Leaked messages reveal foxhound deaths and public health risk in hunt kennels

Hunt’s claim to "love their hounds" — but newly leaked messages between hunt-supporting vets reveal a very different story.

Photographs and leaked messages obtained by Protect the Wild and the Hunt Saboteurs Association reveal the sickening, dangerous conditions foxhounds are subjected to inside UK hunt kennels. In a private Facebook group for pro-hunt vets, a conversation unfolded about a catastrophic outbreak at the Grove and Rufford Hunt — a hunt regularly sabbed by Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs.

Five hounds were dead within days. Over half of the 70-strong pack fell dangerously ill.The suspected cause? Streptococcus zooepidemicus — a highly contagious pathogen that can spread from dog to human and cause internal haemorrhaging. Let that sink in.

This wasn’t a freak accident. This disturbing evidence sheds light on a much deeper, long-running welfare concern inside UK hunt kennels — one defined by a pattern of suffering that can no longer be ignored, enough is enough.

Sadly, a deceased Grove and Rufford Hunt hound with clear signs of internal haemorrhaging.

“Hounds are likely to be dead…before results”

The vet who raised the alarm had no clear diagnosis and was appealing to others for help. Their colleagues described equally grim experiences: hounds dying from botulism after being fed contaminated fallen stock (farmed animals that have died from undiagnosed diseases), outbreaks of equine influenza, and seizures triggered by the use of off-license medications not intended for dogs.

Even more alarmingly, possible causes floated included Anthrax, TB, and bird flu — all of which pose significant public health risks.

Rather than offer constructive advice, one vet — reportedly an emergency critical care professional — used the thread to suggest antis might have poisoned the hounds. This deflection, rooted in pro-hunt bias, completely ignored the animals’ suffering and deflected from the clear signs of mismanagement within the kennels themselves.

Screen shots of the original facebook thread.

Hidden outbreaks, silenced suffering

This is not an isolated incident. These messages shine a spotlight on widespread, long-standing failures in how hunt kennels operate — and how little regulation there is as well as the little value placed on the lives of hounds.

Let’s be absolutely clear: if five pet dogs died suddenly and dozens more were left critically ill, there would be national outrage. But when it happens in a hunt kennel? Silence. No investigation. No headlines. No consequences.

Perhaps most shocking is the confirmation that hunts do not vaccinate hounds against kennel cough — a basic safeguard that any responsible dog owner, rescue or boarding facility would consider essential. Saboteurs and monitors have long reported sudden, unexplained pauses in hunt activity, often lasting weeks, which coincide with entire packs falling ill. These quiet periods are rarely acknowledged publicly, but those familiar with the hunts understand them as symptoms of widespread illness ripping through poorly managed kennels.

The plea and original post done by the Grove and Rufford vet asking for help.

Disease ticking time bombs

The risk doesn’t end with the hounds. Hunt kennels are potential biosecurity hazards, spreading disease far beyond their walls.

Most hunts still feed hounds raw meat from fallen stock or meat unfit for human consumption — a major vector for bacterial and viral transmission when handled incorrectly. Combined with crowded kennels and no third party authority to regulate what occurs in them, it’s a perfect storm for infectious outbreaks that not only risk the hounds, but public health too.

Then the hounds travel. Across counties. Across the country. Fouling as they go. Each movement risks spreading disease to livestock, pets, and people. In a post-COVID world, the idea of zoonotic diseases jumping from hounds to humans is not far-fetched — it’s a real, recognised threat. It is worrying that some councils across the country still allow boxing day parades, which could put members of the public at risk.

Critically ill Grove and Rufford Hunt hound.

Beaten, shot in the head and discarded like objects. This is the foxhounds reality.

At the heart of this scandal lies a grim truth: foxhounds are not treated as companions, but as disposable tools. When they become ill, injured, or no longer "useful", they are shot in the head — without anaesthetic. When they do not do what hunt staff want they are beaten. It’s a brutal reality that would horrify any ordinary pet owner.

This isn’t tradition. It’s industrial-scale cruelty dressed up as heritage.

The suffering of foxhounds is no longer something that can be ignored. For the sake of animal welfare, public health, and basic decency, we must demand action from MP’s. It’s time to ask them to commit parliamentary time to a proper, enforceable ban on hunting. No more loopholes. No more excuses. Sign our MP petition.

This is not just about animal cruelty — it's about protecting our countryside, our communities, and our conscience.

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