GUILTY: Ex-South Dorset huntsman convicted of racially/religiously aggravated harassment

Josh Tierney convicted of homophobic and xenophobic incident against a sab

On 24 July yet another hunter was convicted in court. Ex-South Dorset huntsman Josh Tierney was found guilty after harassing a hunt saboteur.

Weymouth Animal Rights wrote:

"Josh Tierney was found guilty of causing racially/religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress following a homophobic and xenophobic incident against one of our sabs."

The South Dorset Hunt is notorious for violence against saboteurs and monitors. It is, therefore, unsurprising that Tierney is capable of such disgusting harassment - after all, it is on form for such a disgraceful hunt.

In December 2022, the hunt's supporters carried out a number of acts of extreme violence, including:

• On 20 December, a 77-year-old hunt monitor from Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) was beaten round the head with an iron bar by SDH supporters as he monitored the hunt.

• On 26 December, hunt saboteurs woke up to find 17 of their vehicles’ tyres were slashed, in an attempt to stop them from sabbing the notorious Boxing Day meet.

• On 12 January, an independent monitor in his seventies was badly bruised when he was hit with metal shot at him from a catapult by a hunt supporter. And on the same day, in another disgusting and disgraceful incident, SDH supporters threw two murdered foxes into a hunt saboteur’s garden.

A new hunt for Tierney

Tierney left the South Dorset Hunt at the end of the 2023/24 season, and is now the huntsman at Taunton Vale Foxhounds (having had previous stints at the Od Berks Hunt and the Puckeridge). His new hunt will no doubt be unhappy that its star man has been convicted before the season has even begun.

Taunton Vale's previous huntsman was filmed by sabs in March 2024 as the hunt - along with the East Cornwall Hunt - dug out a badger sett on SSSI land in the Bodmin area. During that incident, sabs and police recovered nets that were used by the hunters.

Footage of such illegalities - as well Tierney's conviction as a xenophobe - could mean that the Taunton Vale's supporters begin to distance themselves as it goes into the 2024/25 season.

Yet another harassment conviction

Predictably, racist, xenophobic or homophobic abuse towards monitors or saboteurs is not uncommon within the hunting industry.

The news of Tierney's conviction comes just days after a Wynnstay Hunt security man was convicted of racial abuse. Anthony Williams was one of the Wynnstay’s hired thugs on 6 January 2024. Cheshire Hunt Saboteurs reported that Williams acted like the Incredible Hulk. He jumped out of his car, shouting “f*ck off” repeatedly at sabs. He then said to one sab, “you do not belong in this country.”

After he pleaded guilty, Cheshire Hunt Saboteurs wrote:

“It’s not the first time that this hunt and it’s security guys have said racist sentences against us. This time as witnesses there were our sab, and also a police officer who was present when the racist abuse occurred. Everything was in the police officer’s camera footage.”

In February 2023, another man – also associated with the Wynnstay Hunt – found himself in court. Ian Jones harassed Cheshire Borderland Monitors member Lesley. Jones continually got in the monitor’s face, performing the Nazi salute repeatedly. He said:

“The Fourth Reich according to Lesley. You will not hunt, you will not live, we will gas you all.”

And on 17 December 2022, North London Hunt Sabs filmed two hunts - the Puckeridge Hunt and the Essex with Farmers and Union Hunt (which have since merged to become one hunt) as they were coming out of the Rose and Crown pub in Ashdon, Essex. Footage showed hunt staff racially abusing a saboteur of colour. One man attempted to impersonate an accent, shouting “roll another spliff”, while the Puckeridge hunt master asked the sab if “there is a zoo around here”. At the time, North London Hunt Sabs reported that:

“A frustrated member of the Essex Farmers, George Smith, took it upon himself to assault one of our group and steal a camera. Happily for us, another camera caught the assault. Just as happily for us, the disgusting racist abuse dished out by this hunt was also caught on camera.”

2024/25 season

The last couple of years have seen the country's police forces finally pulling their fingers out a bit more and charging hunters, either under the Hunting Act, or for the disgusting harassment and violence mentioned in this article.

The 2024/25 season - which will begin with the ripping up of small fox cubs - is just days away. Hunt saboteurs' and monitors' eyes on the ground go from strength to strength, so we will likely see more charges and convictions in the coming year. Meanwhile, if Labour keeps its word, a stronger hunting ban is on the horizon, meaning that 2024/25 could be the last season where hunts get away with murder with such impunity.

Join us in our campaign to persuade the Labour government that strengthening the Hunting Act is not enough. We are calling on it to do something far more radical than just altering the existing legislation. We argue that Labour should bring in a new law that would effectively ban hunting with dogs forever. To read our proposal for a proper hunting ban, click here.

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