Duncan Cinnamond, huntsman of the notorious Somerset-based Seavington Hunt, pleaded guilty to illegal fox hunting at Weymouth Magistrates this week.
This conviction comes as a result of evidence supplied by Two Counties Hunt Sabs who were in action at the hunt’s Opening Meet back in October last year.
While sabs were too far away to directly intervene, they managed to film the hunted fox being brought down by the lead hounds in full view of Cinnamond. Far from intervening to stop this crime, the video shows Cinnamond blowing three short, sharp blasts on his horn to encourage the remaining hounds to join the attack.
Then – in what appears to be a well-practised routine to get rid of evidence of criminality – another hunter dismounts her horse, wades into the middle of the pack and retrieves the foxes’ mangled body before throwing it into a river.
Cinnamond then rides off calmly in search of another victim.
This is not the first time the Seavington Hunt have been mired in controversy. In August 2022 they made national headlines after footage of them hunting a ‘bagged’ fox was aired on ITV News. In the video, a seedy gang of hunt terriermen are shown taking a sack from one of their quad bikes. A fox is then tipped out, while the uniformed Seavington huntsman rushes forward to encourage the waiting hounds after the animal, which is pursued out of shot by the baying pack.
The disgusting practice of hunting bagged foxes guarantees a kill and thereby keep the hounds ‘in blood’. Terriermen will dig the fox from her earth, mutilate her – either by slashing her pads or severing her brush -then stuff her in a sack. The terrified, disoriented and injured animal is then tipped in front of hounds when required.
Needless to say, the Seavington continue to enjoy the support of hunting’s so-called governing body, the British Hound Sports Association. Since the bagged fox incident, the BHSA have repeatedly promoted the Seavington’s activities on their Facebook page.
An HSA spokesperson commented,
“The footage captured by Two Counties Hunt Sabs tells you everything you need to know about hunting twenty years after the Hunting Act. Their previous conviction did nothing to deter the Seavington and they have no doubt been emboldened by the support they have received from the discredited BHSA. Only a complete ban on trail hunting and much tougher penalties will deter these committed criminals.”
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