Mid June fox hunting update: Warwickshire police double-down on campaign of secrecy and more

Warwickshire Police are continuing their campaign of secrecy over their close relationship with the Warwickshire Hunt. They recently refused to disclose correspondence and minutes of meetings between themselves and the Hunt.

In other news, Somerset huntsman Guy Landau pleaded guilty to a breach of the Hunting Act at East Huntspill in Somerset in October 2024. Landau's is the latest in a long line of guilty pleas for hunting-related offences.

Finally, the Hound Sports Regulation Authority has published its tokenistic assessment of the behaviour of the notoriously violent and lawless Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) hunt. The Hunt has been placed under "enhanced regulatory oversight" until May 2026.

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Warwickshire Police refuse to disclose documents about their relationship with the Warwickshire Hunt

Protect the Wild has been contacted by a member of the public who made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Warwickshire Police (WP) requesting correspondence and minutes of meetings between themselves and the Warwickshire Hunt (WH). WP refused to disclose the information, illustrating that the force is maintaining a wall of silence over its relationship with the Hunt.

The constabulary's leadership have remained tight-lipped ever since the public found out about the existence of a secret protocol between the Hunt and the force. The protocol was in existence during the 2023/4 hunting season and included an agreement that WP would let the Hunt know if officers were planning to attend a hunt meet, tantamount to a promise that the cops would call up a burglar before coming to the scene of the crime. The protocol was agreed at the same time as an application for a Community Protection Notice (CPN) against the WH was quietly shelved. The force later admitted that the CPN proceedings were discontinued following the agreement made behind closed doors by WP and WH. To read more about Warwickshire Police's secret protocol click here.

There has been a concerted campaign by West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs (WMHS) and others to force WP to disclose the details of the secret agreement. The police finally released the document in March 2025 following mainstream media coverage and a campaign for a public inquiry backed by local Labour MP Matt Western.

Those seeking transparency had successfully dragged the issue into the public eye, despite the best efforts of the Hunt, the police and the pro-hunt Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe, who is a member of the Countryside Alliance hunt-advocacy group. Those members of the public calling for transparency received threats and intimidation, including criminal damage to Western's property.

Warwickshire Police still refusing transparency

Wildlife defender Teresa Johnston contacted WP on 27 May this year and made an FOI request for correspondence and minutes of meetings between WP and WH. You would have thought that after the years of public calls for accountability from WP they would be keen to prove their stated commitment to "transparency and accountability". However, it seems there are still things that the force is keen to hide.

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, WP were obliged to tell Johnston why they were refusing her request. They said it was because "the requested information contains details and copies of communications between Warwickshire Police and its legal advisor," and it is covered by "litigation privilege" applying to "confidential communications made for the purpose of providing or obtaining legal advice about proposed or contemplated litigation."

Fobbed off

You don't need to think about this rationale too hard before you realise that this is just a legalistic way of fobbing off Johnston. The request was for details of meetings and communications between WP and WH, not for discussions with a legal adviser. The force could easily have redacted any legally privileged material. Instead they chose to refuse the whole request.

The FOI response also shows that WP are concerned about the prospect of facing litigation over their relationship with the Hunt. Let's be honest, they should be worried. WMHS are currently fundraising to obtain legal advice in order to bring a claim against the police. WP have a fight on their hands!

'Fuelling suspicion'

Protect the Wild's Rob Pownall commented on WP's continued culture of secrecy:

"The public has every right to know what conversations are taking place between Warwickshire Police and a hunt with a long history of controversy. By refusing to release these communications, the force is fuelling suspicion and undermining public trust. Transparency should be a given, not something we’re forced to fight for."

The actions of Warwickshire Police show they have no intention of being truly transparent or accountable. All the evidence points to the fact that the Force's cosy relationship with the Warwickshire Hunt is continuing. One can only assume that their complicity is backed by the pro-hunt Police and Crime Commissioner too. However, if the past is anything to go by, the people of Warwickshire are not going to let this issue go.

• Read the secret protocol that Warwickshire Police didn't want anyone to see.

