Welsh couple witness injured fox being torn apart by hunt hounds

A couple witnessed an injured fox being torn apart by hunt hounds right in front of them last week near Llangollen in North Wales.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, saw an injured fox on the A542 as they were driving down from Horseshoe Pass and pulled over to help it before hunt hounds arrived on the scene and savaged it.

A hunt member pulled up in a car before taking the fox’s carcass away.

The woman and her husband have reported the incident which took place on Sunday, February 15, to North Wales Police.

She said: “We saw something in the road on our side. When closer we could see that it was a fox lying in the road but with its head and shoulders up, looking around and we think it may have been hit by a car.

“My husband drove slowly around the fox and parked in front of it, got out of the car to check the fox's injury, while I stayed in the car and tried calling the RSPCA – only to hear my husband shouting "The hunt is coming!"

“I looked up and a pack of hounds was making its way across the field to my left, and I jumped out of the car as a 4x4 vehicle which had come from the Llangollen direction stopped next to our car and the driver got and was going towards the fox, following the dogs.

“At this point the fox was attempting to get up and flee but was unable and I was going towards it screaming at the dogs to "Get out of it!"

“The dogs reached the fox and proceeded to tear at it and drag it around as they tore. I had to turn away, I couldn't bear to see any more, but my husband then saw one of the men pick up what was left of the fox and take it away. Disposing of the evidence.

“Very badly shaken, we wanted to get away, and we both got back in our car and left. As we pulled away, I saw another huntsman walking up the road towards the dogs dressed all in dark green with a wax jacket and wellington boots, the same as the other man, and with a walkie talkie and tall wooden staff.

“The whole incident was absolutely sick. Neither of us slept last night. The yelps of the fox as it was being killed haunts us.”

Jamie Adair, the League Against Cruel Sports public affairs officer for Wales, said: “This shocking incident shows that the barbaric blood sport of fox hunting is still taking place in Wales and impacting on both wildlife and the Welsh public.

“The time for change is now. The UK government must urgently launch its consultation to ban trail hunting, the smokescreen being used by hunts to cover-up their chasing and killing of foxes.

This consultation should also remove the exemptions in the Hunting Act that hunts exploit to get around the current weak law, introduce custodial sentences, and outlaw reckless, or ‘accidental’ hunting.”

The hunt is believed to be a ‘gun’ pack which normally hunts on foot, moving around in motor vehicles, and which flushes out foxes to be shot.

Gun packs are active on Welsh uplands and also operate on government land. The League was provided with a list of the approximately 20 gun packs which Natural Resources Wales licensed to go on their land in 2018/19.

The incident occurred on the A542 road close to the Ruabon/Llantysilio Mountains SSSI managed by Natural Resources Wales.

The incident was reported to the League’s Animal Crimewatch service which the public can contact on 0300 444 1234, email crimewatch@league.org.uk or WhatsApp at 0755 278 8247, to report incidents of animal cruelty.

The League is appealing for anyone who witnessed or filmed the incident to contact them.

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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

The crime reference number from North Wales Police is O024168.

Fox hunting was banned 21 years ago in England and Wales when the Hunting Act came into force on February 18, 2005.

The UK Government has responsibility for fox hunting laws in both Wales and England, as it is a reserved matter.

Trail hunting, the excuse often used by hunts in which they claim to follow a trail, has been described by chief superintendent Matt Longman, the national lead on fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

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).