The Secret Monitor: The Curre and Llangibby Hunt...
The Secret Monitor: The Curre and Llangibby Hunt...
...and their sweary supporters
Damaging stories from inside hunting, shooting, and the badger cull have been circulating for years. Everything from breaking the law to assaults or harassment of monitors and the public and a police force seemingly happy to ‘look the other way’.
But there is always someone watching, always someone listening. The Secret Monitor.
In this post the Secret Monitor is reporting from South Wales where the focus of attention is the Curre and Llangibby Hunt.
Many of us will have seen videos and HIT reports online showing foxes being chased and hunt riders behaving aggressively. What many of us probably don’t hear as much about is the continual lawbreaking by hunt supporters and the relentless harassment and verbal aggression that monitors and sabs face from those supporters every day that they are out trying to stop hunts killing wildlife.
We’ve slightly moderated the captions below the included video stills we’ve posted, but of course we all know what was being said. And we all know how intimidating it is when someone bumps us in the street and swears at us – now imagine that taking place in a remote woodland or a one-track road where there is a very real danger of a serious assault. Not just once, but every single week of the so-called ‘hunting season’…and knowing full well that the possible response from the police will be, “If you weren’t there, it wouldn’t have happened”.
About Us
We are a very small group of independent non-affiliated people, and we monitor the Curre and Llangibby Hunt as it is not very often that they are sabbed. Their hunting grounds are usually East Monmouthshire and their kennels are in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in a village called Itton. They hunt all around Chepstow, Devauden, Shirenewton, Usk, Llansoy, Penhow, Magor, Rogiet etc. As their name implies, they used to be two separate hunts which merged in 2001 (there have been many mergers or hunts folding since then which shows that hunting is a dying “sport”). The Curre and Llangibby hunt mainly foxes but there are small deer around the area too.
Luckily, they are a comparatively small hunt – but make up for lack of size with their aggression.
We have two informants who will let us know if they hear anything useful about the Hunt – mainly where they plan to go hunting – which saves us a lot of time thankfully.
Last season the main monitors were myself and Monitor X, with occasional help from Monitor 3 and Monitor 4. Unfortunately, just after Christmas 2022, Monitor X decided that she couldn’t continue any longer as it was affecting her health both physically and mentally. We’re very determined people but burnout is a real problem for monitors and sabs. We are up early, travel large distances, and see some truly awful things. I tried going out on my own but it’s a fruitless exercise as the Hunt just stop me in my tracks by throwing a coat over my windscreen (see Incident 199 below).
This season I have been fortunate enough to be joined by Monitor 2, who is willing to do all the driving. A wonderful bonus as I hate driving along those one-track country lanes and am not very skilled at reversing!
Monitor 3 has promised to come out occasionally when family commitments allow, and Monitor 4 has said he will come when he is not working. We do not usually encourage men to accompany us as the Hunt think it is fair game to attack men and Monitor 4 has been thumped on occasion and so has another man who came out once and went home with a bloody nose!
As I said, Monitor 4 is still working but I am a retired member of the Medicines Management Team of a large Bristol Hospital. I had 64 patients under my care every day – so quite a responsibility! Before my children were born I worked at Barclays Bank. Monitor 2 is a retired teacher and Monitor 3 has recently retired from a high position within the Government. We really do not fit the profile of the “Great Unwashed” as the Hunt are so fond of calling us.
Early starts
During the cubbing ‘season’ (September and October) the hunt goes out very early in the morning to avoid being seen by Joe Public as cubbing is definitely illegal. This means that we have to be out of bed in the dark at 4.30am to be at the kennels in time to follow them wherever they might go. Our very presence annoys the Hunt, and we can limit their illegal activities to some extent when our cameras are on them.
In particular, we can check that they do not trespass into woods owned by Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Our job of monitoring the Hunt has been made significantly easier since NRW banned all so-called ‘trail hunting’ on the land they manage. This, of course, was in response to the words of the then-Director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, Mark Hankinson, who said that trail hunting was just a smokescreen for foxhunting. Even though he won his appeal against conviction for encouraging illegal fox hunting, there’s no getting away from the fact that he actually said those words. Since then, many landowners have banned them from their land – including the National Trust, the Lake District National Park Authority, and – great news for us – Natural Resources Wales.
Some recent incidents I’ve witnessed involving the Curre and Llangibby Hunt
Incident 205 12th November 2022
We were monitoring the Curre and Llangibby Hunt when one of their thugs threatened me by shouting out that he knew where I lived – and then shouted out my address. We called the police and PC DW came out and took the details. I texted him a photo of said thug and he promised to find out who he was and give him words of warning.
