Thread by @KatePow3ll

I'm going hunt sabbing for the first time this evening. It's cubbing season so they're training the new dogs to attack and maul fox cubs

No foxes were killed here tonight. Aaaaand breathe.

Please support your local hunt sabs, and look into how to start getting involved.

Cubbing is utterly illegal. Huntsmen advertise it as "Fun Rides". They go out in evenings/early mornings to brutalise unsuspecting fox cubs.

The new, young hounds are apparently deliberately deprived of food before they're taken "cubbing" to encourage them to attack foxes.

had an exhausting but successful day sabbing. Up @ 4am, at the meet by 6am, following/sabotaging from 7-10am. At least 1 fox confirmed saved

Fife & Central Scottish hunt sabs were at the meet an hour before the hunt itself arrived. They were not happy to see us!

The hounds smelt a fox almost immediately, luckily the hunt had no guns in position (which is illegal) & we were on hand to confuse the dogs

The hunt procceded to shout abuse & rode across the hills but sabs kept up with them. One of the most disorganised hunts HSA had seen in yrs

It was awful seeing so many dogs jumping barbed wire fences. This one got left behind & circled for over an hour trying to find the pack

🦊‼️ HOW ME AND ANOTHER SAB MANAGED TO ACTIVELY SAVE A FOX THIS MORNING: ‼️🦊

One huntsmen said "Stay out of the way or there's a chance you'll get shot. That's a serious warning." Big bullies with nothing better to do

The hunt called the police on us even though we committed 0 crime. When the police arrived they stopped the hunt!😂#CongratsYouPlayedYourself

The hunt were filming/taking pics of us all day as usual. Can't wait to see all the sweaty unflattering footage of me falling in a stream ;)

I feel so relieved that every hunt I’ve sabbed has failed to make a kill on the day. I hate to think what would happen if no sabs were present 😔

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @katepow3ll view original on Twitter

I’m going to have this as a sabbing thread to give people an idea of what we do and hopefully inspire more people to get involved 🦊 (please message your local hunt sab group on Facebook and ask them about setting up a meeting)

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @katepow3ll view original on Twitter

Had an extremely traumatising day of sabbing. Lives were lost. Will tweet more when I’ve gathered my thoughts.

There’s a video I want to share but we are going to the media with it first so can’t post it on social media yet.

My heart is heavy this evening.

today was the most difficult sabbing experience I’ve ever had. We walked for miles and miles trying to get ahead of the Berwickshire hunt but despite our best efforts they illegally killed a fox and rabbit using hounds (not guns).

[TW: blood, animal death]

the hunt fired two shots at a running fox and missed both times. the hounds caught up with the fox in a field and mauled and ripped them apart until they died. a brave sab ran to retrieve the body and took it away from the hounds.

The hunt claimed that they wounded the fox with a bullet but sabs saw the fox running across open ground and he/she did not flinch or make a sound with either gunshot. They were not hit by either bullet and were instead killed by a pack of out-of-control hounds.

[tw: dead animal]

After we retrieved the body it was quickly ripped away from us by two violent terriermen.

A sab tried to hold onto the body but the terriermen grabbed the fox by his/her head and were prepared to rip it apart in order to get it away from sabs.

Two terriermen ASSAULTED two sabs today after the fox had been brutalised and we can confirm that their names are Ryan McKinna and Danny Boyle (son of fife and Berwickshire terrierman Dylan Boyle)

Full report and footage to follow.

A reminder that we hold absolutely NOTHING against the hounds. They are sweet and are exploited needlessly to fulfil the hunt’s bloodlust. They are as innocent as the foxes.

[TW: dead animal]

more images of the terrier men after they stole the fox from us

when they saw the phone pointed at them, they attempted to hide the mangled body from view (it’s legal to kill a fox with a gunshot but illegal to let hounds rip them to shreds like they did here)

What happened on Sat was utterly illegal. “Why don’t you go to the police”?

There are reasons that violent, law breaking hunts rarely have to face up to their crimes.

Look at this pic of @NorfolkPolice getting cosy with a terrierman.

These people have friends in high places.

"Why do sabs try to take away the body of the fox?"

The body can be taken for a post mortem to determine whether they were killed by hounds (illegal) or a gunshot (legal).

If the hunt keep the body, they use it for a trophy or throw it to the hounds to be devoured.

Two terriermen from the Berwickshire hunt assaulted two of our Scottish sabs on Saturday.

On the same day, three terriermen from the Badsworth & Bramham Moor Hunt threw rocks at a West Yorkshire Hunt Saboteur vehicle, smashing the windscreen.

These people are violent and base.

If you can spare a few £ to help West Yorkshire Sabs replace their smashed windscreen so they can continue sabbing, donations are very much appreciated: ko-fi.com/westyorkshireh….

