More than just Badgers

The so-called Countryside Alliance love to harp on about sabs putting edited video’s up on social media and calling them fake news. So not to be out done they’ve put up their own little video on the CA’s Facebook page about ‘Trail Hunting‘, yes I know what you’re thinking but for the benefit of what follows let’s just assume it’s actually a thing. Full video can be seen below [Edit or it would if the CA hadn’t removed it after I took it apart]

When you put up any video there needs to be some sort of point of reference if it’s to be considered even remotely credible. Dates and the location of the footage are simple to show and prove with some sort of overall context on the filming. I’m going to break things down and show what an utterly ham fisted attempt at pro trail hunting propaganda this really is.

1 – This statement is vague at best. Quarry based scent. What is that exactly and how did they obtain it? The picture shows someone pouring what would appear to be Lucozade on the end of a whip. Note the green grass. This could have been (and probably was) filmed on a different day at a different location to the hunt they later refer to in the video. As any kind of proof it’s utterly worthless. We don’t see the rider or the person applying the sugary drink. There’s also no time frame or location.

2 – The Dedicated Trail Layer. Just have a look at the environment. We have a well maintained hedge plus 2 fields which have been harvested and are bare. Not looking much like where the Lucozade was poured on the whip but more of that later. They could have of course traveled some distance but without any knowledge of the substance and how long it lasts again, it’s meaningless. I think we can safely assume this field is nowhere near the one in the next few frames.

3 – Hounds are looking for the trail. Surely a better term would be search, if a trail was there they would have their noses to the ground, hounds can’t see a trail, they hunt by smell. Also notice how the environment has suddenly changed to a fairly steep sided valley with a line of thick scrub at the bottom. Just the sort of place you’d find, oh, say a fox? Clearly this wasn’t shot at the same time or location as the so called trail laying video.

4 – This frame is only a few on from the previous and yet it claims that sabs have seen a fox which the hounds haven’t. Considering the hounds would traditionally hunt by scent they wouldn’t in fact be looking for a fox anyway. They’d pick up the scent first and only once within visual range would they start to course the animal.

5 – Now we’re really getting into the realms of fantasy land. The single purpose of being a sab is to save the lives of the hunted animal. Doing what they are claiming goes against the very essence of what we as sabs are there to do. This is something the CA and the hunting community simply can’t get a grasp of. If ever there was a statement of fake news then this is it. It’s an utter fabrication with no basis in truth and they have no evidence to back up their claims.

6 – It just gets better and better . . . here’s a great shot of a sab cracking his whip. They do this to stop the hounds. If we simply wanted to catch them hunting on camera we’d do nothing at all and let them get on with it (which is what monitors do) and yet the video shows a sab demonstrating some basic skills in stopping hounds.

7 – Hahahaha . . . sorry I can’t help myself. We get filmed ALL THE TIME. It’s never stopped us from what we do and this is the best they can come up with? The reason the horn stopped blowing was because in this instance the fox had got away, I’m just teasing you now but all will become clear.

8 – This is probably the most accurate statement on the whole video. I’ve already explained the purpose of the whips and shouting at hounds is called ‘rating’, something the hunt staff will also do if they wish to stop the hounds. In this image the hounds have been called away from the line they were on as you can see them with the sabs. Also in this section you’ll see 2 quads (1 out of shot to the right in this still). One of them is the hunt terrier man. What would be his purpose in a legitimate trail hunt? As far as I’m aware terriers are unable to mend fences.

9 – Toxic chemicals. One has to wonder what evidence they have that the image shows someone spraying a toxic chemical. The answer is very simple, they have none. To believe this utter guff you have to be significantly challenged in the brain cell department. It’s been well documented what’s used to cover a scent line so I won’t waste any more of my time on it.

10 – The image shown is utterly irrelevant and bears no relationship to what has gone before. It’s just a bit of what we call in the industry a B-roll, a meaningless bit of filler footage to hold interest. The problem they have is that the statement is once again easily dismissed due to the lack of any evidence. How many hounds have been treated by vets after being on a hunt where they have become ill? What is this mystery illness that affects them? Surely if this was genuine and attributed to toxic chemicals the CA themselves would have been shouting about it long before now and there would be detailed records. The only time hounds were infected with anything and had to be destroyed was when the disgraced Kimblewick pack all got bTB from eating infected meat.

11 – Wait, hang on, we seem to have jumped back in time again to the incident we were watching earlier. Anyone with any knowledge of video production will know that the best way to get something across is to make it easy for the viewer to follow, keep the flow and tell a story with a beginning a middle and of course an end. The creators were so obsessed with a bit of random sab bashing they forgot the basics by throwing in the random footage shown in example 10. I’m also looking at a selection of hounds quite close together, they don’t look too scattered to me.

12 – The final statement. Design and layout is important in any sort of PR and that includes video. There are some basics which are easily followed and this breaks several rules. First off you should never leave a single word hanging on a line on it’s own at the end of a statement. They do this twice and it looks dreadful. Single words in a line with centred text is another. If you can’t fit something on a line just drop the size of the font or just don’t put it all in caps. Sometimes less is more, you also don’t have to write everything in caps. Finally and best of all, USE A SPELL CHECKER. Oh my oh my. There really is no excuse for this one, “aggrevated”, surely they mean aggravated?

They are correct in their assertion that trail hunting is not illegal but as I’ll show you next that’s not what actually took place. The makers also have no proof or evidence that either their claims took place. For aggravated trespass to be claimed those trespassing have to have interfered with a legal activity. Surely if this was the case the police would be investigating and let’s face it, they generally have no issues with arresting sabs on bogus claims. Did they even make any complaints to that effect – of course not.

Now the reality.

On the day in question I was actually there. It was a joint operation with Beds & Bucks Sabs and North Cambs Sabs involved. It occurred on the 28th September 2019 and the hunt was the Fernie. The area was around Saddington and Mowsly. The area where much of this takes place is in the valley where Laughton brook runs roughly north west parallel to the Mowsly to Saddington road. As you can see by the environment and the fact the riders are wearing rat catchers it was Autumn hunting, more commonly known as cubbing. Now there’s some nice context for you.

The image above shows the huntsman with another rider. The hounds had recently been speaking and searching for something hidden in the scrub next to the brook. You can see them looking with interest in that direction while other hounds are actually in there still actively working. You should also note that these riders are on the other side of the scrub shown in the stills 3, 4 and 5. Surely if they were following the laid trail they would have been on the other side? Moments after this a brace of foxes were flushed just out of shot on the left of what you see here.

I managed to film the second fox flee from our side of the brook, with the hounds in hot pursuit. What’s significant here is the complete and utter lack of any hunt staff. Surely if they were hunting a trail they would be very keen to stop the hounds if they did pick up on live quarry and yet here they were, putting hounds into an area likely to contain foxes and letting them actively hunt it. It was only the actions of sabs further to my left (out of shot) which stopped them. The sab cracking the whip in image 6 is one from my own group.

This is an image of the first fox. This broke on the other side of the brook, ran up the hill right in front of a hunt rider (probably the one in their video) and escaped over the hill. The hounds didn’t pick up on the line of this one, mainly because the sabs there had taken them away from its line.

The CA will openly admit they are losing the social media battle. There are 2 main reasons for this. Firstly we have overwhelming public support. No matter how hard they try the general public will never support cruelty or believe their lies. Secondly, and this is the big one . . . they are utterly hopeless at it.

If this is the best the CA can do with all of their resources I suggest they give up now. I’m still laughing.