On 25th November I was told that the police had had no luck tracing the man.
On Christmas Eve, we spotted the thug getting into a car so I passed on the registration to PC DW. DW said that his photo did not match details of the owner of the car.
On 10th February 2023, I was informed by the police that this incident was closed. Thanks very much – and no one gave me a victim update at all!
On 21st February 2023, I managed to find out the thug’s name – Adam Alderson (nickname Minty). I passed this on to DW – but still no victim update.
On 20th July 2023, I received an email from DW saying that, yes, the log had indeed been closed but that didn’t mean they weren’t dealing with it – and that it was his intention to speak to Adam Alderson regarding his behaviour and manner towards me.
I found out just this week that he had - good news at last!
Incident 199 26th November 2022
I was out on my own monitoring the hunt. I followed a hunt Land Rover along the B4293 road from Itton to Devauden and beyond. Using my dash cam, I captured the vehicle veering over the white line in the middle of the road 13 times in 7 minutes (see ‘Operation SNAP’ below). They managed to lose me by doing a three-point turn at which point I could see three lads in the cab laughing and jeering at me.
I drove around the Llansoy area and found them in a field about 100 yards down from the Star pub. I pulled off the main road and started to film them, at which point a hunt supporter threw his coat over my windscreen to prevent me from filming. He told me to move on and I replied that I couldn’t move the car because his coat was over my windscreen. I was 69 years old at the time and this was a very frightening experience.
When he eventually removed his coat I drove off up to a lay-by and phoned the police. I gave them the name of the farm but they didn’t say they would attend the scene – they told me to go home and that a police officer would come to my house to have a look at my video of the incident.
PC EC came around the next day. She transferred the video to the police computer and said she would link the two incidents together (205 and 199) as the Hunt was harassing me.
I have never had a victim update about this incident and in February 2023 I was told it was closed.
I complained to the Police Complaints department and their officer, GW said that if I didn’t film the Hunt then they wouldn’t be aggressive to me!
So I next had to complain about the Complaints Department!
Operation SNAP
Operation SNAP is an online “response to increasing submissions of video and photographic evidence relating to driving offences that members of the public have witnessed”. It allows the public to upload incidents of traffic offences which are then assessed by the police.
As mentioned earlier, on 26th November, I followed a hunt Land Rover from Itton through Devauden and beyond. This was on the B4293 main Chepstow to Devauden road. It’s a wide road – a bus route in fact. I was following this vehicle in my own SUV – which is just as large a vehicle. In the space of seven minutes, the Land Rover veered over the white line in the middle of the road THIRTEEN times.
When I got home I uploaded the footage from my dashcam onto the Operation SNAP website. Unfortunately, their website only allowed for two videos to be uploaded. I chose which two to upload and together they showed the vehicle veering over the white line eight times. I was sure the police would prosecute. But NO! Their reply was that the offence would come under the heading “Driving without due care and attention” but in this instance it was not serious enough to take any action!
I contacted their Complaints Department and it was suggested to me that the road in question might be a narrow, country road bordered by stone walls or overhanging trees so the vehicle might have been taking evasive action.
I replied that there are no stone walls along this road nor overhanging trees. It is not a narrow road – it is even on a bus route. In any case, I was in a vehicle of the same size and had no need to take evasive action.
I was still unhappy with their answer so over the following months I emailed everyone I could think of, including Police Complaints, Police Standards Department, and Jeff Cuthbert the Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner. Eventually, in July 2023 another officer from the Complaints Department, AS, contacted me by phone. I asked if two different officers could look at my videos to see if they would think the Land Rover was driving without due care and attention. He informed me that there is no redress in the case of Operation SNAP and that the first and only decision is final. I mentioned that the website would only allow for two of my videos to be uploaded and please could I upload the third? He replied that it was out of the question.
In all my previous correspondence I had not mentioned that it was a Hunt vehicle, but part of me wonders whether the police had traced the registration through DVLA and discovered who it belonged to?
Christmas Eve 2022 Road Blocking
We were out monitoring the huge meet at the Huntsman Hotel, a pub at Shirenewton. There were at least 100 hunt support vehicles parked in and around the pub, along the main B4235 and in and around the village of Shirenewton itself. The disruption caused to ordinary folks trying to pass by was dreadful. It was mayhem!
