We have a guest blog this week, an opinion piece written by someone only known as Scorpiovulpes, a monitor with a vast experience of hunting in England and the often pathetic response of the police and CPS in dealing with this illegal minority pastime. It’s a good read so grab a cuppa and settle in.
I have monitored hunts for twenty five years, and I can honestly say my shock and disgust have not abated one bit during all that time. It seems that the world of hunting is a strange alternative universe existing here among us. All the rules are reversed, all the standard codes are turned on their head. Accepted norms of behaviour are ignored, and punishment is meted out to the innocent, not the guilty.
The most innocent of the victims of this sinister world are the hunted animals. There are laws in place in England, Wales and Scotland which purport to ban hunting and thus protect the hunted animal. Do they? Of course they don’t!
These weak laws were drawn up by people who did not understand the true nature of the hunter. They failed to listen to the people who had the measure of hunters – i.e. the monitors and the sabs. They totally underestimated the ruthlessness of the hunters, and failed to grasp how determinedly they would continue their cruel pastime no matter what the law said. They failed to understand that hunters fundamentally believe they are above the law and they can do as they please, that they believe nobody – nobody – can tell them what they may and may not do.
Openly flouting the law.
And so we have a situation, 14 years after the ban was instituted in England and Wales, where hunting continues unabated, covered by the smokescreen of “trail” hunting. I will state without hesitation my opinion that trail hunting does not exist, and never has.
It is an illusion – well, basically, it’s a con.
So the monitors still have to go out to hunts and do the best they can to film what is really happening, collecting evidence which, in very rare cases, will actually get to court, but more realistically will form part of the library of shocking evidence which will lead to the strengthening of the Hunting Act and the creation of a real ban on hunting, a true death knell for this vile and barbaric practice. The sabs still go and risk their safety in order to protect the hunted animals and save the lives of as many as they can.
The hunts are absolutely infuriated by the presence of sabs or monitors, whose safety is at real risk every time they go out. It is common practice for hunts to call in so called “hunt stewards” – typically a particularly nasty species of inadequate and thuggish person who, given a baseball cap with “hunt steward” on the front, think they’re somebody and start throwing their weight around. They behave in an unbelievably obnoxious way. They constantly harass and impede the monitors, surrounding them, continuously trying in every possibly way to wind up the monitor they are victimising (usually a female and/or elderly person) to try and make them lose their cool. I could write a whole book on this subject, but instead I suggest you view the film of this type of behaviour that you will find on all the monitor and sab Facebook pages, and also on You Tube. These films speak for themselves, and make grim viewing.
Hunt Steward hat but dead behind the eyes and delusions of adequacy.
So we have an orchestrated conspiracy to hunt illegally being conducted between the hunts and their lackeys, the whole scenario being protected from scrutiny by obstructive, menacing and threatening behaviour .
Well, you might say, the police must be very concerned about this. They must be shocked to see the film. The CPS must be very willing to act on the clear filmed evidence presented to them. This is where you need to grasp the extent of the alternative universe we are talking about, as the very opposite is the case. Police scrutinise the film to try to pin something on the innocent monitors (or sabs), They downplay the seriousness of the behaviour of the stewards. They churn out the old chestnut “six of one and half a dozen of the other” when it would be obvious to a five year old that this is categorically not the case.
Time and again the monitors and sabs are left shocked and disgusted by the lack of action by the law enforcement agencies over the whole scandal of illegal hunting and its attendant intimidation and violence.
So they turn to Facebook. For all its faults, Facebook has provided a lifeline for campaigners, and has led to a turning point in the general public’s understanding of the sheer and utter horror of illegal hunting, the cruelty, the deviousness, the thuggery – the lengths gone to to protect this abomination from scrutiny. Sometimes when the absolutely disgusting behaviour of a hunt steward is exposed on Facebook or another arena, the subject of the film uses devious means to have the film taken down. Fortunately this only works short term as their reasons are bogus and the films are usually reinstated. But this again shows how secretive and how absolutely without morals are the people involved in hunting.
It is not only the stewards who behave in a revolting way. People who no doubt consider themselves to be the cream of society will barge you with their horses, swear at you, persistently drive at very low speeds in front of you to prevent you keeping up with the hunt, even assault you.
Terrier men – Lowest of the low. What purpose do they have on a “trail” hunt?