Hunts are committing crimes against people and will be killing defenceless wildlife every single week until hunting season ends in April.

Are you going to do something about it? Someone has to stand up to these people.

Join the next generation of sabs.🦊

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @katepow3ll view original on Twitter

Sabs are just regular people. We have no special powers. We are not athletes. We come from all walks of life, we are of all ages, all genders, we have disabilities... We are inclusive. We are just regular folk that come together because we don’t want foxes to be killed.

The University of Edinburgh is repellent for sponsoring Berwickshire Hunt, who illegally & cruelly killed a fox and assaulted two hunt saboteurs on Saturday.

I now hang my head in shame knowing I am a member of this university.

@EdinburghUni
@TheDickVet
berwickshire-hunt.co.uk/sponsors

I'm waiting for the University of Edinburgh to call me back with information regarding whether or not they sponsor any other Scottish fox hunts, or just Berwickshire (---:

UPDATE: I JUST RANG THE UNIVERSITY ROYAL DICK VET SCHOOL AND THEY SAID THEY DO NOT AND NEVER HAVE SPONSORED THE BERWICKSHIRE HUNT OR ANY OTHER HUNT, WHICH MEANS THE BERWICK HUNT IS LYING ABOUT SPONSORS ON THEIR WEBSITE!

here we go again. Berwickshire Hunt are about to get hit by 11 sabs

WE JUST SAVED A FOX !!!! Update and footage to follow tonight

The hunt rode on ice today. Patches like this were all over

“Riding should never be attempted on ice. Horses do not handle ice well. Horses can easily fracture a leg.”

“Frozen, uneven ground can easily bruise the bottom of the foot. Ice is a particularly treacherous situation.”

I haven’t tweeted about today yet because I’m still trying to process it all. It was a rollercoaster and I am exhausted

25 horses, 25 riders, 8 terriermen on quad bikes with guns and 40 hounds vs. one defenceless terrified fox.

this is their noble “sport”.

Footage of an experienced sab using a gizmo to save a fox 🦊 the hunt were furious after this.

hunt supporters using their vehicles to block us in a country road when we attempted to drive off to follow the hunt 🙄

we found 5 holes that the hunt had filled in to prevent the fox hiding when they flush him/her out of the woodland. We unblocked the holes to give them a fighting chance 🦊

• terriermen scaring sheep with quads
• the boy in the vid is Danny Boyle who was involved in the assault of 2 sabs last week
• poor horse being made to ride into people

• FUN FACT: If you have a gun and see a sab in front of you and decide to shoot anyway that is YOUR FAULT

an extended clip of terriermen worrying sheep with their noisy quadbikes (twitter destroys video quality at the start of clips so it wasn’t clear in the previous tweet)

this irresponsible behaviour could cause pregnant ewes to miscarry. hunts aren’t just a danger to foxes.

the hunt claim to “love” the horses and hounds they use to brutalise wildlife, but look at the state of this poor skinny guy

A man stopped to talk to us whilst we were on the road. We had to cut him short because we were following the hunt. Look at the gorgeous doggies who were with him. 🐕

Sabs managed to give a fox a second chance at life early in the day when a gizmo was successfully used to distract hounds and pull them off the scent.

Sadly, about 4 hours later, the hunt (who were growing increasingly frustrated and angry) illegally killed a fox using hounds.

in this video:

• a hunt member mocks sabs
• hounds pick up on the scent of a fox and go into cry at the bottom of the hill
• sabs at the top of the hill try to call off the hounds
• no gun was fired in the 5 mins before the poor fox body was found, indicating an illegal kill

I’m sorry they wanted to kill you.

I’m sorry our efforts didn’t pull the hounds off your scent.

I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.

“My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.”

After the hunt illegally killed a fox we thought they’d be finished for the day (the sun was setting), but they continued to hunt up a steep hill so sabs regrouped & followed.

An intense dig-out ensued with a group of sabs laying on top of holes with 20 hounds digging around us.

have you really sabbed if you don’t end the day with soil embedded in your eyebrows and gorse stuck in your hair

this sab couldn’t get to the dig-out in time because she was accosted by a hound who just wanted some affection 🐶

We hate the HUNT, not the HOUNDS 💚✨

The hunt will try and claim that sabs want to hurt or even kill the hounds, but the vast majority of us are vegan and don’t believe in unnecessarily causing ANY suffering to ANY animals.

(second and third photos are from North West and Manchester sabs)

Another one of our sabs experiencing some puppy love from the hounds.

they’re just doing what they’ve been taught to do. They are as innocent as the foxes they pursue and rip to shreds. I am sorry for them all.

Something happened after sabbing yesterday.

I was being driven home in a car with 4 other sabs. We were nearly back in Edinburgh when we stopped at a petrol station.