The B4235 in that area has double white lines up the middle of the road (indicating a hazard ahead – in this case a crossroads) but support vehicles were parked all along it so that traffic had no option but to cross over the double white lines and into the path of oncoming traffic. They were illegally parked at junctions and crossroads too. At one point, a hunt supporter had to direct traffic around the blockages.
We took photos and sent them to the police and to Monmouthshire Highways department.
Rule 240 of The Highway Code says you must not stop or park on “a road marked with double white lines, even when a broken white line is on your side of the road, except to pick up or set down passengers, or to load or unload goods”, and Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states you cannot leave your vehicle on a road in a way that makes it dangerous for other drivers. Police could have taken the drivers to court and they could each have been given a three points penalty.
Later, we also reported that we had seen hounds with blood on their faces. The police said they would attend but, if they came, we didn’t see them – and by the time we left all the traffic had gone too so they only had the photographic evidence which I emailed to them.
I am unaware if the police or the Council acted upon the photographic evidence. Whatever, Christmas was spoilt for us!
Meeting with Rural Crime team 11th July 2023 (Newport Police Head Quarters).
Before the start of the 2023 hunting ‘season’ I requested a meeting at Newport Police HQ as I wanted to know what the Rural Crime Team actually do.
To begin with I was mistaken for a lawyer they were waiting for! I was dressed smartly, wearing pearls and carrying a file – perhaps they were expecting someone dressed all in black and wearing a balaclava?
Nevertheless, I learnt the following:
The Rural Crime “Team” consists of just one man at the moment (DC) as his partner (JH) has been on long-term sick leave. (Sergeant HS sat in on the interview.)
Rural Crime Team have a drone – but they never use it for watching the hunts. It’s more to prevent damage being done to historic buildings. To my mind – historic buildings cannot feel pain and terror! They should use the drone to catch bloodthirsty thugs tearing foxes apart.
I informed them that the Gloucestershire Rural Crime team are much more proactive and are often to be seen watching hunts with their drone.
What we discussed:
I told them about my experience with Operation SNAP but they had replied that it wasn’t bad enough to do anything about.
They said that was a different department from theirs. But they did advise me to phone 999 if I ever see a vehicle being driven in such a manner in future. I said that to do this I would have to use my mobile phone whilst driving and they replied that it would be ok to do that as it was an emergency! So one department says the incident is ‘not serious enough’ to take action, another recommends I use my phone to report an emergency! Is it any wonder the public are confused…
I also asked them why I had no victim updates on incidents in the past where hunt thugs had threatened me. They promised to look into this – but again nothing ever came of it.
I asked if they knew the difference between cub hunting and hunting in the main season. DC said he did. I mentioned that Chief Superintendent Matt Longman has said that the hunting act is not working and that illegal hunting is still taking place. The police know that trail hunting is a smokescreen and it’s difficult to police – so why not help sabs and monitors?
I reluctantly agreed with their reply that nothing much can be done until the law is changed.
29th August 2023
Monitor 2 and I were out monitoring the hunt but soon realised they weren’t hunting. The hounds were, however, running into people’s gardens around the village of Itton. We decided to wait until the hounds were safely back in the kennels as we thought they might double back into Natural Resources Wales woods nearby.
One of the horse riders was on her phone the whole time we were following them. We correctly assumed she was calling the police.
While we were watching the hounds being returned to the kennels the police turned up. When they saw us two elderly ladies they almost laughed! We told them we were just making sure the hounds did not enter any NRW woods and they were happy with that.
16th September Incident 139
We found empty hunt vehicles at a location where there are plenty of NRW woods. We were trying to check where the hunt were when we were aggressively blocked in on a narrow one lane track. The person blocking us was none other than Adam Alderson (Incident 205 12th November, 2022).
He drove his Mitsubishi pick-up nearer and nearer and nearer until our bonnets were almost touching. He was hoping to make us reverse but we held our ground.
When he realised we were not going to be intimidated, he got out of the car and verbally abused us through a side window.
Videos of these incidents were sent to the police and PC EE was looking into it.
No victim update as yet (20th November 2023)
23rd September 2023 Incident 97
This was an extremely frustrating morning for Monitor 2 and myself. We had found the Hunt in Itton Common Wood illegally cub hunting. They were obviously cub hunting for the following reasons:
This was well before the main hunting season which starts in November.
It was very early in the morning – almost in the dark.
No eye-catching red coats – they want to keep a low profile.
Not many support – only very trusted supporters.
They were not following a trail, they were just standing around the perimeter of the wood, some on horseback and a quad was parked in the field below.
We called the police and when they arrived they asked the supporters what was going on and the supporters said they were trail hunting. End of story as far as the police were concerned.
