Thread by @mendiphuntsabs

TANTRUMS, STROPS & FOXES AT THE MENDIP FARMERS HUNT
Hill View House, Hinton Blewett 11-02-23
The morning started with a waiting PCSO telling us not to wear "balaclavas" as it’s apparently intimidating, then also telling us that we need to keep our cameras more still when (1/17)

gathering video evidence for them. Maybe if the police actually did their job for once, they’d realise it’s really not that easy to keep cameras still when you’re running across muddy fields in the wind and rain whilst being pushed around and threatened by a gang of men (2/17)

on quad bikes and horses.
Yet more drama before the meet with the arrival of George and Charlotte towing their horse trailer. So incensed was George at our mere existence that he launched a full-scale toddler tantrum the moment he saw us, whilst his fiancé Charlotte (3/17)

bizarrely danced in the road chanting and singing insults directed at our sabs. George’s daddy looked rather embarrassed as he failed to calm his son down, and George then proceeded to shove his own father as well as sabs whilst he screamed and yelled and his outburst (4/17)

intensified.
The trio then all called the police to tell them they were feeling threatened by us (a now familiar story), which was rather odd seeing as it was them who – completely unprovoked - ran over to us to verbally abuse and assault us. Charlotte didn’t look very (5/17)

intimidated whilst literally grinning like a gurning buffoon and dancing in the street, but persistent lying is the foundation of this hunt’s existence, and they’re now adopting plenty of lying to try to get rid of us.
Before the hunt set off, we sent sabs into an area we (6/17)

knew foxes live and they saw a family of five – including cubs – blissfully playing. Under normal circumstances this would be a joyous experience, but instead we were filled with fear knowing the hunt would soon be there and their lives were in danger. Sabs thoroughly (7/17)

sprayed the area with citronella and when hounds did arrive they thankfully did not pick up on their scents. A huge relief.
The hunt started off by drawing blank in Stowey Quarry and around Castle Wood, then moved on to the scrub and small coverts on White Hill. Hounds (8/17)

briefly picked up and followed a line towards North Widcombe, but soon checked and were called back by the huntsman.
Heading further south on White Hill, hounds went into cry near Withy Lane and sabs saw two foxes run for their lives towards Prospect Style. Their scent (9/17)

was quickly covered and sabs held back the hounds for several minutes with voice calls and whip cracks. This gave the foxes a good head start, but the hunt called the hounds back up the hill and they went into cry again and headed further east. The pack then appeared to (10/17)

scatter and were heard speaking in various places. The huntsman seemed to lose all control and was seen walking across a field on his own with no hounds anywhere near.
Most of the pack ended up back on White Hill where they started speaking again, and a fox hurriedly (11/17)

crossed the footpath steps near Prospect Style a few metres away from one of our sabs. Their scent was once again covered and sabs successfully called approaching hounds away from their line to keep the fox safe in the brambles they laid up in.
The huntsman then spent at (12/17)

least half an hour trying to call back the scattered pack, whilst George was heard shouting “Where the f**k is Mathew?!” and having a domestic with Charlotte whilst still holding Mathew’s horse.
After the hunt’s embarrassing public charade, hounds were sent into Peak’s (13/17)

Girt Wood where they started speaking again, and one of the foot teams saw the fox they were on flee across Shortwood Common. More covering with citronella stopped the hounds completely as they approached on the line. The hunt tried to find the fox again but seemingly (14/17)

failed.
Heading further north, hounds were heard speaking again and a local informed us they had seen the hunted fox running towards Litton Reservoir with a number of hounds in pursuit. Unfortunately, we then lost the hunt for a short while, but caught up with them again (15/17)

as they were boxing up in a field near Litt Hill.
Thanks to @SomersetSabs and @WiltsHuntSabs for joining us today.
We are all volunteers and rely entirely on donations to continue protecting wildlife. Please consider supporting our work, you can donate the price of a (16/17)

@SomersetSabs @WiltsHuntSabs coffee to ko-fi.com/mendiphuntsabs or PayPal us directly at PayPal.me/MendipHuntSabs. Thank you. (17/17)