Category: Lob In The Landscape

Monday 6th March 2023

From The Hunt Saboteurs Association website:

As the foxhunting season lurches towards a dismal conclusion this weekend was another self inflicted disaster for the hunting community.

In Somerset Jacob Rees Mogg once again failed to read the mood of the nation by hosting the Mendip Farmers hunt. For a man stuck in the Victorian age he probably feels that hunting is a forward thinking activity for the modern gentleman rather that an archaic cruel tradition despised by the majority. Fortunately the serfs from Mendips and Devon County hunt sabs were present to unblock badger setts and save foxes that were hunted in the presence of the Rees Moggs – with one fox being flushed and hunted from a nature reserve.

Business as usual in Kent where supporters of the Ashford Valley Tickham Hunt attacked the West Kent Hunt Sabs vehicle and smashed the rear windscreen.

Norfolk was definitely the place to be this weekend as all four of the counties hunts stayed home. The Dunston Harriers have ended their season early due to fear of sabs whilst the West Norfolk, following their widely publicised killing of a fox in a family’s garden, have been forced to end their season due to the bail conditions imposed on hunt staff.

More amazing news in Derbyshire where sabs were present at the FINAL EVER meet of the Meynell and South Staffs Hunt. More on this to follow.

Finally in Devizes Wiltshire Hunt Sabs staged an extremely well attended demo at Wiltshire Police HQ to protest against the long term collusion between this corrupt force and the organised criminal gangs, AKA fox hunts, operating in the county. Multiple serving Wilts police officers have been exposed as riding with the hunts and in light of the barbaric behaviour exposed in the recent Avon Vale incident it must be questioned why this is allowed to continue?

A Hunt Saboteurs Spokesperson commented:

“It’s great to see hunts folding and others forced to see their season end early and in many ways it delights us to see Tories such as Rees Mogg still hosting hunts. Surely this just evidences how out of touch they are and hopefully, along with hunting, their days are numbered.”

“Our utmost respect as always to the Hunt Saboteurs who were out there this weekend protecting wildlife and bringing us the news from the frontline of the war against hunting.”

www.huntsabs.org.uk/lots-of-positive-news-amidst-the-violence-and-criminality/

Tuesday 28th February 2023

Good riddance to the Avon Vale Hunt!

From the Hunt Saboteurs Association website, a guest post by Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs on the demise of the vile Avon Vale Hunt.

The Avon Vale Hunt have been permanently expelled from the BHSA.

Post courtesy of Wiltshire Hunt Sabs –

We are popping corks over here in Wiltshire. The Avon Vale are dead. One of the most disgusting and prolific foxhunts has ceased to exist, and they brought it all on themselves…well mostly. For decades hunts sabs from Wiltshire, Bath, Reading, Bristol, and many more, have sabbed this bunch of grubby vicious criminals.

At first we were reluctant to take any credit, after all it was down to one of their own, the whipper-in for the Berkeley Hunt, Harry Mayo. In December 2022 he filmed Huntsman Stuart Radbourne shrieking with delight as Whipper-in Aaron Fookes chucked a fox to the hounds, before sharing it around various social media chat groups – emboldened to do so by decades of being allowed to get away with it. But for the pressure of Hunt Sabs, who have kept their dirty little secrets in the spotlight for so long now, it is highly likely that this wouldn’t even have drawn any attention from the media at all, much less forced their governing body, the BHSA, to expel them permanently.

Where to even begin to write about the depravity of this hunt which spans decades. The interconnected web of deceit around illegal hunting spans across local politics, policing, business and government. Historically this hunt has counted amongst its membership Tory MP’s, Councillors, Police officers – including firearms, royal protection officers, even the close family member of a former Chief Constable – and high profile businessmen who have bankrolled them for decades.

Lets be 100% clear about this; “trail hunts” and specifically in this case, the Avon Vale, have been breaking the law and cruelly hunting wildlife for all this time; not one of those supposed “respectable or “elected’ members of society has ever so much raised an objection.

Even now, in the wake of the horrendous video, subsequent police investigation and banning of this hunt, there is not a whisper of condemnation from our supposed representatives. If only there was some kind of a clue that this hunt has always hunted foxes and dug them out, perhaps if only they had a huntsman, say Stuart Radbourne, or terriermen like Ben Pethers, both with criminal convictions for doing exactly this going back years. Imagine!

Avon Vale terrierman Ben Pethers.

More recently terrierman Ryan Walpole-Johnsen was caught digging out a fox in January 2021. Sabs from Reading stopped the dig but it didn’t stop him attacking and hospitalising a hunt sab with a brain bleed. Then there’s Rob Page and Ashley Louth, who found themselves on the front page of the Daily Mail after they attacked Bath Sab’s landrover. Page and Louth – who breeds dogs which he sells to local police forces – are just some examples of the violent terriermen that this hunt employ to dig foxes and block setts for them on hunt days.

