London 26 April 2000

Jaine Wild,

West Sussex Badger Protection Group

"Copper the Fox"

On Saturday 6th Feb. 99 I helped in the rescue of a fox at the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt. The fox had been bitten by hounds, but rescued during the attack by hunt saboteurs. It had then bolted down a rabbit hole and was surrounded by hounds. The saboteurs sat on the hole forcing the hunt to withdraw their hounds.

I arrived shortly afterwards and a policeman's helmet was over the rabbit hole, preventing the injured fox from biting anyone and escaping and being re-hunted. The fox was two inches from the surface and could go no further underground. I tried to get everyone to be quiet and after about fifteen minutes the fox crept out backwards and I placed him in a towel and put and carried him gently to a waiting car where he was put in a cage and transported 16 miles to a specialist wildlife vet (Richard Edwards, of Alphapet Veterinary Clinic). When he arrived he was unconscious and needed specialist life saving treatment for shock. He had numerous bite wounds, but they were not life threatening. Running a wildlife rescue organisation, I rescue many foxes and they do not suffer more than minor stress during transportation

Conclusion:

1) The fox did not die from a "nip to the neck", and had several bite wounds, indicating death is not instantaneous.

2) The main trauma for the fox was diving down a rabbit hole where he could not properly escape, and without intervention, the hounds would have gradually pawed away at the hole until they got a grip on the fox.

3) The fox was close to death due to the trauma of being hunted and savaged and then trapped down a blind tunnel in total darkness with hounds close to digging him out and getting a grip on him.

Evidence of hounds not killing foxes quickly:

On 31 dec. 99, I was at the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt at Billingshurst, W. Sussex. A fox was caught by hounds in deep bramble, but they could not get much of a grip on the fox due to the dense bramble. I made a grab for the fox shooing hounds away. When I got the fox there was not a drop of blood and l could feel the heart beating. I called to a friend to put the fox in his coat. My friend was then attacked by members of the hunt along with myself. The huntsman saying: "Don't want them to have it". My friend was punched in the head and later taken by ambulance to hospital. The fox was taken from us to an unknown fate.

This incident was less than a year after the "Copper the Fox" rescue at the same hunt, and the hunters were determined there should be no repeat publicity.

On the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt on 2 march 2000 a fox was chased near Petworth. It could not get through a rabbit proof fence. It ran along the line of the fence, but finding no escape turned and ran back into the main body of hounds. The huntsman and whiper in raced over to get to the fox before we could, as they were worried we would get more evidence. The huntsman pulled hounds off the fox after about 10 seconds of savaging. He then stamped on the foxes head before pulling the fox up and throwing it back to the hounds.

Conclusion: Foxes are not killed instantly and show life even after 10 seconds of savaging by the whole pack.

I have seen instances where the hunt allow hounds to paw away at the fox's bolt hole for 15 minutes. Gradually they can get a grip on the fox and this is one of the worst aspect of hunting

Example: During the 98-99 hunt season the Chiddingfold huntsman, Robert Cursham stopped using terriers, partly because of the constant presence of saboteurs and Badger group members. To reward the hounds when a fox went to ground, he let them dig away at the hole the fox went down, and occasionally they would get a fox this way. On 25 March 98 the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt marked a fox to ground in a badger sett on the southern slope of the south downs at East Dean, W. Sussex. I sat in the sett entrance and pulled the hounds away. I was threatened by the whipper in. The hunt terrier man arrived and asked how long the whipper in had been there. He replied "15 minutes."

Hounds had been pawing away at the sett for that long, with the whipper in going "whoop em up" and encouraging them to dig.

Conclusion: If terrier work were banned and hunting continued, hunts would adopt this method of rewarding hounds when a fox went to ground. As there is no one to police what goes on, badger setts would be damaged by hounds not being withdrawn.

Other examples I have witnessed of hunts digging into badger setts:

Photo taken at Hursley Hambledon hunt near Petersfield Hampshire, late 1980s, showing hunt terrier man digging into badger sett. This is now illegal, but again, no one to police what goes on deep in the countryside.

This was the reason for me setting up the Badger group in W. Sussex, after I witnessed the hunt digging into a sett to get to a fox.

On 4 April 96
at West Wood, Upwaltham members of the hunt (including terrier man) were seen going into West Wood, Upwaltham, W. Sussex after hounds marked a fox to ground. Police Wildlife Liaison officer, Malcolm Scott witnessed the hunt going into the wood, but thought it was a legal dig out. Later that afternoon, T found a dug sett at the spot the hunt had entered. Police asked to interview the hunt terrier man the next day but he simply said "no comment." PC Scott took it that an offence occurred, but that there was insufficient evidence.

On 15/9/99 At Pond Tail Copse, Petworth hounds marked a fox to ground at a subsidiary badger sett. This is not the main sett, but several holes in a band, about 200 metres from the main sett. The hunt were digging in entrances and had terriers. I approached and warned the terrier man this was a sett, and they packed up and went. Badger latrines were visible just yards from the sett entrance. Police investigated and brought in a police expert and he confirmed this was a sett, but there was insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.

Conclusion:

1) Subsidiary and outlying setts do not always look like a typical sett and it requires an expert to tell they are badger setts. This leaves them open for abuse at hunts.

2) The law on digging a sett or allowing hounds to mark at a sett without being withdrawn are "summary only." Therefore, no arrests and interviews can be made and evidence is hard to prove, even on the rare occasions hunts are caught red handed.

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Date uploaded to website 9 May 2000