Kimblewick Hunt pair found guilty

[Tiddlypom]

Two men employed by the Kimblewick Hunt have been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal during a New Years Day hunt. They are now facing a custodial sentence. They prodded the fox out of a tunnel using drainage rods, grabbed it by its tail and then released it as hounds approached. All captured on covert CCTV.

Just how isolated an incident are we supposed to believe this to be?

https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/index.p...ewick-hunt-caught-on-film-hunting-captive-fox

Kimblewick Hunt: Men released trapped fox 'into the path of a hunt' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-50241821

 

[AmyMay]

Well we know it’s not isolated in terms of hunt’s generally. What a pair of low lifes.

 

[Bernster]

I love hunting but I don’t love this 😞. Drag hunts all the way for me.

 

[Tiddlypom]

‘Stephen Lomax, a witness for the defence, suggested the fox had been pulled out by its hind legs and tail and would have been "adequately supported".
The veterinary surgeon added he "didn't believe" it was "possible to cause suffering" to a fox by pushing the drainage rods down the tunnel.’

This vet needs some retraining .

Ah, I thought the vet’s name was familiar. He appeared in another court case earlier this year as the defendant. He was found guilty of causing death by careless driving at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

 

[LKWilliams]

I don't think all hunts should be judged upon this incident, many of us are horrified at this. It is people like this which bring shame upon the hunting community. We hunt because we love our sport and just like others we believe in playing by the rules, which in the case of hunting is also the law. We all work so hard to keep hunting alive with the opposition we have we do not need things like this bringing more bad light for them to jump on.

 

[ycbm]

How many events should we hear about before we start believing that it's a widespread issue? Does your own hunt lay scent strong enough to ensure the hounds stay on it, and can they recall with the level of success of a drag pack if they pick up the wrong scent?

I wonder how many packs can put hand on heart and say they have not killed a fox since the ban, yet all drag packs probably can.
.

 

[LKWilliams]

Hounds have a very high prey drive, yes foxes would have been killed since the ban. However the level of cruelty expressed in this post is of a much different matter. Hunts work to hunt within the law, hours are spent laying trails. But I do not agree what so ever with what the individuals above have done. This would not have been acceptable pre-ban, nor is it acceptable post ban.

 

[Steerpike]

Can't say I've ever seen my local hunt out laying trails and that included when they came onto the farm I have my horses at.

 

[CJoe]

they are animals this hunt....not surprised one bit.....

 

[ycbm]

Hounds have a very high prey drive, yes foxes would have been killed since the ban. Hunts work to hunt within the law, hours are spent laying trails. But I do not agree what so ever with what the individuals above have done. This would not have been acceptable pre-ban, nor is it acceptable post ban.

Well you skilfully avoided the point I made in answering my post, which is that drag packs, using the same breed of hound, manage to lay trails that hold the hounds and also seem to have a better recall to get the hounds to stop when they have picked up fox scent.

So I think it would be fair to assume from your answer that your own hunt is laying trails so weak that the hounds can accidentally (!) and therefore legally, follow and kill fox.

You're going to have to excuse me if I don't see such a huge difference, except the technical and questionable legality, between that and what this hunt did.


.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I wonder what spin Polly ‘Pinocchio’ Portwin, the Head of Hunting at the Countryside Alliance will put on this. I believe that she hunts with the Kimblewick Hunt.

It is clear from the CCTV footage that the two terrier men were not acting alone, they were doing the bidding of other parties on the day, in order to release the fox at the ‘right’ time to provide sport for the hunt. The monkeys will be doing the time, the organ grinders are still free.

 

[Follysmum]

North Cambs sabs have been out in force and according to them a hunt master has been sacked after a lady sab was attacked by him
Was only a matter of time before someone got hurt

 

[Fransurrey]

Can't say I've ever seen my local hunt out laying trails and that included when they came onto the farm I have my horses at.

Quite. Two years ago our local hunt came charging through the farm after a fox, hounds causing all the horses to go completely nuts, running around our field shelters and horses. They were WAY off where they were allowed to go. No apology of course.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Anyone seen an official response of any sort to these verdicts from the pro hunt side? I can’t find anything on line from the MFHA or from the Countryside Alliance. The guilty verdicts can hardly be a surprise.

The Hunting For Truth (ha, what a misnomer!) and This is Hunting UK FB pages haven't featured it either.

Are they ignoring it and hoping that it will go away?

‘The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) is the Governing Body for registered packs of Foxhounds and represents 171 packs that hunt within the law in England and Wales and a further 8 in Scotland.

The MFHA has strict Rules and Codes of Conduct that have been written to promote standards of best practice in kennels and the field, and to show the accountability of member packs. All Masters of Foxhounds packs are members of the MFHA and have to agree to abide by the Association's Rules, Codes of Conduct and Instructions.’

 

[Tiddlypom]

I’ve just read that one of the guilty men, Mark Vincent, is the President of the Kimblewick Hunt. Do hunts usually have presidents?

So the Kimblewick Hunt is rotten top down.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7636419/Shocking-moment-fox-dragged-trap-tail.html

 

[Tiddlypom]

Apologies for the drip feed of updates, but I’ve been doing some more sleuthing. Polly Portwin, the Head of Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, is Field Master for the Kimblewick Hunt.

