British poaching of fox cubs

This August 2018 video from Britain says about itself:

What is cub hunting?

Cub hunting is when fox cubs are hunted to train young hounds to hunt. In the Midlands cub hunting usually begins towards the end of August and lasts up until the 1st November when the main hunting season begins.

During this 2 month period up to 10,000 foxes can be killed. Fox hunters usually wear ratcatcher (tweed) rather than traditional red coats.

Cub hunting usually takes place very early in the morning or late in the evening due to the scenting conditions being better as it is usually still too warm during the day.

Unlike traditional hunting, cub hunting is very static. The hunt members will surround a small wood or crop field where they know a family of foxes live. Once surrounded they hit their boots or saddles with their riding crops to scare any foxes trying to escape back into the wood.

The hunts terrier-men will also block any badger setts and fox earths to prevent them running to ground.

During this period hunts will be out hunting more regularly than during the main hunting season 3-4 days a week. Some of the bigger hunts can be out 6 days a week.

You can report any information you have about cub hunting and any of our local hunts to us confidentially here.

By Ceren Sagir in Britain:

Friday, December 21, 2018

Over 70 ‘cub hunts’ reported this year despite 14-year ban

MORE than 70 different “cub hunts” have been reported this year, an animal welfare charity said today.

Cub hunting involves hunters surrounding a small copse and shouting and slapping saddles to scare fox cubs from escaping the woodland, which the huntsman enters with a pack of hounds. Any fox cubs detected by the hounds will be ripped to pieces.

The so-called “sport” has been banned for 14 years.

League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) head of campaigns Nick Weston said: “The only way they can do this is to give their young hounds the taste of fox blood – they do this by cub hunting. The brutal reality of this activity is clear in its name – they hunt and kill baby foxes.

“Hunts do this every year up and down the country, because if they didn’t, the hounds wouldn’t naturally chase and kill foxes.

“The existence of cub hunting proves that ‘trail hunting’ is a sham – these hounds aren’t trained to follow a trail, they are trained to kill.”

Mr Weston said it was time that the Hunting Act is strengthened to introduce prison sentences to deter people from organising and taking part in “cruel sports.”

The Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt was witnessed cub hunting by LACS investigators who filmed a fox bolting from woodland and being chased by the hunt’s hounds.

Other groups recorded cub hunting were Belvoir Hunt, Surrey Union Hunt and the Duke of Beaufort Foxhounds.

Two representatives of the Hunt have been interviewed by Derbyshire Police in relation to allegations of illegal hunting.