So there you have the alternative universe of illegal hunting for your edification. The hunters throw a threadbare cloak of respectability over themselves with a claim of “trail hunting”. They lie. They bully. They abuse. They bring in their hunt thugs to protect themselves from scrutiny. The law enforcers of the land, who are paid by the taxpayer and whom we are told to respect, more often than not support them, sometimes hunt with them. I have seen a high court judge out hunting, a meet held at a magistrate’s house, ex police officers hunting, uniformed police officers laughing and joking with obnoxious hunt heavies, while a woman monitor was held captive in her car and the police refused to help her. I have heard a female police officer tell a hunt master she would try and get me to leave the hunt so the hunt could carry on as they wished. The list goes on and on and on. You may think that, if the police fail in their duty, there is a robust police complaints system. All I can say to that is, you try it – and good luck. Very recently a District Judge found a hunt not guilty of illegal hunting, giving one of the reasons for his decision that he did not believe a hunt master would lie and perjure himself. This kind of thing leaves those of us at the sharp end of this situation in absolute despair.
I have given you my opinion as a seasoned and long term hunt monitor. You are free to disbelieve me if you choose, but if so, I ask you to look at the plethora of filmed evidence that unequivocally illuminates the situation. And ask yourself why all these people would go to such lengths to stop a non-violent individual from legally filming their activities.
We know the public are overwhelmingly against hunting. We know they are absolutely shocked when they see the evidence of what is happening in our countryside on a daily basis during the hunting season. Between us all we can drag this alternative universe out of the dark ages and expose it to the light. That way we will see it finally abolished.
That day cannot come soon enough.
Consigned to History
Posted: October 9, 2019 in CommentTags: Atherstone Hunt, Fox Hunting, Hunt Saboteurs, hunt violence, Hunting Act, Leicestershire Police, West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs
The Atherstone Hunt are finished.
George Whitemore – Atherstone Huntsman 1906
This is of course incredible news and testament to the dedication and perseverance of a small group of people who took it upon themselves to protect the wildlife that was routinely persecuted by this organised gang of criminals, often with the full support of the police.
Full statement from West Mids Hunt Sabs below:
After six long years of an unrelenting and unstoppable campaign by West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs the 200 year old Atherstone Hunt have finally thrown in the towel and folded.
We have faced harassment, extreme provocation and regular violence from those associated with the Atherstone Hunt. We’ve received death threats, had our tyres slashed, cars burnt out and have been hospitalized. We have also faced a hostile campaign of police harassment from Leicestershire Police who have actively sabotaged investigations against the Atherstone Hunt whilst constantly seeking to prosecute members of our group at all costs.
We persevered and never backed down. Despite the regular violence we have faced our campaign has always remained non-violent. Over the last six years we have sabbed almost every single meet of the Atherstone Hunt. They have collected over 20 criminal convictions and cautions for their violence and antisocial behaviour and at their worst they were making the national press every other month for their hunting and violence. As well as stopping them killing foxes twice a week every week we have been able to expose the real face of fox hunting.
We witnessed them kill numerous foxes in front of us but that only made us more determined. We exposed all businesses that supported them. We held demonstrations at their biggest events of the year and at all of their fundraising events.
For six years the Atherstone Hunt have been completely sabotaged and as a result they have now folded. This means that for now the 908 km² area of West Leicestershire and North Warwickshire are completely hunt free and hundreds of foxes lives will now have been saved
Ultimately the Hunting Act needs to be strengthened however we are not waiting around for politicians to change the law or corrupt police forces to enforce the law. Fox hunting is cruel and barbaric and has no place in the 21st century. Hunt saboteurs will shut hunts down one by one until hunting is consigned to history.
Our only concern remains the safety and welfare of the hounds. We have notified relevant authorities
We would like to thank all the different sab groups who have helped us and joined us in sabbing the Atherstone Hunt over the years. We would also like to thank all of you who have donated towards fuel and equipment costs over the years, all the kind words and encouragement and all the tip offs and information sent to us.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Dedicated to Leanne Bridgewater.
If I can put this achievement into some perspective take a look back at this blog post I wrote back in 2015 (see here). It’s a meet of the Atherstone. Look at the number of supporters alone.
It was a hunt of some significance. I can remember driving to the meet on that particular day and seeing a least a mile of parked up support vehicles on both sides of the road. The riding field was huge.
Not any more.
Trying to drum up support
Of course the hunting community are probably feeling a bit miffed right now to say the least. The FB page,This is Hunting UK are trying to rally support but the problem they have is a simple one. It’s impossible to promote hunting in a positive way to everyone when hunting is just a cruel and illegal minority pastime. The British public, by a vast majority no longer accept the lies spouted in an effort to save their sick little hobby.
This isn’t the first hunt to go to the wall, it certainly won’t be the last but the method in which this one was helped on it’s way should be considered a blueprint for others with the same goals.
To all those at West Mids Hunt Sabs – I salute you.
Finally I’d like to say “Hi” to Adrian Henson. I love it that you share my blog among your bumpkin friends online, it improves my figures! Did you like the one about the letter?
UPDATE: Comment from the hunt themselves on their FB page.