Two Counties Hunt Sabs have published gruesome footage from the Seavington Hunt's opening meet, which took place on 26 October. The video shows a fox being caught by hounds and torn up, while the huntsman watches closely. A rider then throws the fox's body into a nearby stream.
"Sadly, sabs were not able to save this poor fox that was savagely hunted and torn apart by hounds, all while Huntsman Duncan Cinnamond looks on and does absolutely NOTHING to stop them.
A few moments later, you can see a rider picking up the remains of the fox and throwing it into a stream without an ounce of shame or compassion for the life just taken. Sabs did hurry to the scene, but were unable to recover the remains of the fox."
Vodka company's links to the kill
Two Counties Sabs recorded the pin location of the kill, and reported that it took place at Childhay Manor, home of Black Cow Vodka. A brand that states that it is "proudly from West Dorset", it runs distillery tours for the public at this location. Black Cow Vodka is sold at big retailers like Sainsbury's, Morrisons, M&S and Oddbins. Protect the Wild is sure that its consumers will be disgusted when they learn that the same land is used by the Seavington Hunt to tear up foxes.
The police need to take urgent action
Protect the Wild spoke to a Two Counties saboteur who was on the ground at the weekend. He said that having witnessed the incident, the group is traumatised, and that he hasn't been able to sleep since.
The sab told us:
"There's no such thing as a laying a trail. All the hunts are exactly the same in Devon and Somerset. The huntsman was so blatant, he didn't even care: he just carried on hunting."
He told us that the group called Dorset Police (the incident happened just over the border from Somerset, in the village of Drimpton). The force took a reference number but didn't attend the scene, nor has it contacted anyone from the group since.
The sab continued:
"The police need to up their ante now and start prosecuting these idiots. I have been a sab for 34 years and what we are seeing is no different to the 90s, before the Hunting Act came in. The only difference is that the Seavington don't have terrier thugs with them.
The police never come out ever, even when we're threatened. The Cattistock Hunt boys, for example, are nasty, block cameras, drive at us on quads, and the police do nothing."
Police inaction around fox hunting is all too common, and is something Protect the Wild has written extensively about. On 25 October, the Hunt Saboteurs Association reported that Devon and Cornwall Police has dropped an investigation into the Axe Vale Harriers. Hunt saboteurs caught and filmed terriermen digging out a badger sett to get to a fox, who had hidden underground from the hunt. The footage showed the injured fox escaping. The case was dropped due to supposed "insufficient evidence". Devon County Sabs said:
"We regularly have to contend with police bias, obstruction and lack of knowledge of even the basic aspects of the relevant legislation. This is shocking for a police force that is also home to the national policing lead on hunting (Matt Longman)."
Seavington Hunt March 2022. ITV News.
No stranger to news headlines
Meanwhile, the Seavington Hunt, whose hounds are kenneled near Ilminster, is rarely far from controversy. In August 2022, ITV Newsbroadcast footage showing what appeared to be a bagged fox being released by the hunt. The video showed a group of terriermen pulling a bag from a quad bike before dumping an animal, who was trapped inside, onto the ground. Huntsman Benedict Hood is then seen encouraging a nearby pack of foxhounds to chase the animal.
It is clear that police inaction allows the Seavington to continue to commit the most heinous acts of animal cruelty year after year.
Dorset Police needs to do better than its friends at Devon and Cornwall Police. If it wants the public to have any faith at all in its policing, the force must arrest Seavington Hunt members, and the CPS must urgently prosecute this latest incident.
Two Counties Hunt Sabs understandably say they have been left traumatised by this awful crime. Their footage has enabled us all - once again - to see the true face of fox hunting, but being in the field witnessing hunts breaking the law and killing wild animals comes at a heavy emotional cost. We can all show Two Counties Hunt Sabs our support by donating to them here.