We need to take a closer look at all those who enabled and facilitated this hunt’s wildlife crimes all these years, and continue to enable the crimes of the remaining hunts. We need to hold these people accountable, but that is so difficult when they are the ones with the power, which they instead use to target sabs and others who fight back.

In the last couple of years, Wiltshire and Bath sabs have focused on this hunt as much off the field as on it. This tactic really started when we heard a certain foxhunting councillor; a former huntsman and master of this hunt, Jonathon Seed, attempted to instil himself in the cushty overpaid Police and Crime Commissioners seat a couple of years back.

Cllr Jonathan Seed – ex-Master of the Avon Vale Hunt.

Collectively at Bath and Wilts, we campaigned against his election and we dredged up all sorts on him – from his hunting reports when he was huntsman of the Royal Artillery Hunt, highlighting the depraved pleasure he took hounding foxes to their brutal deaths on Salisbury Plain throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, and onto the Avon Vale shortly before the Hunting Ban came into force.

We highlighted an uninvestigated firearms offence, when he shot his neighbours pigs some years ago, reportedly lending his shotgun to his neighbour – a man who should have been banned from possessing any such weapons due to his own previous animal abuse convictions. Wiltshire Police refused to explain why they didn’t act over this, citing to do so could cause harm to his “election campaign’.

We dredged up reports from his university days, showing the character of the man; boorish and aggressive, entitled and arrogant, traits that have seen him get away with the most unspeakable cruelty for much of his life. Sabs of old, namely Pewsey Vale sabs who had sabbed the Avon Vale pre and post ban, told us about being ridden at, attacked, and abused by this hideous red and puffy faced oaf of a caricature on top of a horse.

During the election he went around the county with newly printed cardboard propaganda election boards which he carefully zip tied and displayed on posts around farmers fields, which mysteriously all disappeared. Sabs walked miles to put thousands of leaflets through doors, and stood in town centres with our friends from Action Against Foxhunting talking to voters about him, as he cried to the media that he was being persecuted (oh, won’t someone please think of the poor fox hunters!) Yet still he was elected, which tells you all you need to know about the psyche of much of Wiltshire; a Tory stronghold riddled with corruption and normalised animal abuse. Eventually it took the deeply hidden convictions of drink driving and leaving the scene of an accident, that saw him disbarred before he could take up the role.

His PCC replacement, Philip Wilkinson, also a Royal Artillery officer, seemingly came without the hunting baggage, he barely scraped his win over the much more suitable independent candidate Mike Rees. But quickly this inept Tory chose to put himself in the pro-hunt camp.

Our work on him ousted him as an incoherent rambling liar who was clearly colluding with the Avon Vale after the hunt attack on peaceful protestors at the Lacock Boxing Day Hunt in 2021. We tied him up in so many knots, that he isn’t even allowed to access his own Twitter account anymore, with the Office of the PCC taking it over.

There are many cross overs between the Royal Artillery and the Avon Vale hunts; a recent conviction against RA rider, Georgina Price – a Veterinary assistant from Devizes, for public order offences when she attacked a Surrey Hunt Saboteur on Salisbury Plain, was made more interesting by the fact she is the ex-wife of Avon Vale Huntmaster Mark Broad, and the daughter of Ron Price, also an ex-Avon Vale master. Her own mother was with her during the assault and seemed to take sadistic pleasure in the fact her daughter is as vile as her father was.

But back to Wiltshire Police’s collusion with this hunt, anyone that follows the local groups sab pages, will know how deep this goes, but briefly, the Lacock attack on anti-hunt protestors which was policed by Avon Vale member PC Laura Hughes drew shockwaves across the media. Her own colleague on the day said, when questioned on her bias , “what do you expect, this is her community”.

PC Laura Hughes defending her mates at the Avon Vale’s Boxing Day meet 2021.

Also present on that day was the MP for North Wiltshire, James Gray, also an ex-Avon Vale hunter, whom we also caught hiding behind a hedge in support of a Beaufort Hunt meet, earlier this season.  He lied to suggest he wasn’t present at the violence, but we went through every piece of footage we had been given, and alas there he was right as the punches were flying.  He was subsequently ousted on ITV for his lies.  

Don’t expect to fair any better with any of the county’s other Tory MP’s, all have declared themselves in favour of criminal hunting at one point or another. Michelle Donelan MP for Chippenham even employs an Avon Vale and Beaufort criminal as her Parliamentary Assistant in her constituency office, no doubt tasked with responding to the millions of emails from constituents complaining about her and her friends trespassing after a fox is hunted through their gardens. We bet we know where those emails end up.

We also identified a hare hunting former Chippenham based DCI supporting the Avon Vale at Lacock. We campaigned again and forced an investigation, into the hunt violence as well as police behaviour.  