The supporters continued smugly to watch the hunt – unperturbed by the presence of the police. I approached where the supporters and police were standing watching the inaction and I asked the supporter whose wood they were hunting in. He said he didn’t know. The other supporter said that it used to belong to John Rogers. I replied, “Well he’s dead – so who does it belong to now?” The first farmer then said irritably that the hunt wouldn’t go in there if they weren’t allowed – and the police left it at that!
As they were leaving, Monitor 2 and I tried to educate the police regarding the difference between cub hunting and main season hunting – as outlined in the 5 points above. The police were understanding but said they couldn’t prove anything.
Afterwards, I thought that maybe the police should have stopped the hunt until someone could confirm whose land they were hunting on.
When I got home, I wrote again to Jeff Cuthbert, Gwent PCC, and outlined the 5 points above. I asked him if Pc DC, aka Rural Crime “Team” (one man only) could accompany us the following week as he would be more clued up on the difference between cub hunting and main season hunting.
I also stated that it would be good if he could bring his drone, and that he could warn landowners that if they allow illegal hunting on their land they could face prosecution under the Hunting Act 2004.
I have received no reply to this email.
21st October 2023 Incident 108
Monitor 3 and I followed the hunt’s hound van to Great House Farm near Llansoy. We parked at the bottom of the drive and watched various supporters’ vehicles arrive, together with a quad bike without licence plates which had driven up the main road. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough with my camera to film him on the main road. (A quad bike must have licence plates to be driven on a main road or it’s a traffic offence – they are only allowed on private land without.) However, even if I had managed to get any footage, without plates the police cannot trace him anyway!
I “messaged” the Gwent police to tell them about the quad and the fact that it had boxes back and front (probably containing terriers or a fox that they could throw to the hounds at the end of the day).
I gave them the What3Words location of the farm and the Usk Gliding Club location as they usually end up down there when they hunt in this area.
All the police said was “Thank you.”
As we were circling the area in the narrow lanes, we encountered a farmer on a quad. He asked us what were doing so we replied that we were birdwatching (Monitor 3 had her binoculars around her neck). I decided to employ a little subterfuge and I engaged him in conversation saying I thought I recognised him from somewhere and asked if he had ever banked with Barclays (I worked there for 14 years before a change of profession).
He replied in the affirmative and told me his name was PW. I mentioned a few names that he might know and we were soon chatting like old friends. I warned him that he had left a gate to a field of sheep open and he thanked me. I asked him what he was doing in the opposite field and he replied that he was just checking on a cow who was soon to drop a calf.
Further on around the track we encountered a supporter leaning on a gate. I tried the same tactic on him – talking about hunt members I knew and enthusing about the Hunt. He proudly told us that he used to be joint master of the Llangibby Hunt for many years before it joined with the Curre Hunt. He got very excited when he pointed out what he thought was a fox to me. Then dejectedly, he said that it was only a brown hound.
I asked who these woods and fields belonged to and he replied that it was PW – the farmer we had just spoken to! (One wonders then why he allows the hunt on his land when a cow is about to drop a calf? The hounds could easily spook the mother and he runs the risk of losing both mother and baby.)
He gave me some encouraging words in that he thought hunting was on its knees, what with land being taken away from them (presumably he was referring to all the NRW woods that they used to hunt in) and support dropping off.
I asked if he was looking forward to the Boxing Day parade in Abergavenny and he replied in a sad voice that he didn’t think it would go ahead this year. (My heart leaped, but I’ll still be checking out the sneaky so-and-so’s!). I asked when the main hunting season would begin and he told us the Monmouth Hunt would start the following Saturday and the Curre and Llangibby on 4th November. He then said that when they had finished hunting here they were going to move down to the Llansoy Church area. We duly drove down there wondering if he was hoodwinking us – but sure enough, there they were!
We soon encountered Adam Alderson (thug mentioned in Incidents 205 and 139). He tried to prevent us filming the Hunt who were actually in the field of sheep we had seen earlier. We saw the quad bike being driven up the field.
Adam approached the car and started leaning on the back of it out of sight of our dash cam. Then he came around to the side window and leaned against it so we could not see out. So I got out of the car and walked past him to film nearer the open gate but he elbowed me out of the way. Then he started his old trick of trying to divert attention from the Hunt by accusing me of filming his daughter and threatened to put me in the ground!
I asked him if the police had been to his house to interview him yet (Incidents 205 and 139) and he replied that the police had been to him numerous times and that he had complained about me! Lol!
