On Saturday we hit the Dart Vale, South Pool and Modbury Harriers’ opening meet at Rimpston, East Allington.
Contrary to government and Hunting Office regulations, they held a ‘proper’ meet, with about 30 riders and a few dozen followers who gathered in the farmyard while huntsman Reuben Kench gave his opening speech. Hunts routinely act as if the law doesn’t apply to them, so nobody should be surprised by this. Nor does it surprise us to learn that many of our hunts are planning to “go all out” this week and hunt Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday in a cynical “last hurrah” before the next lockdown puts an end to their bloodsport for a month.
The DVSPMH left their meet towards Cockshill Wood to draw the valleys south of Ranscombe and Malston Barton. Riders blocked the road, backing their horses into sabs and refusing to move even when asked. A fox was flushed from covert and chased towards Keynedon Barton, where the fox took refuge in a sett and was then bolted back towards the pack. Terriermen attempted to stop sabs from getting to the copse but fortunately their bumpkin bellies made them quite easy to outrun. Sabs approached the copse and could hear the pack coming back in full cry, having just chased the fox across the surrounding gorse and bramble-covered slopes. Reuben could be heard blowing the horn call ‘gone away’ and the full pack headed north in cry towards another copse. Around this time, sabs also saw a fox escape from the original copse and were able to cover this fox’s scent.
Another foot team caught up with the hunt in the second copse and found terrier boy and convicted woman-beater George Bailey on top of a large badger sett, where one of the entrances was freshly filled-in. Just as sabs arrived, the hounds erupted into full cry further up the hill and came hurtling down through the woods towards them. Bailey positioned himself on top of the sett to head any fox that came his way and prevent it from going to ground. Sabs waited until hounds were level with them and then rated them back out of the copse.
A little while and a few fields later, sabs witnessed some of the terrier men load what we believe to be a dead hound onto one of the quad bikes. Riders and hunt support were keen to block our view, but we caught the quad on film as they desperately tried to stash the animal under a jacket on the seat and drove off towards the road. We don’t know whether the animal was killed by the pack, hit by a vehicle or a horse, or died from exhaustion, but there was no amount of regret or sadness on the part of the hunt and it wasn’t long until they moved onto their next draw of the day. On their way, one of the hunt members deliberately rammed a sab with the back of his pickup truck, caught on film by one of our body cams.
The hunt spent the rest of the afternoon hunting the valleys between Sherford and Harleston Cross. Several foxes were seen running from hounds, and sabs used horn and voice calls to good effect to pull the pack off the scent. After another hour or so of back and forth along the valley, the hunt called it a day.
The upcoming lockdown is set to put an end to hunting for a month, but hunts will be out in force over the next few days and no doubt will get up to all sorts during lockdown while they think they’re not being watched.
Keep sending in the intel and we’ll keep exposing their activities. Get in touch if you’d like to join us this season.