Unsurprisingly, the whitewash of an internal investigation which ensued saw police bosses admit they knew nothing of their officers affiliation with the hunt, but did not care about it either way.  

Our sabs trawled hours upon hours of footage and cross referenced it with other videos taken at other meets.  We identified dozens of the thugs attacking sabs, most of whom were never ever sought by police to this day, for assaults as well as public order offences.  The criminal investigation saw them charged (and subsequently convicted) three hunt scum who attacked protesters, they also tried a bit of “appeasement’ policing by charging two bystanders who were attacked by the hunt scum.  Again we trawled through identifying the supposed hunt “victim’ in one case was the same person in different clothes who earlier had been goading protestors and police alike. We highlighted their networks, businesses and associations of these violent scum.  The two innocent bystanders had their day in court however, the case dismissed against them, and a scathing judge questioned how on earth Wiltshire Police brought this case at all.  

Then there was the ridiculous decision by Wiltshire Police in February 2022, following Lacock 2021 and the assault on a sab in January, to engage in a police operation targeting hunt sabs, which lasted all of about a month.  But in that month they deployed dozens of officers and resources, including the helicopter, drones, riot vans to police sabs who were literally stopping the Avon Vale chase foxes right in front of police officers who had their cameras trained on us.  The Avon Vale final meet, which Wiltshire and Reading sabs attended, saw over 50 officers follow us around helping terriermen block footpaths and turning their faces as we were assaulted.

Wiltshire Police facilitated the Avon Vale’s illegal hunting.

Lacock really was a problem for the Avon Vale, for their Boxing Day meet in 2022 they were forced to adopt a range of measures and engage with Wiltshire Council and Police for the event to go ahead.  This included a change of where they meet, no longer the prestigious spot outside the Red Lion, which itself would now be closed until after they had left, to using CSAS approved stewards to cross roads (which they failed to do on the day).  Who knew, as we stood there protesting their Boxing Day meet on the 26^th December, that only 6 days earlier they were filmed by Harry Mayo digging out a brace of foxes to be thrown to hounds and hunted respectively.  The irony of Wiltshire Police facilitating this meet for them, just days after the disgusting video was filmed, is not lost on us.  

You can not actually write about the Avon Vale Hunt without also writing about Wiltshire Police, because often it turns out, they are actually the same people.  A long history of hunting police officers, but most recently we have uncovered a side saddle riding PCSO who rides with them, as well as the most publicised case of a police officer appointed to the Rural Crime Team who has hunted with both the Avon Vale and Beaufort Hunts – join us and protest against this appointment on 5th March, 1pm, at Wiltshire Police HQ, London Road, Devizes SN10 2DN. Follow the event on Facebook for updates.

But it isn’t just the police, how did the Avon Vale manage to attract so much support?  Some of the clue lies in Radbourne himself, by all accounts from reports we have been given, his livery and equestrian centre near to the kennels, is quite the draw, particularly for young female riders.  A string of relationships with these young riders, made Stuart quite the cult leader at Abbotswood. His livery of course houses many of the hunt horses, which are used as hirelings, undoubtedly he doesn’t operate as a charity, with his hunt funding his recently purchased mortgage on his farm.  

The Avon Vale is a limited company, but it isn’t really that wealthy considering it owns its own kennels . . . . but do they?  According to land registry reports the kennels are in fact owned by four Wiltshire businessmen; Charles Bartholomew – ex huntmaster, and Chairman of Wadworth Brewery, Sir James Fuller, of Neston Park – owner of the Fullers pubs and hotel chain; Robert Charles Floyd (also a member of the Fullers) of Great Chalfield Manor, whose house is actually subsidised by the National Trust, and Robert Mervyn Fear, a farmer from Wingfield. 

Wiltshire and Bath sabs have visited the kennels often with drones, and captured a multitude of breaches to health and safety legislation, DEFRA regulations and council planning laws.  All footage sent to the relevant prosecuting authorities, with little to no action ever taken.  Even the Council Planners admitted that buildings were erected in breach of planning regulations, but said they would take “no action’ against the criminal gang of foxhunters. 

All of this followed of course, the Ecotricity secret filming of the kennels, which saw multitude of offences relating to Cat 1 waste, firearms offences, and disgusting behaviour like the kennelman riding quads over the dead carcasses of cows. 

So all in all, to the Avon Vale we say good riddance – you scummy bastards have gotten away with murder for so long, we truly delight in your downfall.  But we don’t stop here, we want to see all of those who have enabled your crimes over the years answer for their own behaviour.  We know many of you will simply jump to a different ship, but rest assured we will be waiting for you there too. 

