Wrestled to the ground for trying to protect foxes

This is a guest post from South Norfolk Hunt Saboteurs

A lot of our time the past couple of seasons has been spent attending the Essex and Suffolk Hunt. Despite some other hunts in the East Anglia region gradually moving over to actual trail hunting (not something we support, but better than wildlife hunting), the Essex and Suffolk Hunt has seen fit to continue terrorising foxes. Whilst its following has diminished, it only takes one huntsman and a pack of hounds to chase and kill wildlife.

Unfortunately, the hunt’s meet on 1 November at Dengewell Hall in Essex was no different. Huntsman Jack Henty had put the hounds into various woodlands throughout the meet, resulting in hounds rioting onto a muntjac at one wood and flushing out two foxes at another. (You can read our full hit report here.) As the end of the day approached, it became clear Henty was planning on finishing up at Dengewell Wood, adjacent to the meet itself. This is a notorious covert, regularly hunted by the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, so we wanted to make sure there was no unsavoury business at the wood.

We headed there along with the other groups present on the day, South Suffolk Hunt Sabs and Suffolk Action for Wildlife, and arrived first on the scene. Despite following the public footpath from the road to the wood, we’d already had the hunt’s hired goons from Colchester-based Zed Security getting up in our faces with false accusations of carrying offensive weapons. These claims were made even as they drove their quad bike along the footpath, a criminal offence under the Road Traffic Act.

We’d watched Henty put the entire pack inside Dengewell Wood as we’d approached. We could hear him ‘burring’, a sound some huntsmen make because they believe it unsettles foxes from undergrowth. Furthermore, we’d seen no sign of a trail layer all day. Putting all these factors together, we diverted off the footpath and walked the final 100m or so to reach the wood and be present in case the hounds began to pick up a scent. This is when the hunt and its security decided to escalate the situation.

Henty – already on bail for assaulting one of our sabs – rode his horse at our three sabs to keep us away from the woods. He then called the two security men over to help him – the same two men that had the previous weekend assaulted a monitor from Suffolk Action for Wildlife on a public road. In previous weeks, other men from this same security firm had attacked a member of South Suffolk Hunt Sabs. These, then, are clearly men with a proclivity for using physical violence to protect a cruel and illegal pastime.

After their verbal threats against us failed, the younger of the two quickly escalated to physical violence. He first attacked one of our sabs, and when another sab attempted to restrain the younger security guard, he turned on that second sab too. The pair ended up on the floor, the security guard on top, still making violent threats. Meanwhile, the older security guard had prevented the other sabs coming to the aid the one on the floor.

It’s worth noting that the field riders, including children, witnessed the incident.

Ultimately, the scuffle resolved without any serious harm to anyone involved. More importantly, the incident appeared to move Henty on without any further attempt to hunt Dengewell Wood, leaving any potential victims in relative safety.

The Essex and Suffolk Hunt has faced multiple charges of illegal hunting over the years. It has also an array of violent incidents to its name, not least the aforementioned charge of huntsman Henty for assault. The role of hired security for this hunt, then, is to provide protection and cover for its criminal activities. Furthermore, rather than de-escalating a situation, they escalated it rapidly and violently. This is not what people that are meant to maintain lawfulness and order do, it is the action of goons desperately trying to please their criminal employers.

We won’t stand for it and we won’t be deterred.

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Please show South Norfolk Hunt Saboteurs some love. They’re a brilliant group saving wildlife week in week out even in the face of violence and intimidation they carry on undeterred.

You can buy them a coffee to keep them in the fields here.