⚠️JUST RELEASED! ⚠️ 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘰𝘹 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 & 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵. East Huntspill 2nd Oct 2024 More below...

Whilst sabbing a meet of the WBHWSV with Somerset Sabs last Wednesday, our drone pilot filmed a fox getting mauled by a hound after being relentlessly hunted between patches of cover between Staight Drove and Cripps River. In a blatant display of illegal fox cub hunting,

for over 15 minutes, members of the hunt surrounded the brambles and scrub as hounds were sent in. A fox was seen trying to escape several times, running in and out of cover as hounds gave chase. Members of the hunt, including the huntsman, clearly saw and reacted to the

fox several times, yet none tried to stop the hounds at any point. In classic cubbing style, a foot follower ran towards the fox - in cub hunting, this is done to turn the fox back towards the hounds. A rider is also seen raising his whip as the fox approaches. The fox

was terrifyingly close to the hounds on multiple occasions as the hunt watched on. As the fox made a final attempt to escape, in full view of the huntsman and field riders, the fox was grabbed and bowled over by one of the hounds as others closed in. Somehow,

miraculously, the fox managed to break free and ran through a hedge into the next field. Hounds followed the fox's line through the hedge, and still the huntsman did not try to stop them. The fox then ran past a member of Somerset Sabs on Straight Drove, who managed to

temporarily stop the hounds from following using voice commands. No attempt was made by any of the hunt to stop the hounds before this point. Hounds picked up on the fox's line further along the drove, but we believe the fox managed to escape to ground in nearby badger

holes and the pack were eventually gathered and taken away. Although the fox escaped at the time, we do not know the extent of any injuries they suffered from any bite wounds or the effect of stress and shock from the chase. What this footage shows is that foxes continue

to suffer in relentless pursuits as hunts arrogantly flout the ban twenty years on. The law is clearly not fit for purpose and the smokescreen of "trail hunting" has enabled hunts to chase and kill wildlife with few repercussions. This episode of illegal fox hunting is

not an isolated incident. We have seen the WBHWSV hunt kill foxes several times, most recently in January, when we recovered the remains of a fox after witnessing their hounds tear it to pieces. Hunts in Somerset and across the country continue to hunt foxes now just as

they did before it became illegal. Please consider supporting us as we take action against hunting in Somerset and beyond. You can donate towards our fuel and equipment costs at Or buy us a virtual coffee at Thanks.