There was a glowing four page report on the Kimblewick Hunt in H&H mag on 8/11/18. The Kimblewick was the featured Pack of the Week. Polly Portwin was the Field Master on the day.



The two guilty men are the ‘countryman’ and the ‘amateur countryman’ of the hunt.




What a bloody shambles. This pack (and goodness knows how many others) and a prominent CA employee were in cahoots to facilitate illegal hunting. I do not believe that anyone so closely associated with the Hunt as the Field Master can not have known what was going on to facilitate a day’s sport.

 

[Tiddlypom]

So there is still a resounding nothing in reply from the Hunting fraternity’s representatives in the MFHA, the CA or H&H news about this horrendous case. That is so revealing, they’re all in it up to their necks. They should have been falling over themselves to condemn this. I’m not even surprised any more. Legal trail hunting my arse.

Don’t think that lying low and hoping that the General Election and Brexit will cause it to soon be overlooked will work, either . As has often been said, hunting will bring about its own demise. You’re going about it in just the right way.

ETA The most recent FB post from the CA, posted two days ago. A cute kid in fancy dress on a pony. Nothing else going on at the moment, CA?

 

[rabatsa]

can they recall with the level of success of a drag pack if they pick up the wrong scent?
.

We had to ban the local drag hounds as they had no control/recall of the hounds. A change of master helped them a lot.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The two ‘countrymen’ have got away with suspended sentences because they were clearly (as can be heard on the video audio) acting under the instructions of unidentified others. They have been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Oxford Magistrates' Court.

‘District Judge Rana previously said the defendants' actions were "deliberate and pre-mediated" but said during their sentencing that they "weren't the brains of the operation".’

Kimblewick Hunt: Men sentenced for releasing fox 'into hunt path' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-50562260

Anyone know of any formal reaction from the Hunting community to the sentence and to the judge’s comments? These guys were the stooges.

 

[Dobiegirl]

My local pack dont seem to lay trails, they are always trespassing in woods and farms where they are not welcome and always have terrier men following, its a blatant disregard of the law in which the police dont seem to want to get involved with.

 

[LKWilliams]

My local pack dont seem to lay trails, they are always trespassing in woods and farms where they are not welcome and always have terrier men following, its a blatant disregard of the law in which the police dont seem to want to get involved with.

The police also don't care about the antis that tresspass on the farmers land, we are very happy for the hunt to cross our land but have no want for antis/monitors. They are not welcome to cross our land yet they do.

 

[Dobiegirl]

I would assume LKWilliams if the hunt are on your land its by invite as they were laying a trail for the hunt to follow later, or do they just appear out of the blue.

I would much rather have the antis walking across our land rather than a load of mounted hunt followers galloping across it damaging the ground for which they dont have permission and are obviously hunting illegally as no trail has been set.

 

[LKWilliams]

I would assume LKWilliams if the hunt are on your land its by invite as they were laying a trail for the hunt to follow later, or do they just appear out of the blue.

I would much rather have the antis walking across our land rather than a load of mounted hunt followers galloping across it damaging the ground for which they dont have permission and are obviously hunting illegally as no trail has been set.

This frustrates me to no end, it's the hunt which do this which give everyone a bad name. Our hunt are brilliant, they pop in prior to coming near us and we get given the dates to when they are local

 

[Dobiegirl]

Its more widespread than you think, why else would they have terrier men zooming about everywhere, if your hunt is following the letter of the law then that is great but they are few and far between. If the antis were not there who would know what was going on, their video footage has brought this into the public eye.

 

[ycbm]

The police also don't care about the antis that tresspass on the farmers land,

Trespass is not a criminal offence.

.

 

[LKWilliams]

Trespass is not a criminal offence.

.

I was only responding to the comment which stated about the hunt trepassing and the police not caring.

Hopefully the conservatives will be voted in and make it a bigger matter; this will stop both hunts and antis trespassing

 

[LKWilliams]

However there has been much worse trespassing due to the badger cull than the hunt sabs.
Atleast with sabs we know they are there and although annoying and rude they are usually in full view
Stop the cull groups trespass in the dead of night and destroy traps, which is just plain ignorant

 

[Tiddlypom]

Further footage of the incident showing how the guilty men are speaking to and undoubtedly acting on orders from someone they refer to as ‘Sir’. The antis reckon the person giving the orders is a joint master who they name in the video.

https://www.facebook.com/623112207717516/posts/3052452861450093

Still no comments from the pro hunting community? The same community who were so quick to condemn the actions of the much less posh South Herefordshire Hunt?

 

[palo1]

Well it's clear enough that a hunting crime has been committed, who was involved and how. There is no mystery about that (unlike the actions of the SHH where activities were downright bizarre!!). It's clearly wrong - the 2 men in the video are acting under orders and all 3 are complicit though it's possible the 2 men seen are reliant on the huntsman for their employment. What else is there to say other than this isn't what anyone wants? I am sure there is considerable discomfort because of Polly Portwin's association with the hunt but she, nor anyone other than those 3 people is apparant here.

 

[Tiddlypom]

The South Herefordshire Hunt was disbanded and the hounds drafted to other packs.

The same should happen to the Kimblewick Hunt, or indeed to any pack found guilty of such appalling practices. Does the MFHA intend to continue to ignore this case? If no action is taken, what message does that send out? Can anyone point me to an official pro hunt organisation condemnation of the events shown in the video?