The “Boxing Day Hunt” is a strange phenomenon. This year the papers ran a poll asking readers whether the Boxing Day Hunt should be cancelled, as if foxhunting was an isolated once-a-year event and people don’t gather to hunt foxes two or three days a week the rest of the season! Most Boxing Day hunts were NOT cancelled.
While the rest of the country adjusted to the prospect of not seeing their relatives this Christmas, the hunting community mingled in large numbers at slightly more discreet locations this Boxing Day, before setting off into the fields to satiate their bloodlust.
The Eggesford’s Boxing Day Hunt went ahead as planned, at their usual Boxing Day meet at Oaklands on the edge of Okehampton. They left the meet in direction of Halsbear Wood, trespassing as they continue to do on Forestry Commission land. They drew the valley between two patches of forestry, spooking foxes, deer and unsuspecting dog walkers in the area.
Intrigued by huntsman Jason Marles’s claims last week that hounds were not following a trail but merely ‘practice drawing’, sabs asked Jason about the make-up of the trail-laying fluid he claims to use the rest of the time. “A mixture”, he said. Is that what he tells farmers whose land he hunts on as well? That he spreads an unidentified ‘mixture’ across their land? It’s hard to decide which of the hunt’s lies is less believable: the lies about trail-hunting, or the lies about concern for biosecurity. There were rotting carcasses of dead sheep on several of the farms they hunted across, and a very weak ram we attempted to help as well, so it’s likely the farmers in this area don’t particularly care themselves.
After leaving the first valley, the hunt crossed the road to Ellmead and Merrifield. Sabs repositioned and witnessed the pack become split, with some heading north past Toad Island in direction of Curworthy.
Jason kept hounds on the move, heading south back past Ellmead and into the valley below Narraton Farm. Sadly we believe a fox was killed here. A sab got close enough to witness the unmistakeable blood-curdling sound of a kill and was seconds too late to intervene. As soon as he realised the sab was there, Jason moved the hounds on back in direction of Ellmead. The scene of the suspected kill smelt strongly of fox and there were hound prints all over a large patch of brambles.
The final draw was in the valley below Broadmoor Lane, where the hunt always get onto foxes. Hounds were soon streaming north out of the valley in full cry in direction of one of our foot teams, who were able to stop them and send them back down. A team further up the valley spotted the fox whose scent the hounds were on. The hounds, having been turned back by sabs, followed the heel line of the fox for a short while before being gathered by Jason and put back on the line. Our foot team however were able to spray to cover the fox’s scent and rated the hounds when they arrived, sending them back to Jason. This fox got away thanks to the quick action by our sabs. The hunt finished at the church off Stoney Park Lane and hacked back to the meet.
Devon & Cornwall Police were also in attendance at this meet. Given the ongoing police investigation into the leaked Hunting Office webinars, one would think police would be keen to make sure the Eggesford didn’t kill foxes at this meet, like they did so publicly when they met here two season ago. Or perhaps they’d be interested to ensure that the hunt weren’t in breach of Covid regulations? It won’t surprise any of our followers that Devon & Cornwall’s finest instead spent the day tailing our vehicles and joining in the deliberate road-blocking instigated by the hunt to prevent us from following. The only vehicle they stopped all day was one of our group vehicles. Why? To satisfy themselves that we were not in fact driving a stolen car, and to give us fashion advice about the colours of our face masks. It’s great to see taxpayer’s money being spent well in Devon. Meanwhile police turned a blind eye not only to the blatant illegal hunting but also to the pickup trucks they witnessed blocking us in on multiple occasions, one of which deliberately tried to run our Jeep off the road.
If Devon & Cornwall Police’s investigation into the leaked webinars ends up being anything more than a total whitewash, we will be quite surprised…
We were joined once again by our friends from North Devon Wildlife & Hunt Monitors – thank you for lending a hand!
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