'SMOKESCREEN SATURDAY': the sham that is 'national trail hunting day'

The British Hound Sports Association wants 'to change minds'...

The hunting industry's Big Day is approaching: the moment when it desperately tries to convince the Labour government that it isn't breaking the law - despite 20 years of evidence showing otherwise.

The National Trail Hunting Day - dubbed 'Smokescreen Saturday' by hunt saboteurs and monitors - will take place on 14 September. The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has deemed it "the day we begin to change minds..." Quite how it can erase two decades of murderous footage from our collective memory is a mystery.

Since it became apparent that Labour would get into power, the hunting industry has been working in overdrive, terrified that its days of tearing up foxes and other animals are numbered. Before it won the election, Labour vowed to ban hunting by tightening the Hunting Act and getting rid of the trail hunting loophole.

In the 20 years since the Hunting Act came in, the majority of hunts have basically ignored the law and continued to hunt wildlife. On the rare times that the police have investigated them, hunts have said that they've followed a pre-laid scent trail - when they have done no such thing - and that any kills have been purely accidental. In 2023, with some police forces beginning to take illegal hunting more seriously, a very small number of hunts changed tactics and did actually start to lay occasional trails. In a previous article, we explained how politicians and police alike shouldn't be fooled: this is still a guise to get away with real hunting.

Now the BHSA has organised for hunts across the country to demonstrate how they they lay trails. This could be a challenge to many - after all, most of them have never bothered to trail hunt until now!

The day has been organised by one of hunting's most notorious criminals, Julian Barnfield. On top of this, the event's press contact Tom Lyle is due to appear in court on 16 September for hunting a fox cub:

Below, we look into some of the hunts who are hosting this absolute charade, and show what a farce this day will be.

Heythrop Hunt

The infamous Heythrop Hunt is hosting the Gloucestershire demonstration, along with the North Cotswold Hunt. Its huntsman is repeat offender Chris Woodward. Prior to joining the Heythrop, he was huntsman for the Wynnstay, where he was caught numerous times hunting foxes, harassing hunt monitors, and blocking badger setts. He has found himself in court numerous times, and at the end of 2023 was found guilty of illegal hunting.

In 2012, the hunt pleaded guilty as a corporate body to four charges of hunting a fox in the Cotswolds, while ex-huntsman Julian Barnfield and ex-hunt master Richard Sumner also pleaded guilty to the same charges. The hunt and the individuals were all fined. This led to the National Trust banning the Heythrop from hunting, long before major landowners banned so-called ‘trail hunting’ on their land.

Criminal hunter Barnfield is now a BHSA spokesperson. As executive director, he is a key organiser of the trail hunting day. Barnfield likes to stand side by side with other criminal hunters. He accompanied Ollie Finnegan to court when he was convicted of illegal hunting last month. And a month prior to this, he attended court again, only to witness four convictions of illegal hunting against West Norfolk Foxhounds.

Julian Barnfield (right) accompanies fellow criminal hunter Ollie Finnegan to court. Photo by Cheshire Against Blood Sports

West Norfolk Foxhounds

The West Norfolk Foxhounds is hosting the event in its county. Its huntsman Edward “Mikey” Bell and whipper-in Andrew Egginton were convicted in July of illegal hunting, relating to two incidents. Footage of one kill made national news headlines after the hunt's hounds ran into a residential garden, cornered a fox, then tore up the poor animal on the patio.

In December 2023, Norfolk Police issued Bell with a Community Resolution Order for using intimidating behaviour towards a hunt saboteur, after he threatened to kill the sab.

Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt Saboteurs told Protect the Wild:

"For more than a decade now we have consistently observed the West Norfolk Foxhounds hunting with no regard for the law. Their record for pollution, vandalism, violence and animal cruelty is extensive and stretches across their entire hunt from directors and masters to hunt staff and terriermen. No matter who has been running the show we have evidence of them breaking the law and hunting foxes.

More recently they were found guilty of four counts of illegally hunting and killing foxes after a high profile case that sparked national outrage. Despite this, they are set to host the BHSA’s day of demonstrating hunting within the law - as it should have been done for the last 20 years - something we have yet to see them do. We understand this demonstration is to take place in one small area on Massingham Heath and only last a short time, which bears no resemblance whatsoever to the full days of chasing foxes over many miles we’ve recorded them doing."

