On 27 August, District Judge Barnes threw out animal welfare charges against both directors of Cheshire Forest Hunt Limited. He did it at half time, on a submission of no case to answer, before either woman had said a word in her own defence. The prosecution evidence, he found, was
Over the last few months, BTM has started to notice factions arising in the hunt saboteur community. But these aren’t just minor tiffs; they are rooted in power struggles and sab politics. From personal spats between leaders of neighbouring saboteur groups to criticism of the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA)
It is not often that the sab movement submits itself for examination. This month, Lynne Graham's 496-page doctoral thesis appeared on Northumbria University's research portal, entitled: No Justice, Just Us: A qualitative mixed methods ethnographic study of organised foxhunting and anti-hunt activism in England and Wales.
This year's Glorious Twelfth passed with rather less drama than the saboteur movement would have you believe. What at first glance looked like two or three separate actions across the Yorkshire moors turns out, on closer reading, to be one lawful shoot at Coverdale, checked by police and
Location: Cirencester Affiliations: Cirencester Hunt Saboteurs Mike Collet, a ‘hobbity’ looking man with the heart of an aspiring WWE wrestler, is a well-known sab in Cirencester. Now in his late 60s, Collet has shown little inclination to slow down when it comes to getting physical in the field. Whilst the
Andy Burnham had been Prime Minister for precisely two days when Sir Ben Wallace stood up at the East of England Showground and offered him a reset, which is more courtesy than the countryside has had from Downing Street in years. The Future for Hunting Festival of Hounds, held alongside
On Saturday 25 July the Essex and Suffolk Hunt hosted a wholesome and light-hearted fun ride commencing in the village of Lindsey. What was a beautiful summers day was interrupted by a small group of disorderly protesters from the North London Hunt Saboteurs (NLHS) and Suffolk Action for Wildlife saboteurs.
Location – Sturminster Newton, Dorset Affiliation – North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, Wildlife Crime Action David Tibbles likes to think of himself as the mastermind behind the North Dorset Hunt Sabs. In reality, he's something of an armchair general. Rather than venturing out himself, Tibbles prefers to dispatch two of his
Foxes, hounds, gannets. Rob Pownall's campaigns are never short of animals. What they are short of is any account of what happens to them afterwards. The pattern was set in the spring of 2022, when Keep The Ban, the group Pownall founded, went to its supporters with two
A skulk of sanctimonious sabs arrived at Leicester Square theatre on Monday 6 July to be entertained by an array of comedians, BBC hosts and sabotage sympathisers alike. Whilst the comedy evening was labelled as ‘Up the Anti’, Daniel Foxx’s BBC show ‘Welcome to Hell’ might be a better
The BBC has confirmed that Winterwatch will not return after 14 years, retired in favour of a video podcast called Naturewatch. The corporation attributes the decision to an "evolving commissioning strategy" and to the wider funding squeeze that has already claimed 550 jobs as part of a £500
Location: Dorset Affiliations: Weymouth Animal Rights Ross 'Spider' Day, part of the Weymouth Animal Rights, is a menacing sab known to have followed a hunt supporter nearly 10 miles with a car full of his crew members. Day has also been reported to have verbally abused an elderly
Sabs Unmasked
Location: East Yorkshire Affiliation: Hull Wildlife Protectors, Protect the Wild, Rehome the Hounds Charlotte Smith, an active supporter of Protect the Wild and a notable figure in their campaign Rehome the Hounds, has been caught in quite a pickle. She was spotted at the LACS rally on 9 May outside
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Rob Pownall promised the Makerfield by-election would be a "national platform" to end hunting with hounds. The voters of Makerfield returned a verdict: 18 of them agreed. For weeks, the founder of Protect the Wild told anyone who would listen that the Makerfield by-election was his chance to
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On the eve of the consultation deadline, campaigners and their hounds brought the fight to DEFRA's doorstep, and a Labour peer led the charge against her own government. 24 hours before the government's consultation on trail hunting closes for good, the countryside brought its answer to
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At the League Against Cruel Sports rally outside Parliament on 9 May, a foxhound lay quietly at the campaigners' feet. Handled by Charlotte Smith of the Hull Wildlife Protectors, it became the unofficial mascot of the day, photographed alongside the broadcaster Chris Packham and his stepdaughter, the presenter Megan
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On 18 June, voters in Makerfield will go to the polls in a by-election that could return Andy Burnham to Parliament and trigger a Labour leadership contest. The same day, the Defra consultation on banning trail hunting closes. It is worth asking why twelve MPs have spent the run-up to
Sabs Unmasked
Location: Gloucestershire Affiliation: Welsh Border Hunt Saboteurs Gina Doyle is a well-known figure among Welsh Border Hunt Sabs. Quiet and discreet in the field, she is rarely seen without a camera, documenting legal trail hunts and ready to twist any scenario to favour the sabs’ account of events. There is
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Hunt saboteurs are no strangers to confronting those who support legal trail hunting. Over the years, their tactics have become depressingly familiar: harassment, stalking, verbal abuse and physical intimidation – all disguised as activism. Even against that grim backdrop, however, the recent conduct of one sab has managed to lower the
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Billed as a watershed moment, a rally that would shift the anti-trail hunting debate and energise the movement, the Leage Against Cruel Sports' (LACS) rally outside Parliament on Saturday 9 May was something of a damp squib, defined by minimal attendees and somewhat baffling speeches. It was just the
Herefordshire
Affiliation: Welsh Border Hunt Saboteurs (formerly Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs) Location: Herefordshire Every saboteur group has its star performer: the one who never misses a meet, never runs out of opinions, and never lets inconvenient details get in the way of a good story. Part of the Welsh Border Hunt
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On 2 May, members of Nottingham Hunt Sabs, West Yorkshire Hunt Sabs and South Northants Hunt Sabs were active in the countryside near Kings Newton, where the Dove Valley hunt was meeting that day. According to a source familiar with the day's movements, the saboteurs were masked, their
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There is a particular breed of animal rights lover who wakes each morning convinced that the hills and hedgerows of Britain cannot turn on their axis without their personal supervision. Derek Farr is one of them. Not out in the field, but from the comfort of a Facebook comment box,
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The Consultation On 26 March, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched a formal public consultation on banning trail hunting in England and Wales - a practice introduced after the Hunting Act 2004 as a lawful alternative to fox hunting, using an animal-scented rag. The government has given