• Check out West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs' website, and donate to their legal fund to hold Warwickshire Police to account.

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Somerset huntsman Guy Landau pleads guilty after being filmed hunting a fox cub

Guy Landau, huntsman of the Weston & Banwell Harriers with West Somerset Vale Hunt (WBHWSV), appeared at Taunton Magistrates Court on 19 May, charged with a Hunting Act offence. Landau pleaded guilty, after drone footage from Mendip Hunt Sabs (MHS) and handheld camera footage from Somerset Sabs showing his involvement in "blatant cub hunting" was submitted in evidence against him. He was fined £400 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £160 victim surcharge.

Landau's conviction came less than a week after 18-year-old Tom Martin, a supporter of the Puckeridge with Essex Union Hunt (now the Puckeridge with Essex Hunts) plead guilty to assaulting a member of North London Hunt Saboteurs (NLHS). Guilty pleas for hunting offences certainly seem like they are becoming a more frequent occurrence this year. In total, there have been a massive 18 hunting-related convictions in the first half of 2025.

Sabs are 'first line of defence' for wildlife

Somerset Sabs wrote on their Facebook page:

"Guy has pled guilty to hunting a wild animal with hounds. Thankfully, the fox got away None of this would have been possible without the presence of Hunt Sabs to intervene and police hunt activities. They act as the first line of defence for our wildlife."

According to MHS, the fox "miraculously escaped" from the hounds on this occasion, "following a pursuit in and out of bushes that lasted over fifteen minutes." After breaking cover, the young fox was saved by the intervention of a member of Somerset Sabs, who was able to get in the path of the hounds.

The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) described the evidence against Landau. They wrote:

"Master Huntsman Guy Landau was in charge of the hounds at the time. He was heard encouraging the hounds to continue the chase and did not try to stop them, even when the fox ran directly in front of him multiple times."

Three hunt members escape prosecution

According to the HSA, WBHWSV kennelman Paul Martin, rider Richard Nicholls, and hunt supporter John Churches were not prosecuted, despite being captured on camera pointing out the fox and surrounding a covert to stop the cub from escaping (a practice called 'holding up'). These individuals were pointed out to the police on the footage, but no action was taken against them.

The HSA argue that the investigation against Landau was the final straw for the already beleaguered WBHWSV, who were "rarely amassing more than a handful of riders at the time, marred by infighting, and with the constant presence of sabs". Soon after, the Hunt closed its kennels and announced it was amalgamating with the Taunton Vale Harriers.

It's clear that fox hunting in Somerset is well and truly on the back foot. This is down to the unrelenting efforts by sabs and monitors. Let's hope we see the continued decline of the Somerset hunts next season.

• Somerset Sabs are raising money for a new vehicle. You can donate here.

• Donate to Mendip Hunt Sabs here.

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Hound Sports Regulation Authority gives the BSV a faint slap on the wrist

The Hound Sports Regulation Authority (HSRA), the regulatory arm of the British Hounds Sports Association (BHSA), recently published the results of a disciplinary hearing against the notoriously violent Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) Hunt.

Reading it, you couldn't help the feeling of having slipped into an alternative reality where violence against wildlife defenders and members of the public and blatant disregard for animal protection legislation are passed off as "operational and communication concerns" about the hunt's interactions with the public, landowners and local authorities.

Let's just remind ourselves what triggered this disciplinary, shall we? First off, the BSV shocked prime-time television viewers in 2024 by allowing their hounds to corner and tear up a fox at Pelsham Farm in Dorset. The killing was captured by a North Dorset Hunt Sabs' (NDHS) drone and later released on Channel 4 news.

Members of the BSV Hunt look on as hounds tear up a fox. Drone footage by North Dorset Hunt Sabs Members of the BSV Hunt look on as hounds tear up a fox. Drone footage by North Dorset Hunt Sabs[/caption]

The BHSA suspended the BSV on 24 January 2024, but gave them the go-ahead to resume hunting at the start of the next season. The BSRA's disciplinary panel looked at the conduct of the Hunt both before and after the incident at Pelsham Farm.

