Tiverton Staghounds: exposed as ritualistic killers by undercover hunt sabs

TRIGGER WARNING – Graphic content 

The Hunt Saboteur Association (HSA) has exposed the Tiverton Staghounds as a cult of ritualistic killers. Over several months in autumn 2025, undercover sabs went undercover once more and witnessed the hunting and butchery of mature stags. Hunters chased these stunning creatures to exhaustion before ritually carving them up in our national parks. Yes, you read that right, our national parks.

Trail hunting is a myth

The Tiverton Staghounds is one of just three remaining registered stag hunting packs left in the UK. They operate primarily in the valleys of the Exe and Taw and have roots that twist all the way back to the 19th century. They remain a pillar of the West Country’s hunting elite to this day. Whilst the hunt claims to provide a service to the countryside, the reality is they have a long legacy of illegal violence.

The Tiverton Staghounds claim to engage in ‘trail hunting.’ Yet evidence collected by sabs suggests this is a coordinated lie. The HSA witnessed a large vehicle with the obligatory ‘Trail Layer’ signage driving ahead of the hounds. Exhaust fumes destroy any potential scent trail, yet the hunt still use this excuse to maintain legal cover. This is nothing but a cynical and very obvious attempt to provide a legal shield against prosecution.

In reality, sabs witnessed the hunt dragging one of these ‘trails’ along the line a hunted stag had already taken. This disgusting tactic, advised in the infamous ‘Hunting Office’ webinars, allows hunt supporters to film the dogs apparently following a legal scent. This is nothing but an orchestrated performance designed to evade police scrutiny whilst stags are pursued to their deaths.

The HSA investigation revealed that these hunters switch between multiple exemptions per day. Huntsman cycle between ‘trail hunting,’ ‘researching,’ and ‘flushing to gun.’ This allows them to stay one step ahead of a law that is no longer fit for purpose.

Hunt sabs — Ritualistic butchery leaves us open to biosecurity risks

The level of depravity that sabs report having witnessed is fucking staggering and perverse. On Wednesday 8 October 2025, in Bishops Tawton, a mature stag was hunted so viciously its legs gave way to exhaustion. Once dead, the hunt’s lackeys cut off its feet (known as ‘slots’) ready for them to be handed out as sick trophies. Tell me again how this is ‘wildlife management’ and not fucking trophy hunting?

Hunters then performed what sabs described as ‘satanic rites,’ and this is nothing short of inhuman. They sliced open the stag’s abdomen to allow the hounds to feast on the intestines directly from the carcass. Not only is this vile, with it happening on open grazing land, they are creating a massive biosecurity risk.

Raw biological matter left in fields where livestock graze exposes our wildlife to bovine tuberculosis. The hunting community often claim to be the guardians of the countryside, yet they’re actively spreading dangerous disease through these vile, archaic rituals.

No refuge for any wildlife

Even designated nature reserves offer no sanctuary from the Tiverton Staghounds. Sabs caught this uncaring hunt operating on Devon Wildlife Trust land. This area is supposed to be a safe haven for all wildlife, yet sabs have seen the hunt’s supporters scream to drive a young stag away from safety and into the jaws of the hounds.

This ‘turning’ of this stunning creature ensured he could find no refuge. He was chased for miles before being downed at Nomansland. The fact that these mounted pricks on horseback feel entitled to invade our conservation lands shows just how above the law they believe they are.

On another visit, sabs saw a mature stag killed in Cadleigh. After an agonising chase, the hunters dragged the animal by the antlers and hung him off the back of a quadbike. One final indignity for a creature murdered in cold blood.

Hunt sabs — Witness the end of hunting

The HSA has made it clear that a simple ban on ‘trail hunting’ isn’t going to stop these wankers. They are committed and bloodthirsty extremists who will simply switch to another loophole to cover their arses. The current legislation is a leaky sieve that allows the carnage of these bloodsports to pour through.

Only a total ban on all forms of hunting with hounds will fix this. The HSA has proposed a comprehensive set of reforms based on 60 years of sabotaging the hunt. These proposals include a ‘reckless clause’ to stop hunters from claiming illegal kills were accidents. And that means all animals, not just stags.

The evidence is now undeniable. The Tiverton Staghounds are not following the law, they’re fucking mocking it. The government must now decide if it will continue look the other way or finally grow a fucking backbone and shut down these countryside criminals for good?

Featured image via the author