As the driver was filling up the car, another car pulled in next to us, driven by a man in a tan balaclava (...)

The passenger also wore a balaclava. The two men drove in a circle around the petrol station (circling us unnecessarily) and stopped behind us.

The driver got out and filled up their car, neither of them took off their face covering and they were watching us the whole time (...)

He went into the station to pay, and our sab driver went in about 20 seconds later and stood two people behind him in the queue.

When our sab walked in, they got a good look at the masked man. When they made eye contact the man pulled the fabric up to cover more of his face(...)

After he paid he rushed back to his car where they drove away from the petrol pump but remained in the station watching our car through the glass.

Our sab driver spoke to the station worker and gesticulated towards the masked men in the car, and they immediately drove away(...)

After the men drove off, our driver returned to the car. We decided to wait in the petrol station for roughly 5-10 minutes.

We set off and drove for about 15 more minutes and thought that what had happened was bizarre but was probably a coincidence until we looked behind us(...)

We looked out the back window- the masked men in the car were RIGHT BEHIND US.

Even though we had waited 5-10 mins after they left the station they had ended up BEHIND us again.

We took a few more turns and they followed each time until we lost them on a busy roundabout(...)

We looped round some random roads to make sure we'd thrown them off.

The car was a silver vauxhall with ladders attached to the roof. We have noted down the reg number.

All this could be a coincidence, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Who masks up to pay for petrol?!(...)

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @KatePow3ll view original on Twitter

This hurts my heart. Fox hunting doesn’t just harm foxes.

one of our sabs was lucky enough to see a fox before they set off. the sky is gloriously orange. I hope these are good omens- good luck everyone who’s out today. It is freezing here- we are hoping the hunt cancels due to ice (though they’ve recklessly ridden on icy ground before)

We are the next generation of sabs 🦊🍃 (we don’t cover our faces to hide our identity - it is just cold today) A few weeks ago Samantha was racially abused by a hunt supporter of the hunt we’re visiting today. We reported it to the police but they have failed to take it further.

We left the car to pre-spray some gorse and when we returned to the car to follow the hunt we discovered that the land owner (where the hunt met) deliberately blocked us in. We called the police and the land owner was forced to move 👍😂

There were only 4 of us out yesterday, but we saved at least one life. We watched a fox run away to freedom and ensured that the hunt didn’t come back for him/her. Another exhausting day, but thankfully this time it didn’t end in heartbreak or death. 🦊💖

The Berwickshire hunt showed little regard for their horses yesterday as they rode on uneven, frozen ground and roads with patches of ice.❄️

Watch as their hounds SLIP AND FALL THROUGH THE ICE ON A SMALL LAKE. It was horrendous watching them put so many animals in danger. ❄️

(Twitter loves to absolutely butcher video quality for some reason - sorry about that)

funny how the hunt will play up to the camera and fuss their hounds despite so many incidences of neglect and abandonment 🙃 he didn’t even realise one had just fallen through the ice of a lake

the hounds are so wonderful, bless them. I was so happy when one came to say hello 🐶

🦊‼️ HOW WE SAVED A FOX ‼️🦊

Citronella is an easy to use and effective tool. The hounds hunt with their nose and if you can disguise the scent of a fox it makes it much harder for them to pursue one.

This little guy got away. My heart is happy this week. 🦊🌟💫

RUN, RUN, RUN

This was one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life so please excuse the terrible filming!

A terrified fox runs for their life with the hunt in eyeshot.

We monitored the area until the hunt left for the day. I hope this guy lives a long, hunt-free life.

After the hunt packed up they weren't very happy, and so 18 year old terrierman Danny Boyle decided to follow us home for 44 miles, pull up to glare at us when we arrived at a pub, and then drive off in a hurry when we went over to confront him. Failed intimidation at its finest.

“Saving one animal won’t change the world, but for that animal, their entire world has changed.”

We are trying our best. It’s easy to feel downtrodden thinking about how there are so many of them and so few of us, but we still save foxes, despite the odds.

Join. Sab. Donate. 🦊

WE MADE SCOTTISH SAB HISTORY!

We showed up at Berwickshire kennels before the hound van even set off. Hunt members saw our car, called the police on us, and then cancelled the hunt & didn’t leave the kennels all day.

The best possible outcome for us! Easy peasy, 0 foxes killed

They cancelled due to “weather conditions”. It was 9 °C & gloriously sunny.

Most likely it was due to frustration. Despite being violent to us, trying/failing to get us in trouble with the police, and attempting to intimidate us by following us home, we continue to sab them.✊️

A hunt member accused us of stalking her and tried to call us creepy (it’s not all about you, love.)

Ironically it was a member of her hunt that followed us home for 45 miles and then parked up outside the pub just to glare at us and then drive all the way back home. Incredible.

