THIS is the sickening moment a fox is ripped to shreds by a pack of blood-thirsty hounds - thanks to legal loopholes.

The ugly video footage was filmed three weeks ago, but no action has been taken by cops.

4 Hounds caught on camera as the savage fox in field in Fife

Now a Scottish Sun on Sunday investigation has revealed hunters across the country are still encouraging their dogs to savage foxes, despite new laws ushered in 15 years ago to stop the wild creatures being persecuted.

Robbie Marsland, who heads The League Against Cruel Sports, hit out: “It is horrifying that the brutality seen in this footage is highly likely to be deemed as legal hunting.

“The hunting ban in Scotland was intended to stop such cruelty and make hunting with hounds more humane.

“Sadly the law falls very short of the mark and exemptions within it allow incidents like these - which are identical to traditional, pre-ban hunting, to continue.”

4 Man drags away the fox's corpse

It is illegal to deliberately hunt foxes with dogs in Scotland. But the accidental killing of a fox by hounds is within the law.

And dogs are frequently - and legally - used to kill foxes that hunters claim have been survived being shot.

Hunt saboteurs - or sabs - filmed hunting hounds as they tore through countryside north of Cupar, Fife, on October 28.

Our exclusive footage shows dogs running into woods after picking up the scent of a fox.

4

The excited pack burst out of the woods and run freely across an open field and into another thicket of trees.

A gun shot can then be heard ringing out before a fox is spotted breaking cover.

It flees the trees and runs for its life across an open field before being seized by one dog, and then another.

Seconds later around a dozen dogs are seen jostling for position while ripping the fox to bits while wagging their tails.

The initial frenzy lasts about a minute before a man carrying what appears to be a gun over his shoulder wanders from the trees.

4 Dogs round on the fox

He lifts the carcass and tosses it to the pack to ‘rag’ — a grim technique that allows dogs to viciously bite the carcass and keep the dogs hyped-up for the kill.

The gunman is seen patting one of the dogs as they continue to tear into the dead fox before its body is chucked over a nearby fence, before it is again given to dogs.

League Against Cruel sports boss Robbie added: “It would be perfectly plausible for the hunters to argue they used the hounds to dispatch a wounded fox following a failed attempt to shoot it.

“Sadly the law we currently have makes these arguments hugely difficult to dispel. The League believes the law is a sham and is urging the Scottish Government to strengthen it so it’s fit for purpose.”

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The campaigner who filmed the attack said: “It was really horrible. Think of the suffering that fox must have gone through. I was with my daughter, she’s grown-up and has witnessed a lot, but she was nearly in tears.”

Hunt sabs say they handed the footage to the police, who initially asked if the mauling could have been accidental.

Police Scotland say they received two calls about the hunt but could find no evidence of wrong doing.

A police spokesperson said: “It was established that no illegal activity had taken place and there was no criminality involved.”

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A Scottish Government spokesperson said last night: “We are currently consulting on Lord Bonomy’s recommendations for reform of the law on foxhunting in Scotland and would encourage everyone with an interest to take part.

“We have also established a stakeholder group to develop a new code of practice and assess the feasibility of a new monitoring scheme.

“We remain committed to ensuring the highest welfare standards for all animals, including those in the wild, and encourage everyone to notify Police Scotland if anyone is suspected of breaking the law.”

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