drone up and over the farm. The huntsman can be heard blowing for the kill and it quickly became apparent to the drone operator that it was happening next to one of the buildings where the fox had been trapped by hounds coming at it from both directions.

At no point did any member of the hunt take any steps to stop the hounds, the huntsman can be seen just sitting on his horse watching as the kill happens. Despite knowing there was a drone above them and several members of the hunt can be seen looking up at it, the huntsman can be seen getting off his horse and walking over to the hounds. He then picks up the dead body and holds it up as a reward for the hounds to tear at. This process – known in hunting circles as the ‘worry’ – is a way of ensuring hounds are kept ‘in blood’ and makes a complete mockery of claims to be trail hunting. After ragging the body about with the hounds, the huntsman leaves them to continue tearing the body up and walks off, briefly looking up at the drone.

Another member of the hunt then quickly places his jacket over the body to hide it from the drone as the huntsman walks off with the hounds. The same person then rushes over to a nearby quad bike and pulls out a blue bin bag, with the help of another member of the hunt who holds the jacket up as cover, the body is put into the bag. Both members of the hunt then rush off along the side of the building and can be seen disappearing with the bodybag between a tight gap between two buildings. Nothing suspicious at all about this behavior…

A spokesperson for West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said:

“This incident shows how quickly a kill can happen, in a matter of minutes, and highlights once again that the current law isn’t working and that the Government needs to fulfil its promise to tighten the law. 

It also highlights what hunts get up to when they think they can’t be seen and why drones are becoming such a vital tool for hunt saboteurs groups.”

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Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs – Follow, Donate