Another day, another horsebox leading us to a hunt meet. We are ready to make their day a lot less enjoyable for them 👁👅👁

The poor horse is thrashing about in the box 😥

We had 5 sab cars, surprised the hunt on their weekday meet, got to the meet before the hound van, pre-beat/sprayed a whole woodland (flushed all wildlife away) before they set off, & watched them pack up miserably before it was even 2pm! 💚 NO KILLS 💚

A terrierman throwing his toys out of the pram

today we filmed Fife Foxhounds hunting illegally (but failing to kill) and we think the footage is clear enough to go to the police 👍 we also have footage of Galpin loading a shotgun when stood facing sabs who were few feet away 👹

Us following the last 3 riders in the distance as they headed back to the meet where the rest of the hunt was packing up to go home. We kept the foxes safe for another day 💚🦊

Yesterday we travelled to Jedburgh but discovered the hunt had not gone out.

In a SURREAL turn of events, we ended up sitting and having a civil discussion with huntman Johnny Riley.

We had a camera crew with us & have some very interesting parts of the conversation on tape.

The atmosphere went from hostile to amiable within minutes.
This year Johnny was convicted of illegal hunting. He readily admitted to things like killing hounds when they’re no longer useful & that he knows people who would continue to hunt illegally if a real ban is put in place

I never thought I’d be sitting on a fold-up chair outside the hound kennels with the huntsman’s pet dog on my lap.

It was bizarre to sit and talk with a hunt member in a calm and controlled way, but it is a reminder that we sab because we want to save foxes, not to pick fights.

It’s important to emphasise we are there for the foxes, not because we hate the hunt. From now on I will not say needlessly derogatory things about hunt members. Many are conditioned from childhood and I don’t believe they are evil (although SOME individual members are repugnant)

I admit I’m guilty of referring to hunt members by petty names & found amusement in annoying them when we show up to sab, but this mindset doesn’t help save foxes and wrongfully makes hunt sabotaging look like a sort of weird class war. The focus should always be on the animals.

Boxing Day is the biggest hunting day of the year. 250-300 hunts may be out today. Good luck to all sabs who went out and are still out at this moment.

A fearless 4 year-old activist stands up to the East Kent hunt supporters and terriermen this morning. A young boy is flaunting a dismembered fox tail. Apparently they taunted and insulted her.

[GRAPHIC CONTENT]

Horses, foxes and even a hound have sadly died because of the Boxing Day hunts. The reports are all coming in and it’s heartbreaking.

[GRAPHIC CONTENT]

Another victim from today. This pic is awful but needs to be seen.

The hunts will lie and say they only hunt artificial trails. The hunts will lie and say that when the hounds DO catch a fox, it’s a “quick nip to the back of the neck.”

This speaks volumes.

Hunting doesn’t just hurt foxes. 2 horses died during the Boxing Day Hunt.

The horse in the 1st pic was one of 2 who died of a heart attack. Sabs comforted him as he died at the Burton Hunt in Sleaford.
The second was taken at West Kent Hunt. We don’t know if the horse survived.

Pro-hunt pages will tell tales of sabs allegedly trying to hurt horses & hounds. Funny how they never have any footage of these acts actually being committed - this was the only photo they posted as evidence of sabs “dropping glass”. They resort to this to try and discredit us.😴

look how they try discredit us:

“The Scalphunters” posted saying they’re not associated w/ sabs. They look to be a troll page.

Angry words on sab pages do not discredit sab work. I disagree with these ugly comments but people who comment on pages are not necessarily hunt sabs.

I reiterate, sabs are regular people. We are not saints. Sometimes sab-supporters & sabs say unnecessarily hostile things about the hunt. This does not reflect hunt sabs as a whole. Many of us do not believe in wishing ill on the hunt and instead focus our energy on the animals.

[GRAPHIC] Updated Boxing Day Death Toll: 5 foxes, 2 horses, 1 hound (that we know of) 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🐎🐎🐶

A fox torn apart by Cheshire Forest Hunt.

A hound killed on a dual carriageway in Risca, South Wales -down the road from where Tredegar Farmers Hunt had their Boxing Day meet.

This thread was supposed to just be stories from my sabbing experience, but it’s important to share stories of the victims of hunting (and not just the foxes)

27 out-of-control hounds killed a defenceless 18 yr old cat. The hunt stole her body and returned her in a dog food bag.

Another poor cat who was savaged by out-of-control hounds.

This happened during a supposed “trail hunt”.

Don’t listen to the hunt’s lies - “trail hunting” is a con. Countless animals still die as the hunt flouts the law.

[GRAPHIC CONTENT]

Another victim from the Boxing Day Hunt - a fox needlessly killed under the guise of “trail hunting”.

If anyone tries to tell you that no animals die during trail hunting, show them this.

I don’t enjoy sharing gorey photos, but people need to know the truth.