Hunting hounds run rampage in Devon

The Dartmoor Hunt has run rampage, its hounds terrorising animals of Farm & Feral Animal Sanctuary in south Devon. This is, once again, a reminder that the Hunting Act needs replacing with stronger legislation which shuts down fox hunting for good.

The sanctuary's Missy Freeman-Davies reported that the hounds caused havoc as they tore through the land. She continued:

"we are now trying to account for all our residents here.... there was 20 odd dogs running around after our cats and chickens and some even ran into our farm house (no way was this a drag hunt)...."

The sanctuary says it has drone and video evidence of the incident. Missy uploaded footage of an exhausted hunting hound, who had collapsed in the sanctuary's grounds.

She wrote:

"this dog we found in our lane in this condition but we gave her time to rest, the police arrived, found the hunt master, and I was forced to hand her back!"

'Running wild'

Plymouth and West Devon Hunt Sabs wrote about the incident, saying:

"We have had repeated reports from locals about this hunt over the last couple of months and the police have had to send the hunt home a number of times already. Dartmoor Hunt seems to be running wild."

Protect the Wild repeatedly reports on incidents similar to this. Earlier this year, Mendip Farmers Hunt hounds caused chaos as they ran rampage through an animal park in Chew Valley. And every hunting season there are numerous incidents of hounds terrorising domestic pets and trespassing through gardens, while hunts continue to terrify communities with their arrogant untouchability.

One of the most notorious incidents of hunt havoc involved Mini the cat. Mini was murdered by hounds in March 2021 when she was mauled outside her home. Her killing is a prime example of why there has to be a proper ban on hunting: to stop hunts running amok in residential areas and endangering or even killing much loved companion animals.

Hunting of Mammals Bill

Most animal welfare organisations and groups are calling for the Hunting Act to be amended. Protect the Wild goes much further than that, though, arguing that the law needs to be scrapped and replaced with legislation that will shut down hunts for good. We need to do more than allow hunts to continue in a slightly different form – we need to get rid of them altogether.

Our proposed Hunting of Mammals Bill has been written by lawyers at Advocates for Animals. If passed, it would make existing loopholes in the law illegal. There would be no grey areas - if someone is hunting with dogs, they would be breaking the law and would be charged accordingly. Together we can make change happen: please sign our petition calling for a proper ban on hunting here.

Read our opinion piece, 'This is the solution to end fox hunting for good', explaining about our proposed Hunting of Mammals Bill, here.

Follow and support the Farm & Feral Animal Sanctuary, which was affected by the Dartmoor Hunt, here.

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