URGENT: Hunt saboteur group subject to violent attack

Please show them solidarity and support

We need your help. A few days ago the brilliant South Thames Hunt Sabs were subject to a vicious and brutal attack by members of the Hursley Hambledon Hunt.

Why? Because they were simply standing up for wildlife and the hunt were furious they had got in their way and prevented wild animals from being hunted and killed.

I’m writing this email moments after seeing images of the awful scenes that took place in the hope that our incredible community of compassionate wildlife lovers will send their solidarity to the group.

In the chaos that unfolded items were stolen including a body cam that Protect the Wild donated to the group a few months ago. If you’d like to support South Thames Hunt Sabs and help them get back on their feet you can donate to their fundraiser below.

Below is the report put out by South Thames Hunt Sabs so you can read in their words what took place last Saturday.

TRIGGER WARNING: violence and open wounds

Working off intel, we made an impromptu away day to the HHH just outside Winchester. They unboxed at Longwood Grain Store, and from the minute we jumped from the car they were threatening, violent and desperate to get rid of us. Early in the day, two of our sabs were harassed and bullied from male members of the hunt. They tried again and again to violently pull off our masks, our hats, aggressively grab us by our wrists and even dragged us by our hair. This was all while we were trying to escape to a road. Justifiably, we were very shaken, but we didn’t know how vicious they would become later in the day.

It quietened down for a while, and we temporarily lost sight of them but had a vague idea where they were. By the time we’d caught up to them, the majority of the field had gone home and it was just the main hunting body and terriermen. With only 30 or so minutes left of sunlight, and for the first time all day, the hounds went into cry while the hunt were on point outside of Old Down Plantation. They were desperate to kill, but we were equally desperate to stop them, so our small group of three pulled out all the stops and rating the hounds off. Furious that we’d got in their way all day, and never allowed them to kill, the hunt and their thugs charged at us. Nine of them, including the Hunt master Kieran Hawkes, his sister Lauren and their dad Mike Hawks jumped off their horses and just absolutely went for us.

They ripped a body cam off one of our chests to make sure nobody would see what they were about to do. Three or four of them (it’s a bit of a blur) held one of our female sabs down while another stamped on her and punched her face. She came away with a swollen eye, a bloody nose and a bloody finger nail. Oh, and to top it off they stole her phone. They held another sab back so they couldn’t intervene and protect her. They hit a sab multiple times on his head with the back of their whip, causing a serious wound to his head and a trip to the hospital. They almost took his eye out with the whip too.

We managed to pull ourselves away and they berated us the whole way down a public footpath. The sun was setting and we ran to our vehicle, while they hurried back to the meet. They seemed to get pleasure from seeing us battered and bruised, but if they think they’ve scared us off, they’re wrong.

This level of violence was not expected, and we think it might have something to do with the fact that the HHH mauled a deer to death last week which local sabs reported on.

While we’re just glad they didn’t manage a kill this week, this sab has cost us a lot in petrol (4 hour round trip), and stolen equipment. The GoPro body cam in particular was granted to us by Protect The Wild only at the start of this season, which was so needed as a new group. Please support our GoFundMe to replace the gopro and one of our phones which got stolen. It would also mean the world to us if our fundraiser was shared around!

Thank you for the messages of solidarity we have received so far.