With just seven weeks until the government’s public consultation on so-called trail hunting closes, the HSA can exclusively reveal yet another example of the highly organised nature of fox hunting wildlife crime.
The HSA has discovered that Rob Shearring – a key protagonist in the horrifying Avon Vale Hunt video that repeatedly made national news in 2023 – was made ‘master’ of the Old Berkshire Hunt in 2025.
What makes this appointment even more extraordinary is that the Old Berkshire is the home pack of Viscount Astor, chairman of the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), the so-called governing body of hunting!
But the BHSA is not a legitimate organisation and, instead of sanctioning Shearring, it has rewarded him with the mastership of a supposedly prestigious hunt.
The Avon Vale video clearly shows that Shearring is no mere observer of events – he is actively involved in the abuse of the fox. He uses a spade to block a potential escape route and repeatedly waves his whip to keep the hounds at bay until his friend and committed animal abuser Ollie Thompson has managed to drag the terrified fox from her refuge.
Once the fox has been thrown into the pack, Shearring stands back and shrieks encouragement to the hounds. He appears to take a particularly sadistic enjoyment from watching the live fox be torn to pieces.
Shearring escaped justice, but his friends Ollie Thompson and Stuart Radbourne, huntsman of the Avon Vale Hunt and the Berks & Bucks Draghounds, were convicted in an RSPCA-led prosecution.
Shearring was publicly outed by Wiltshire Hunt Sabs, but the video has also been aired several times on national news and viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media.
It is inconceivable that the Old Berkshire Hunt, who also employed Thompson, did not know that Shearring was in the video, yet they saw fit to appoint him as master – responsible for the strategic direction and policy of the Old Berkshire Hunt.
This is yet another example of how depraved animal abusers are operating at the upper echelons of the hunting world and is precisely why the HSA is calling for much tougher penalties to deter them.
Please ensure you complete the government’s trail hunting consultation as soon as possible – together we can stop the like of Shearring in their tracks.
The government has launched a public consultation on Trail Hunting – this is our chance to stop cruel hunting for good. You can read the HSA’s guidance and take part in the consultation here. The deadline is 18th June 2026 – make sure your voice is heard.
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