David Cameron’s local hunt caught with the corpse of a fox

National animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports has dismissed critics of a ban on so-called trail hunting after a hunt saboteur filmed David Cameron’s local hunt trying to hide the corpse of a fox killed by its hunt hounds last month.

The former prime minister and Witney MP spoke out during September against government plans to ban trail hunting, the ‘smokescreen’ invented by hunts to get around the ban in which they purport to follow pre-laid trails, though in practice these are hardly ever seen being used.

Lord Cameron’s criticisms formed part of an attempt by the Countryside Alliance’s ‘Campaign for the Countryside’ to conflate rural concerns with blood sports such as fox or trail hunting, despite polling showing how unpopular blood sports are in the countryside.

The League issued figures earlier this year showing 488 reports of foxes being chased during the last cub and fox hunting season ending at the end of March 2026.

The footage obtained by Three Counties hunt saboteur Lynn Sawyer shows a huntsman from the Oxfordshire based Heythrop Hunt climbing into woodland near the Cotswold village of Lower Swell to recover the body of the fox on the morning of Friday, September 18. He was then filmed running away with it. The incident was reported to Gloucestershire Police.

Blood and fox internal body parts were found, filmed and photographed at the scene by Lynn.

David Cameron attended a joint meet of the Heythrop and Tyndale Huntearlier this year.

Emma Slawinski, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “This incident is yet another example of how foxes are still being chased and killed and that so-called trail hunting is a smokescreen invented to fool the police, courts and public.

“Attempts to conflate rural concerns with blood sports such as fox or trail hunting simply won’t wash anymore.

“The government is absolutely right to strengthen fox hunting laws and to ban trail hunting and its time for it to finish the job and introduce legislation.”

Lynn Sawyer of Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, said: “This was a blatant example of cub hunting which involves the hunts surrounding woodland and clinically pushing their hounds through it so they can learn to hunt and kill.”

Rowan Hughes, a spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said: “"That poor fox, failed by the law, is just the latest victim of inadequate hunting laws. Every week we hear from rural people who want to bring an end to hunting. Rural communities are far from being united by a love of animal cruelty and blood sports, that is just a vocal minority.”

The League Against Cruel Sports published figures after the last fox hunting season showing that trail laying hardly ever actually happens. Just 23 or 3.7% of the 624 hunt meets reported across England and Wales last season contained evidence of a trail being laid. Within those 23 reports with a trail laid, there was still evidence of 22 foxes being chased.

Polling commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports and carried out independently by FindOutNow with further analysis by Electoral Calculus in March/April 2024 found that 76 per cent of the public supported stronger fox hunting laws, with only seven per cent disagreeing.

A clear majority of voters in rural as well as urban areas across the country backed new laws to stop foxes being chased by hounds and killed, with 70 per cent of people in the countryside supporting the proposal.

Emma added: “We need a ban on trail hunting and the government also needs to introduce an effective deterrent in the form of prison sentences, and tackle ‘accidental’ or reckless hunting.”

The League is urging the public to take part in an action, by contacting their MP and calling for stronger hunting laws.

Ends

Notes to editors

For information or interview requests, please contact the League Against Cruel Sports Press Office on 01483 524250 or email pressoffice@league.org.uk

Link to footage of the hunt removing the corpse of the fox. See around 1:51 in.

Link to the blood and fox internal body parts being found.

Trail hunting has been described by Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, the national police lead on fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

Fox hunting was banned in Wales and England when the Hunting Act came into force on February 18, 2005.

The full set of data for the 2025/2026 fox hunting seasons is available on request.

The figures were compiled by the League Against Cruel Sports intelligence team staffed by former police officers and civilian analysts – and consist of incidents reported into its confidential Animal Crimewatch service, evidence obtained by its field operatives, and from reports by hunt saboteurs and hunt monitors.

The League believes the figures are just the tip of the iceberg, showing only those hunts being monitored, with hunt behaviour in many remote rural areas and incidents of animals being chased and torn apart going unreported.

Find Out Now interviewed 5,379 GB adults online from 26 March - 2 April 2024. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults by gender, age, social grade, other demographics and past voting patterns.

Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus are both members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.

A full breakdown of the data is available here: https://electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/DataTables_LACS_Jun2024.xlsx

The League Against Cruel Sports is Britain's leading charity that works to stop animals being persecuted, abused and killed for sport. The League was instrumental in helping bring about the landmark Hunting Act 2004, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 and bans on the use of snares brought about by the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, and Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

We carry out investigations to expose law-breaking and cruelty to animals and campaign for stronger animal protection laws and penalties. We work to change attitudes and behaviour through education and manage wildlife reserves. Find out more about our work at www.league.org.uk. Registered charity in England and Wales (no.1095234) and Scotland (no.SC045533).