‘Hunt havoc’ is often ignored – but not for much longer

Protect the Wild has launched a new initiative to expose the devastation that hunts’ activities cause to people, property, and public safety. The disruption that hunting brings to communities and individuals is less well known than the cruelty they unleash on wildlife. Protect the Wild’s new Hunt Havoc website aims to change that by logging the chaos caused by hunts across Great Britain and serving as a tool to hold them accountable.

Protect the Wild: tracking hunt havoc

The cruelty that wild animals endure at the hands of hunts is well known. This is why the government plans to ban trail hunting – because twenty years on from hunting being outlawed, hunts blatantly continue to persecute wildlife. Across Great Britain, hunts also wreak havoc on local communities and individuals by acting recklessly and breaking laws while hunting. But this chaos often flies under the radar.

Protect the Wild has launched an initiative to shine a light on this overlooked aspect of hunting. Its new Hunt Havoc website exposes the disruption caused by hunts by documenting incidents that occur, so that people lucky enough not to experience them firsthand can discover the damage caused by hunts in their area.

These incidents are categorised by constabulary and through streamlined tools on the website, concerned citizens can send pre-drafted letters to their local police to urge these forces to take action.

The Hunt Havoc website will shine a particularly bright light on hunts’ use of quad bikes – and the terriermen that often sit atop them. Quads are a common sight on hunting days, with hunts using them to intimidate hunt saboteurs and locals, block roads, and to scout for foxes. As the name indicates, terriermen also use their quads to transport terriers and digging tools.

The ‘soft underbelly’

Hunting figures have referred to terrier work as “the soft underbelly of hunting.” This is because there is zero need for terriermen – and their terriers – to be present at a hunt unless it plans to hunt wild animals.

The only purpose of terriers during hunting is for them to be put underground into places like badger setts to flush foxes out of hiding, or to hold foxes at bay underground while terriermen dig into the earth with their tools to pull the wild animals out.

In other words, terrier work is the ‘soft underbelly’ of hunting because it betrays what hunts are really up to. Terriermen and their quads are a weak spot for hunts in another way too, as they routinely violate road traffic laws and safety regulations.

Hunts commonly use quads that lack the necessary tax, insurance, or registration. Quads are also often seen without number plates or with the plates deliberately obscured. Carrying passengers illegally is another typical offence, as is driving recklessly, obstructing traffic, and trespassing.

Hunt havoc must not be ignored

Protect the Wild’s Hunt Havoc website will expose the reality and scale of illegal and reckless activities by hunts, including those involving quad bikes. It will also empower people to demand action from police forces so that affected communities get the justice they deserve.

Protect the Wild’s founder Rob Pownall said:

For too long, the havoc wreaked by hunts on communities has been ignored. While the cruelty they inflict on wildlife is well known, their reckless and lawless behavior also puts people, animals, and property at risk. Hunt Havoc will expose this widespread destruction, hold hunts to account, and give the public the tools to demand action from the authorities.

It’s time for police forces to stop turning a blind eye and start enforcing the law.

Featured image via the Canary