Torrington Farmers Hunt and Eggesford Hunt, 06.11.2021.

This Saturday our tip-off line was ringing off the hook with opening meets. We were on our way to the Eggesford Opening Meet at Crooke Burnell but at the entrance to the farm track we were waved down by a member of the hunt who told us where the Torrington were meeting. As Torrington killed several foxes in front of us last week, we changed plans and went to catch up with them.

Torrington met at Oak Farm a minute north of Uppacott nature reserve near Tawstock. Sabs’ first encounter with huntsman saw hounds in cry near Charlacott Cross by Collabear and a fox bursting from a hedge in front of hounds. Quick action by sabs covering the line with citronella and rating hounds away from the hedge ensured that fox could run to safety.

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Torrington Farmers Hunt, Hildrew, Barnstaple, 30.10.2021

On Saturday we visited the opening meet of the Torrington Farmers hunt at Hildrew near Barnstaple. Support were already drunk at 11am and as excited as ever to stick cameras in our faces and accuse us of carrying bottles of acid.

Huntsman Steve Craddock began the day by heading East from the meet, towards the A377, a railway line and the overflowing River Taw, quickly losing a hound on the busy A road.

He then went south past Swanmoor and Langham Lake with hounds in cry around Higher Birbrook. Sabs saw a fox break and ran in to cover the scent with citronella and were in position to send the hounds back. Fortunately the hounds lost the scent and hunted the heel line while Craddock tried and failed to gather them back (which was a running theme of the day).

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Courtenay Tracy Minkhounds, Wellow Brook, Bath, 21.06.2021

DCHS joined sabs from Severn Vale Hunt Saboteurs Bristol Hunt Saboteurs Bath Hunt Saboteurs Mendip Hunt Sabs Wiltshire Hunt Sabs and Weymouth Animal Rights on Saturday to help sab the Courtenay Tracy Minkhounds just outside of Bath on the Wellow Brook.

With sabs outnumbering the hunt for once they quickly pulled their hounds out of the river and sabs and hunt scum had a long stand off during which the huntsman’s daughter screamed for England and wet herself. This is their response when denied a day of vicious animal abuse.

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Cotley Hunt, Higher Lodge Farm, Axminster, 02.01.2021

TRAIL HUNT LIES AND CORRUPT POLICE

On Saturday we decided to pay a visit to the Cotley Hunt who met at Higher Lodge Farm near Axminster. This is the same area where we know they killed a fox a few seasons ago.

The hunt started the day in the valley between Old Lodge and Cuthays. Cotley are one of the few hunts we know who bother to try and create a trail hunting smokescreen by employing a ‘trail layer’. Sabs spoke to him at the meet and he told us that he had no specific route, and that the huntsman didn’t know where he planned to go.

Just pretend for a moment that we believe trail hunting exists. The trail layer would head off from the meet and the huntsman should put hounds on his line. The hunts would have us believe that trail fluid and fox scent is indistinguishable to hounds (which is why sometimes they “accidentally” kill foxes), so if the intention is to hunt the trail (and not one of the many live foxes in the area), the huntsman would surely need to know the initial direction of the trail. Needless to say, the hunt did not set off in the same direction as the trail layer.

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Dart Vale, South Pool and Modbury Harriers, Coleridge Farm, Chillington, 01.01.2021

On New Year’s Day we sabbed the DVSPMH at their usual New Year’s meet at Coleridge Farm just north of Chillington. The hunt started the day by drawing the large valley at Battle Ford.

Sabs saw a fox breaking north out of the valley almost immediately and were on hand to sprint across and cover the scent before hounds could get on to it. While the hounds were still drawing the valley, another fox was seen heading north from Lower Coltscombe with hounds close behind. Fortunately sabs were again well positioned to cover the scent. As hounds approached, sabs rated them back onto the heel line (ie the opposite direction of the fox). These foxes thankfully made it to safety.

Shorty afterwards, yet another fox was seen running for its life at Water Gate while hounds were busy terrifying a herd of sheep.

The hunt then turned around to hunt both sides of the valley. A fourth fox broke right in front of sabs on the south side of the valley near Darnacombe Farm. Sabs were once again able to cover scent while the pack of 30 hounds rioted through locals’ gardens in Start. One landowner became particularly angry as huntsman Reubo blatantly gathered hounds straight through his garden.

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Eggesford Hunt, Down St Mary, 31.12.2020

EGGESFORD HUNT ATTACK CAT, DAMAGE PROPERTY AND STAB SAB’S TYRE

Most of our sabs were at work today, but when we heard the Eggesford and some of their cronies from the Lamerton Hunt were causing havoc in people’s gardens on the edge of Down St Mary at their traditional Zeal Monachorum New Year’s meet, we mobilised a small team of sabs to head out at short notice.

Within a couple of hours of leaving their meet, Eggesford’s hounds had invaded several gardens on the edge of the village and attacked a cat. One landowner came outside to find hounds streaming into his yard in cry, causing damage to his hedge, his gate and one of his parked cars. Then he noticed that one of the hounds had his cat in its mouth! Quick action from the landowner saved his cat’s life, and it does not bear thinking about what would have happened if he had not been there… After all, it’s only a few days on since the High Peak Hunt killed someone else’s cat.

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Lamerton Hunt, Nethercott, Broadwoodwidger, 29.12.2020

We paid a return visit to the Lamerton Hunt, who met at Nethercott, north of Broadwoodwidger. This is a farm owned by a man who tried to steal the keys from one of our vehicles a little while ago and assaulted several of our sabs in the process.

The weather was pretty horrendous and the hunt were only able to muster a field of about 5 riders, who spent the entire day on the road, as the surrounding fields were so waterlogged. The day began in the valley east of the meet. Hounds were heard in cry and sabs found them beside a large badger sett by Shallaford. Terriermen Steve and Wayne arrived and made idiots of themselves trying to escort sabs from the land.

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Eggesford Hunt, Oaklands, Okehampton, 26.12.2020

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.

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Eggesford Hunt, North Tawton, 22.12.2020

The following day, the Eggesford Hunt returned to North Tawton again, this time meeting a little later. They set off from Ashridge, heading west along the valley north of Ashridge Court, where hounds were heard briefly speaking. The pack became split, with some of the newer intake of hounds getting lost around Westworthy while the rest carried on through Rook Wood and into Western Copse, south of Bondleigh. With little intervention from huntsman Jason Marles, the pack split once more.

Some hounds ran south in direction of the Devonshire Heartland Way and ended up on a line in fields east of Yeo. Foot sabs rated them off and called those hounds up out of the valley. When Jason eventually managed to gather his pack, he took them back through Ashridge and on past Staddon Moor Cross into fields around Staddon Farm. Then back into Ashridge and west yet again towards Western Copse, where hounds chased a terrified deer across the road and were stopped in their tracks by sabs.

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