Good riddance to the Avon Vale.

www.huntsabs.org.uk/good-riddance-to-the-avon-vale-hunt/

Tuesday 14th February 2023

Last week the Avon Vale Hunt were suspended from the British Hounds Sports Association, after film was broadcast online and featured on ITV News of two men, accompanied by a woman, showing two foxes being dug out of a badger sett. One fox was thrown to baying hounds, with the men laughing, and they were watched on by other people, while the other fox was chased by the hounds. It was a sickening scene.

Wiltshire Police, on their Facebook page, have now reported:

We have arrested two further people today (14/02) on suspicion of wildlife offences.

A man and a woman, both aged 25, were arrested this morning on suspicion of hunting a wild mammal with dogs, interfering with badger setts and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The two suspects have been released on conditional bail pending further enquiries after being questioned over the matter.

This latest development follows the arrest of three men on Friday (10/02) on suspicion of the same charges which relate to video footage appearing to show wildlife offences being committed.

These three have subsequently been released on conditional bail.

Chief inspector James Brain said: “Our investigation into the circumstances of this concerning video footage is ongoing and we are actively pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.

“We continue to appeal for anyone with information that might help our investigation to contact us.”

If you can help, please call us on 101 quoting log 54230014294.

Friday 10th February 2023

Wiltshire Police, on their Facebook page, have reported:

We have arrested three men today in relation to suspected wildlife offences.

A 29-year-old man from Lacock and a 38-year old man from Bromham were arrested early this morning (10/02) on suspicion of offences under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004 (hunting a wild animal with dogs), the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (causing unnecessary suffering) and The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (disturbing a sett).

A third suspect, a 35-year-old man from Devizes, was arrested at noon today on suspicion of the same offences.

All three are currently in police custody.

The arrests follow the release of video footage, obtained by Wiltshire Police, in which a number of people appear to be committing wildlife offences.

Chief Inspector James Brain said: “After being made aware of this disturbing footage, our officers have acted quickly to detain a number of people in relation to suspected wildlife offences. I would like to thank members of the public in responding to our appeal for information relating to this.

“We take such allegations extremely seriously and we continue to appeal for anyone with further information to contact us.”

• Anyone with information relating to this alleged incident is asked to call us on 101 quoting log 54230014294

• Alternatively you can leave information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Wednesday 8th February 2023

Darren Worrow on Devizine (What’s on Wiltshire: Devizes, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Melksham, Calne, Marlborough, Swindon, Bath), writes:

Avon Vale Hunt Suspended from the British Hounds Sports Association.

If Bob Marley used a Jamaican proverb for a line in I Shot the Sheriff , “Every day the bucket a-go a well, One day the bottom a-go drop out,”  it really has for the notorious Avon Vale Hunt, who’ve been suspended from the British Hounds Sports Association, following some sickening video footage . . . . .

I guess congratulations goes to Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs, for want of a better word. The breaking news certainly produced an awkward chuckle from me. Their hard work has paid off with this indisputable evidence of the hunt, digging out two foxes and throwing one to the hounds, while the second attempts an escape. The most distressing and horrifying part of the film is to hear them shrieking with delight when realising there was a second fox.

A criminal investigation had begun, we hope the sentence fits the crime. I’ve tried to be as subtle as possible on this issue, always willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Previous filming from the sabs has often been obscured and difficult to define precisely what’s happening, but this is undeniable, trail hunting is an outright lie.

This definitive proof shifts the way I’ll handle my wording on such reports, for it’s conclusive, that hunters are nothing but bloodthirsty criminal scum, and I, for one, believe the time has come to ban these so-called trail hunts once and for all.

Wiltshire Hunt Sabs told The Hunt Saboteurs Association, “We routinely sab this particularly vile and vicious hunt, so we aren’t surprised to see them shrieking in delight as the whip chucks the first fox to the hounds as a second fox tries to flee. It’s almost a year to the day since they seriously assaulted a hunt sab after sabs stopped a similar dig out of a fox from an active badger sett near Erlestoke.

We hope Wiltshire Police do their jobs properly this time. For too long this hunt has gotten away with murder, largely because of the protection of Wiltshire Police who have had serving officers riding with this hunt. The Avon Vale are now truly exposed for the bloodthirsty criminals they are.”

So, we find ourselves at the conjunction where I will not refrain to mince my words any longer; anyone condoning the actions of the Avon Vale Hunt, from allowing meets on their establishment to political figures supporting the hunt or claiming they’re doing nothing illegal, will be called out and treated as an accessory to a crime.

A Wiltshire police spokesperson said, “We have received a report of alleged wildlife offences and will be reviewing the evidence that has been presented.” Begging the question how it can “alleged” if the offence is clearly caught on camera?

For a fuller story and to watch the film, please refer HERE, but warning, the video can be distressing. And please, if you can, donate to the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs so they can continue their hard and often dangerous work.

devizine.com/2023/02/08/avon-vale-hunt-suspended-from-the-british-hounds-sports-association/