Later, I had a few words with an elderly lady who owns a property near the farm. We had noticed that every time a vehicle came along her dog would start a furious yapping. I asked her if she got fed up with all the vehicles going up to the farm and setting off her dog barking. She replied that she hated the Hunt and had complained to the Council but it hadn’t done any good. I gave her my mobile number and asked her to let me know whenever they were at this farm.
4th November 2023
I was away on holiday and Monitor 2 was poorly so the Bristol Hunt Sabs said they would come over to watch the Hunt for us. They caught them in NRW woods!
As a reminder to the Curre and Llangibby Hunt here’s what NRW says about ‘trail hunting’:
Their Bristol Hunt Sabs footage was amazing! Horses and a full pack of hounds in the woods and the sign for Coetgae Wood right there too! Perfect!
The photograph was immediately sent to NRW. Me, Monitor 2, and everyone we know also phoned or emailed NRW.
I also emailed Lesley Griffiths MS (Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd) and sent her the footage. She is the Member of the Senedd who was pushing for the ban in NRW woods. Hopefully, she will encourage NRW to act on this trespass.
Bristol Hunt Sabs defend ‘wildlife in the South West and beyond’ and are on Facebook at facebook.com/BristolHuntSaboteurs/. Buy them a Ko-fi at ko-fi.com/A37126JE
11th November, 2023
Just to show that we don't always have an 'adventurous' day being sworn at, we had a tip-off that the Hunt were going to be in a place we knew between Penhow and Magor. We arrived at the kennels at 10.10am – but the hunt van had already left. We hurried down to the Penhow/Magor area even though we had had no word they were there, but all was quiet. We drove to all the other places that we knew of but couldn’t find them anywhere. A waste of a day really but the next day, I received a message that the informant said that the Hunt did arrive in the Penhow/Magor area but later than usual. Lesson learned!
18th November 2023
We found the Curre and Llangibby hunt trespassing in NRW woods again!
The supporters were very aggressive. The man in the video still above was accusing me of going to his house! I have no idea who he is or where he lives. He is just trying to distract me from filming or he is delusional! Another supporter tried to knock my phone out of my hands and another one “mooned” at me.
All the original footage has gone to the police and NRW.
That brings us up-to-date with this season’s adventures so far. We can only imagine what the Curre and Llangibby Hunt and their supporters get up to when we’re not there to watch them.
Here are just a couple of thoughts though.
The very fact that monitors turn up and follow them annoys the Hunt and means they have to behave themselves to some extent.
We can check that they do not enter any NRW woods and report them if they do – which is very restricting for them because, before the NRW ban, these were the very places they did most of their hunting. They would even put laminates up in the woods to warn the public that they may be hunting in there! The arrogance!
Since the NRW ban the Hunt (if it does what it should) is restricted to about half a dozen private farms. This is boring for their supporters and hopefully, the farmers will get fed up with them continually disturbing their livestock.
The Hunt do not react when people call them cruel idiots or sick perverts. In fact, they seem to enjoy that. But they get really angry when you mention that they are in their “Pantomime clothes” – in other words, they hate to be ridiculed.
Just a quick story to end with. Back in 2019 after the Boxing Day Monmouthshire Hunt parade in Abergavenny, hunt supporters and the protestors all retired to the pubs in the town.
These pubs were packed with people from both sides, and the landlords of course had to remain impartial – except for the Angel Hotel which hosts the Hunt every year (there is a Change.org petition if you’d like to let them know what you think of that).
When the landlord of the pub I was in handed me my change, he winked at me and said “There you are, Sister!” I thought that was lovely!
Until next time
The Secret Monitor
All images by monitors unless credited otherwise and used with permission.
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An excellent article by the Secret Monitor. Very explicit and exposing the bias towards the hunts by the Police and the Police Crime Commissioners. Would it be possible to forward this article to Mark Drakeford the 1st Minister for Wales? So that Mr Darkeford can see for himself what's going on Policing in Wales. We are all, after all, taxpayers, (except that is for the hunt toffs who will use their accountants to avoid /evade tax) we should therefore, expect service from the public servants our hard earned cash goes towards paying their inflated salaries.
Excellent article. I empathise with how very hard it can be sometimes to keep going on monitoring, but it is so vital and is winning the war even if progress feels slow sometimes. Find the hidden depth of strength you can to keep going, you have a huge army of support behind you though it may not feel like it when you are alone out there, we are there with you, you are absolute heroes and extremely brave! Keep reporting to us, (just wish I was fit enough to turn out with you).