West Norfolk Foxhounds kill a fox on a family's patio. Hunters in the background do nothing to intervene. Screenshot via ITV News

Essex and Suffolk Hunt

The Essex and Suffolk Hunt is hosting the event in its area, despite being notorious for chasing foxes. Protect the Wild's Glen Black, author of our annual A Case For A Proper Ban on Hunting report, recorded that the hunt chased at least 14 foxes last season. Its hounds also attacked a domestic dog, and they also ran riot in a residential garden, chasing cats and chickens.

In January, the hunt's whipper-in, Jamie Price, along with huntsman Jack Henty, were arrested and charged with illegal hunting on two separate occasions, with one of these incidents resulting in a kill. That time, the whipper-in got off his horse, picked up the fox and ran up the road with her. The two will appear in court on 12 March 2025.

On 24 February 2025, Sam Staniland, ex-huntsman for the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, will appear in court, accused of a massive six charges under the Animal Welfare Act. The hunter pleaded not guilty to all six charges. The charges related to terrier work carried out by Staniland while at the hunt. His phone was seized in January 2023 when his house was raided by police accompanied by the RSPCA.

Hunt members are often violent, too. In June 2024, Robert Cundy, terrierman for the Essex and Suffolk, pleaded guilty to breaking a Community Protection Notice (CPN). The CPN was issued because Cundy continually drove his quad bike at high speed at hunt monitors.

Suffolk Action for Wildlife told Protect the Wild:

"Smokescreen Saturday is very much like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted...

So many hunts, like the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, have been showing off their cubbing 'skills' right up to a few days before Saturday 14 September. Trying to show off 'trail hunting' this Saturday will be 20 years too late to persuade anyone that they are a legal hunt. We don't think the Essex and Suffolk can even follow a trail - they certainly haven’t had much practice. Only a few meets into the season and we have footage of illegal hunting currently being assessed by the police. We all know the truth, a publicity day is not going to convince anyone."

Essex and Suffolk Hunt whipper-in Jamie Price faces criminal charges. Photo via SAFW

Cottesmore Hunt

The Cottesmore is one of the UK's most violent hunts. At the beginning of 2024, the hunt’s masked thugs relentlessly targeted saboteurs who tried to prevent them from chasing and killing foxes.

Meanwhile, huntsman Sam Jones was charged with assault after he trampled a hunt saboteur with his horse in February 2023. He was, unbelievably, found not guilty in November 2023.

Protect the Wild's Glen Black has recorded that there were at least eight incidents of foxes chased during the 2023/24 season, while hunt saboteurs witnessed the hounds killing a hare in November 2023, as well as rioting on other wildlife on other occasions.

Northants Hunt Saboteurs recently released a video in the run-up to Smokescreen Saturday, showing the Cottesmore illegally hunting. The sabs explained:

"In this footage huntsman of the Cottesmore, Sam Jones, was asked repeatedly to call his hounds off and stop searching for the fox they had just chased. His reply when being asked to stop for a chat with the sab who had just filmed his hounds chasing the fox was 'Why would I want to talk to you, you f**king idiot?'"

Cottesmore Hunt thugs attack hunt sabs. Screenshot from a video by Northants Hunt Sabs

Politicians won't be fooled

The BHSA will, no doubt, be inviting politicians, journalists and police officers to the charade that will take place this Saturday. It is so blatant an attempt to hoodwink all of them that it seems very unlikely that politicians - who will have the power to ban hunting if Labour keeps its manifesto promise - will be taken in by the hunting industry's lies.

Front-line activists certainly won't be, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs has called the event "an embarrassing little display" and has stated: "Hopefully all will treat it with the contempt deserved."

Westminster MPs would do well to follow MSPs in Holyrood, who introduced a brand new law - the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act - banning hunting in Scotland. The law pre-emptively banned trail hunting after Scottish MPs saw how the loophole was being exploited over the border in England.

• 'Smokescreen Saturday' will be a sham, and we urge the Labour government to scrap the Hunting Act 2004 completely and replace it with a watertight law that would end hunting with dogs for good in England and Wales. Protect the Wild's Hunting of Mammals Bill aims to consign the hunting of wildlife to the history books.

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