Double the airtime and added personal protection!

Drone batteries and a bodycam to Locals Against the BSV

A few weeks ago we received a request from a member of Locals Against the BSV (the notorious Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt) for equipment which opened with “I don't know if I would qualify as I'm not part of a sab group, but have recently started going out with Dorset Against Blood Sports and North Dorset Hunt Sabs as a drone operator. I recently bought a DJI Air 3, but only have 3 batteries. Would it be possible for a donation to enable me to buy more batteries?”

We’re reprinting that because a) we really dislike the BSV, a criminal and highly-entitled hunt castigated after Channel 4 broadcast drone footage of them killing a fox and which we have featured many times on Protect the Wild (eg here) and in our campaign against the Newt in Somerset Hotel, and b) because we (and we think our supporters) recognise the huge contribution that individual volunteers - most of whom we know for a fact cover most expenses from their own pockets - make to monitoring and sabbing. Especially when they are working alongside other groups who typically might largely operate in a different part of the country or focus on different hunts. (In other words, yes, you qualify - and that’s a hint for other individuals to not be shy and to mail us if they think they meet our Equipment Fund criteria!)

While we check all requests anyway of course, it helped that we knew the person involved (they have made a number of very useful suggestions for our bloodbusiness.info website and helped us with articles in the past). We soon had the much-needed kit on its way out to them, and are delighted that it was put to use straight away…

“Massive thanks to Protect the Wild for funding the purchase of 3 extra drone batteries and a Boblov body cam. This will double the time that our drone can spend in the air, monitoring our local hunts, the BSV, South Dorset, and Portman. It will also help provide vital body cam footage against the particularly violent BSV, if needed. I had two terrier men pull up next to me when we were sabbing this morning. Knowing they were being filmed would definitely have changed their attitude!

Once again, thank you so much for all you do to help sab and monitor groups do what they do to protect our precious wildlife.”

Those thanks are due not just to Protect the Wild, but our supporters of course. YOU make the Support Network and the Equipment Fund possible through paid subscriptions here on Substack.

While our content will always be free (that’s a promise we will never go back on), all paid subs are put into a ‘pot’ that we use to supplement funding to buy equipment like these batteries and bodycam, like camcorders, trail cams, and even make grants towards drones.

This year alone we have provided groups with just over £13,000 worth of funding!

You are helping us make a huge difference where it counts - in the field, protecting animals, every day. Thank you.

• Find out more about Locals against the BSV via their Facebook page.

You can support our equipment fund here and help us provide more equipment to those in the field!