Violence breaks out at several meets across the country as hunts met by saboteurs and animal rights activists

An anti-hunt protester was taken to hospital and a fox reportedly torn apart by dogs during tense Boxing Day meets in several counties.

Hunt saboteurs and animal rights activists met in rural towns and villages across the UK to disrupt the traditional meets, which critics say continue to flout the ban on hunting with hounds. Violence was reported in Kent, Leicestershire, Sussex and Wales.

Chasing foxes with hounds has been banned since 2005 and hunt organisers say the tradition continues solely as “trail hunting” – where a scent is laid by hand for hunters to follow.

But animal welfare campaigners continue to document the killing of foxes, hares and other wild animals by hunters and their dogs who are defying the law. One group of saboteurs circulated a photo of a mutilated fox on social media that they said was a victim of a hunt.

A spokesperson for the group said saboteurs following the hunt watched from a distance as dogs set upon the fox. “It was just still alive [when they got to it],” he said. “Then it died in their arms with its guts hanging out.”

In Elham, Kent, one demonstrator was taken to hospital after clashing with hunt supporters at a protest at the hunt’s kennels, according to a spokesperson for East Kent Hunt Sabs. One hunt supporter was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, the group said.

A spokesperson claimed: “A group of drunken hunt supporters attacked the sabs and their vehicle as they tried to leave.”

The spokesperson claimed there had been more violence in nearby Tenterden, where a woman and a teenager were allegedly punched by hunt supporters and a second hunt supporter arrested. Kent police confirmed there had been one arrest for suspected assault.

In Sussex, scuffles broke out as the Southdown and Eridge Foxhounds parade passed through Lewes on Boxing Day morning, MailOnline reported.

At a pub near the Lewes meet, “saboteurs and vegans” were told they would “not be welcome” with a note on the door. The manager of the pub, the Dorset, said later on social media that he wanted to prioritise his “regular customers from the Countryside Alliance”.



Jack Walker apologised for “the lack of thinking” in his wording after animal rights campaigners said the notice was discriminatory. He said the notice should have read “saboteurs and protesters”, claiming that he had been warned “a group of vegan protesters” were planning to dine at his establishment on Wednesday.

Violence was reported near Newport, south Wales, where pushing between supporters and demonstrators escalated into kicking and shoving.

In Peterborough, the local Fitzwilliam (Milton) Hunt had obtained a high court injunction banning protesters from following it as it made its way through the countryside. Any saboteurs breaching the injunction could be held in contempt of court and face a fine or possible jail time.

Pro- and anti-hunting organisations claimed massive support from the public on Boxing Day. The Countryside Alliance said hundreds of thousands turned out for the hunts. Its head of hunting, Polly Portwin, said: “People put this date in the diary as part of their annual festivities, demonstrating the importance of hunting activities to the rural community. The huge crowds showing their support again today prove that the future of hunting is secure.”

But polling of more than 1,000 people commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports, published to coincide with Wednesday’s hunts, says that only one in six people believe hunting with dogs reflects countryside values. Nine in 10 believe that observing nature does reflect such values and 63% do so each month.

Chris Luffingham, the director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said:“Sadly, 14 years after fox hunting was banned in England and Wales, the hunts continue to chase and kill British wildlife. We’ve had over 100 reports into our Animal Crimewatch service of suspected illegal fox hunting since the beginning of the hunting season at the start of November.

“The ‘traditional’ Boxing Day meets gloss over the otherwise murky world of animal cruelty in which packs of hounds still literally tear apart their quarry of British wildlife – but the tide is turning and the hunts themselves are now an increasingly isolated and out of touch minority within the countryside.”

Before the hunts, the shadow environment secretary, Sue Hayman, said an incoming Labour government would review penalties under the Hunting Act 2004 to ensure it was an effective deterrent. It would include a consultation on the introduction of custodial sentences, bringing it in line with the penalties for other wildlife crimes.



Hayman said Labour would consider measures to prevent the exploitation of “loopholes” in the legislation, which covers England and Wales. It could include the introduction of a new “recklessness” clause to prevent trail or drag hunts being used as cover for the illegal hunting of wild mammals.