On Saturday we teamed up with sabs from lots of other groups to oppose the closing meet of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds at Cussacombe Gate on Exmoor.
The hunt covered many miles across open moorland and farmland around Molland and Twitchen. Several groups of deer were hunted and in addition to the stag who was killed at the end of the day, we believe at least two others were separated from the herd at one point and hunted for some time before being left or lost.
Early in the day one hunt idiot came over to film and rant at us about drone laws. Obviously this lot make up the law as they go along, but it’s the certainty with which they insist it’s “definitely illegal” to do whatever THEY basically don’t like is quite staggering. Whether that’s drone laws, laws around filming without permission, or laws relating to the highway – all of which are pretty easy to Google! When this particular numpty was reminded it might also be worth looking in the mirror before accusing others of lawbreaking, he became very defensive. “It’s perfectly legal to use two hounds to flush a stag to guns!”, he insisted.
The Hunting Act allows for a stag to be flushed by two dogs to a waiting gun, provided that the stag is shot immediately upon being flushed. This is not what staghunts do and not what we witnessed on Saturday. Instead, they used dogs, quadbikes and riders to terrorise a group of deer and gradually break off the young stag they eventually went on to kill. That stag was then chased through woods, across fields and open moorland for hours, covering many miles in hot conditions, until he was completely exhausted and could no longer run. It went on for so long they had to keep swapping out the hounds for fresh ones to carry on the chase. This is traditional staghunting, not the ‘flushing-out exemption’. And it continues to happen across Devon and Somerset because those tasked with enforcing the law (Devon and Cornwall Police and Avon and Somerset Police) turn a blind eye and give these organised criminals free rein.
After being chased to complete exhaustion, the stag stopped running shortly before 5pm. He went into the river west of Twitchen, near Ball Bottom Bridge, and turned to face the cowardly gunman. Hundreds of hunt support vehicles and riders had caused traffic on the surrounding roads to come to a complete halt, as they were all desperately rushing to get to the kill. They were grinning and visibly dribbling with excitement over the impending death of this majestic animal. Sean Kellaway, a relation of Norman Kellaway who shot another stag in front of one of our sabs last season, raised his gun and shot the stag in the head. Two brave sabs from North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs and Bath Hunt Saboteurs were at the scene and did what they could to try and prevent this but the hunt were determined to have their kill. As the gunshot rang out along the valley, hunt supporters shouted and cheered…
Staghunting is a bloodsport for the most depraved kind of people. These are people who can think of nothing better to do on a sunny Saturday than pay for the privilege of driving around the lanes to catch a glimpse of a wild animal running for their life… They are the same people who also attend our local foxhounds during the season and in that context always insist that it’s nothing to do with bloodthirst and that they’re not even hunting a wild animal but rather a bit of scent on a rag! They are also the same people who are desperately trying to regain control of the narrative around hunting in the lead-up to the General Election to make it sound like it’s all about ‘pest control’ and nothing at all to do with the sporting enjoyment of chasing animals to their deaths. Habitual gaslighters. The footage captured on Saturday shows them for exactly what they are: bloodthirsty psychopaths.
This stag did not need to suffer and die. It’s time to enforce and strengthen the Hunting Act.
Thanks to sabs from all the other groups who were in attendance on Saturday and to the Hunt Saboteurs Association for supporting them:
Mendip Hunt Sabs
North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs
Somerset Sabs
Staffordshire Hunt Sabs
Bath Hunt Saboteurs
Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs
Manchester Hunt Sabs
Plymouth & West Devon Hunt Sabs
East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs
Herefordshire Hunt Saboteurs
Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs
Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs
Brighton Hunt Saboteurs
East Surrey Hunt Saboteurs
Wildlife Guardian
Wildlife Crime Action
Thank you especially to our friends Plymouth and West Devon Sabs who we hitched a lift with for the day!
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