Hunt havoc: The human cost of hunting with hounds

October 24, 2022

It’s clear that despite hunting with dogs being banned in 2005, fox hunting and deer hunting are still going on as before, with animals being chased and killed.

What is also clear is that the behaviour of the hunts threatens individuals and families who have the misfortune to be in the path of a hunt.

Distressing scenes of animals being killed, hounds rampaging through private land, witnesses to the hunt’s behaviour being threatened and intimidated – listening to people tell me about their traumatic experiences at the hands of the hunts has become a regular part of my life as I seek to further the League’s aim of ending hunting with dogs once and for all.

But it never ceases to shock me. As an animal lover I remember the chill that ran down my spine when I heard that hounds from the East Sussex and Romney Marsh hunt had torn through the Celia Hammond Greenacres Cat Sanctuary near Hastings while chasing a fox.

Home to 130 cats, the poor things scattered everywhere in fear of their lives and sadly some were never seen again.

Or poor Minnie, a 14-year-old rescue cat who was mauled to death by hounds from the Western Hunt before a member of the hunt callously threw her body over a garden fence.

I spoke with brave Carly Jose, the cat’s owner who took the hunt to court, and won her case which showed the threat fox hunts and the hounds hold. But nothing can ever bring Minnie back for Carly and her distressed children.

I keep in touch with a lovely man called Adam Hawker who has a wildlife sanctuary near Truro which he has been running for ten years.

Every year, three times a year, the Four Burrow Hunt hunt in close proximity to the sanctuary and frequently trespass on his land.

One year Adam witnessed hounds chasing a bleeding and injured fox which he feared was caught and torn apart.

The hunt staff were baying for the hounds to kill and Adam was the victim of verbal abuse by hunt supporters as he asked them to leave his land.

But a recent report by the League Against Cruel Sports holds out hope for the victims of hunts.

Titled ‘The human cost of hunting with hounds’, it outlines the havoc hunts are causing across the British countryside.

Alongside the report, the League has created a supporter pack which offers legal advice for ordinary people on how to deal with the sordid behaviour of the hunts. If you are one of the victims of hunts and want to do something about it, you can download the pack here.

Polling consistently shows the majority of people living in rural areas want to see hunting laws strengthened and reports of appalling hunt havoc show us why.

It’s time for change. It’s time fox hunting and deer hunting was finally stopped for good.