Protect the Wild has been monitoring the reports of sabs and monitors closely. So let's take a look at some of the highlights (or lowlights) of what the BSV have been up to during that period. Here's the inglorious timeline:

• On 9 April 2025 four BSV members - Georgie Pierce, Connal McGrath, Freddie Osborne and Andrew Osborne - were convicted under the Hunting Act for illegally killing the fox at Pelsham Farm. They were fined close to £1000 each and ordered to pay court costs.

• Charlie Mayo and Kieron Bashford pleaded guilty to willfully obstructing the highway on 3 March. Mayo is a rider for the BSV, the son of Anthony Mayo who is huntmaster. Bashford is a BSV supporter and occasional terrierman. The two BSV members had tried to block sabs from protecting a fox. Back in 2024, Mayo had been convicted of causing Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) by hitting a sab on the head with his whip.

• In March 2025, a member of the BSV was filmed threatening a council worker with a spade, while causing havoc on the road.

• Dorset Police Rural Crime Team said that it was investigating two reports of illegal hunting by the BSV in February 2025.

• Also in February 2025, police were called after a BSV member on horseback rode into a sab from NDHS while in pursuit of a fox.

• In 2024, Dorset Police arrested two members of the BSV over attacks on sabs from NDHS. One BSV supporter was convicted with assault and theft. The arrests related to an assault on two female sabs by three masked men in October 2023. On that occasion, the women were pushed and shoved and their cameras were stolen. This assault was followed by attacks on the homes and vehicles of several hunt sabs.

• In August 2023 the BSV was filmed allowing its hounds to kill a fox, and then tear up her corpse. BSV members didn’t intervene at any point.

• Also in August 2023, the Hunt was caught blatantly cubbing (trapping and killing young fox cubs).

• In 2020, a monitor from Somerset Wildlife Crime was knocked down by another member of the BSV.

• In 2014, the BSV’s Mark Dogrell trampled hunt saboteur Nid Warren with his horse, leaving her with serious injuries.

A glance at the list above clearly shows that the BSV's behaviour amounts to a bit more than a breakdown of communication with the public! In fact the Hunt is acting like a criminal gang, and the HSRA are intent on glossing it over.

The disciplinary panel did rule that the BSV's behaviour should be put under "enhanced regulatory oversight" for the following 12 months. The panel also "expressed concern" that the BSV's "standards fell short" of meeting the regulatory body's code of conduct. It also set specific conditions relating to communications with the public and the use of terriermen. However, it stopped short of suspending the Hunt, despite their obvious disrespect for the law.

Sabs from NDHS are not holding their breath for any action resulting from the HSRA's monitoring period. They've heard it all before. The group pointed out on Facebook that the HSRA was supposed to be monitoring the Hunt in 2024 after the killing at Pelsham Farm and that they gave the green light for the suspension to be lifted, despite several well-documented incidents of illegal hunting and the BSV generally acting as a menace to the public. They released this video, evidencing several breaches of wildlife protection legislation and causing road havoc during this period:

We know that hunts and hunters will never truly regulate themselves. We need the government to make good on its promise and put in place a real ban on trail hunting.

Check out these links for more information about the Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt:

• Protect the Wild: Police ‘investigating’ more illegal hunting by Dorset’s notorious BSV hunt (February 2025)

• Protect the Wild: Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt ends 2024 with four days of carnage (January 2025)

• Protect the Wild: Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hounds tear up fox in residential garden (November 2024)

• North Dorset Hunt Sabs: 𝐁𝐒𝐕 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐛 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 (Facebook, October 2024)

• Protect the Wild: Men from Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt charged with illegal hunting (June 2024)

• Protect the Wild: Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hunter guilty of ABH (April 2024)

• Horse and Hound Forum: Yet again the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt bringing hunting into disrepute (March 2019)

And don’t forget to support the groups who are protecting our wildlife against the BSV:

• Support the work of North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, and check out their Facebook page here.

• Protect the Wild has supported several groups to keep exposing the BSV through our Equipment Fund. Check out our fund’s page here.

Image of fox cubs via Cindie Hansen on Unsplash