Police are investigating this shocking footage shared by an anti-hunting group that appears to show the moment hunt supporters drag a terrified fox out of its hole before throwing into woodland to be hunted by a pack of hounds.
The controversial footage appears to show huntsmen flushing the fox out of an underground drainage pipe using a rod with a brush on the end.
It is then forcibly pulled out of the end by its back legs before being slung into nearby trees.
The video – captured on secret cameras planted by anti-hunt campaigners on New Year’s Day – then shows a pack of hounds running past the scene sometime later.
According to the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) the video is evidence that supporters of the Kimblewick Hunt are involved in fox-hunting.
It is illegal to hunt and kill a wild mammal with dogs in England and Wales unless there is a valid exemption.
After viewing the video Chris Williamson, Labour MP for Derby North, and a former hunt saboteur, said: “Hunts up and down the country are routinely flouting the hunting ban.
“This arrogant disregard for the law of the land can only be stopped if the loopholes in the legislation are removed.
“That is why Labour have recently pledged to strengthen the Hunting Act and ghastly incidents like this underpins that commitment.
“Tougher penalties are essential, including prison sentences for persistent offenders, if we are to deliver the wildlife protection that parliament voted for over 14 years ago.”
Despite the Labour government’s ban on fox hunting, Theresa May has said that she has “always been in favour of fox hunting”.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove has so far refused to close loopholes in the law, creating an environment where fox hunting with hounds continues openly despite growing protests.
A Labour Party petition to end the illegal practice for good has so far received over 179,000 signatures.
The HSA say the incident has been reported to Thames Valley Police which has confirmed they are investigating. No arrests have been made.
The hunt saboteurs say the footage was filmed in Moreton, near Thame in Oxfordshire.
The video appears to show four terriermen discussing which way they want the fox to be released before using draining rods to force it out.
Shouts of “hold hard” heard in the distance are mounted members of the hunt telling riders to hold their positions until the fox is released, they claim on the video.
The Kimblewick Hunt is based just outside of Aylesbury, Bucks, and covers an area roughly the size of Cornwall and includes parts of High Wycombe and Chesham.
Lee Moon, spokesman for the HSA, said: “Incidents like this prove time and again that hunts throughout the UK are still totally focused on hunting and killing live animals.
“In recent years the South Herefordshire, the Middleton, the Pytchley, the Belvoir and now the Kimblewick have all been implicated in keeping captive foxes to hunt, showing that this behaviour is commonplace amongst hunts.
“Even with this concrete proof of illegal hunting, on one of the most high profile days in the hunting calendar, we expect the MFHA [Masters of Foxhounds Association] to do nothing.
“Unless they immediately suspend the Kimblewick it’s an admission that this kind of activity is still commonplace amongst their member hunts and considered totally acceptable in the hunting community.”
A spokesperson on behalf of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) said: “The Masters of Foxhounds Association has strict disciplinary procedures and will fully investigate any credible allegation relating to Masters, hunt employees or hunts.
“It cannot, however, investigate criminal allegations or take any action that would interfere with or impede a possible police investigation.”
A spokesperson from the Countryside Alliance said: “All hunts should be operating within the law.
“There are exemptions to the Hunting Act, and other legal options, which can be used to cull foxes and most hunts still offer a fox control service.
“However unjustified the Hunting Act is it should be adhered to.”
The controversial Kimblewick Hunt came under fire earlier last year amid claims they were putting livestock at risk by parading at the Bucks County Show.
Dozens of hunting hounds were put down following an outbreak of bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) at their kennels in 2016.
A spokesperson on behalf of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) said: ”The Masters of Foxhounds Association has strict disciplinary procedures and will fully investigate any credible allegation relating to Masters, hunt employees or hunts.
“It cannot, however, investigate criminal allegations or take any action that would interfere with or impede a possible police investigation.’
By Ben Gelblum and Emilia Bruce-Watt
@BenGelblum
READ MORE:
Fox hunt investigation dropped due to lack of evidence despite police having this video of fox being chased
Labour call for jail terms for illegal hunts as Boxing Day Hunt protestors attacked
Five people appear in court accused of throwing foxes into hound kennels to “get a taste for killing”
Fox rescued after getting its head stuck in a watering can
Hunter won’t face charges despite being caught on camera ‘hitting protester SEVENTEEN TIMES with her crop’
Mum hand-rears wild FOX as a pet alongside her four children
Farmer hospitalised by arson attack after he told fox hunters to get off his land warns of civil war brewing in countryside
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
