Location: Nottinghamshire
Affiliations: Notts Hunt Sabs
False Claims Against Hunt Supporters:
In 2006, Ian Ross levelled false allegations against a hunt supporter, including accusations of assault and robbery during a trail hunt near Hay-on-Wye. The jury found the claims to be baseless and the case exposed what has become a consistent trend of sabs resorting to slander and fabrication in order to further their crusade.
Ross was the primary witness in the case against hunt supporter Jeffrey Poulton. Poulton's barrister, Janet Gedrych, argued that the allegations against Poulton were part of a deliberate strategy employed by sabs like Ross, who are allegedly "setting up" hunt supporters to ensure their grievances gain police attention.
Behind the Masks has received multiple reports of saboteurs allegedly planting dead foxes during hunt meets, in order to frame them for illegal fox hunting.
According to Gedrych, Ross and the other three witnesses, who were described as regular "monitors" actively seeking law violations, fabricated a robbery scenario. The sabs described how Poulton had violently attacked and stolen from Ross and a Miss Scott.
The reality, as outlined by Gedrych, was that Ross and Miss Scott are "aggressive hunt saboteurs", who had confronted Poulton by pushing a camcorder into his face. Gedrych argued that Poulton merely pushed the camcorder away, which was found at the scene days later.
This incident underscores the levels hunt sabs are willing to sink to, even just after the fox hunting ban came into place. Their desperation and complete denial of reality has only grown in the years since.