After last week’s encounter with the arrogant South Tetcott hunt, they were practically begging for us to come back and see their closing meet at Bovacott. They started off drawing the valley to the west of the meet, with sabs seeing a fox almost immediately around Highstead Berton farm. After covering the scent with citronella the hounds didn’t get onto the line of this fox and the hunt turned and headed back east, past the meet, towards Stadson Farm.
This huntsman, Jack Harris, is as blatant as they come and clearly young enough to have learned his “craft” post hunting ban, which shows you how effective it has been at stopping these committed animal abusers. With sabs sticking close and drawing a blank again the huntsman went north into Lashbrook wood. Here, hounds quickly got onto the scent of a fox, zig-zagging across the river, with the huntsman frantically hunting on and teams of sabs on both sides rating and covering scent trails. After looping the woods several times, the hounds lost the scent and sabs watched their quarry run to safety, fouling the line of scent as huntsman finally left the wood via Higher Braundsworthy and towards Highweek Wood.
The hounds quickly got onto another line in here, with a fox breaking right in front of sabs and a few members of the hunt support. While the support cackled with glee, quick work from sabs kept the hounds from fixing the line. The huntsman continued to draw in this area, constantly encouraging the slightest squeal from his pack by hunting on, desperate to kill at his closing meet. He completely lost control of his hounds as they eventually got onto a line in the direction of Forda Farm.
After about an hour of searching, the huntsman finally gathered his pack and took them back to Highweek Wood, coming out at Black Torrington and continuing east towards Bridge farm. Here, hounds got on a line again, though as weather conditions deteriorated they found it harder and harder to fix on the scent. Finally the damp huntsman and a handful of die-hards gathered hounds and ended their season in a ramshackle tin shed at Bridge Farm.
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