WATCH: Video of fox being killed during hunt in Warwickshire shared by saboteurs
Warning - photographs and footage in this article contain graphic content.
Footage of a fox been killed by a pack of hunting dogs in Warwickshire - despite a law being passed 18 years ago banning it - has been circulated on social media.
The harrowing footage filmed by anti-hunt protesters on Monday (9 October) shows the terrified animal fleeing across fields in Idlicote House Estate, with hunt members giving chase.
The fox then bolts through a field and into a hedgerow before the pack of dogs descend on the animal.
A hunt saboteur can be heard screaming in the background: "Leave it! Leave it! Leave the fox alone."
The three-and-a-half-minute video then shows the hounds mauling the fox while a huntsman on horseback watches.
After several moments, the huntsman jumps down from his horse and picks up the fox's bloodied corpse and walks away.
The hunt saboteur pleads to be given the fox's body but the huntsman refuses.
She then tells him and another hunter: "You should be ashamed of yourselves."
Protest group West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs say they have reported the fox death to police, which reportedly happened during the Warwickshire Hunt.
A spokesperson for the group said: "The footage from the saboteurs body worn camera shows the pack of hounds ragging the body about as the saboteur approaches the pack of hounds before a rider from the hunt takes the body away.
"Several foxes were seen running away from the hunt, all of them in places that we have previously seen foxes running from the hounds.
"Why do the Warwickshire Hunt with a huntsman repeatedly take their hounds to places where they know that the hounds are likely to find foxes?
"They can't claim this was an accident whilst purposely and continuously taking their hounds to these places."
Chief Inspector Steve Davies of Warwickshire Police said: "We have been sent footage and we are currently investigating allegations of offences."
The Warwickshire Hunt was handed a community protection notice (CPN) in December 2022 ordering that officers should be provided with a calendar of all events and locations and timings of any road crossings a week before meets.
This was due to be appealed by Warwickshire Hunt but a protocol to address road safety matters, which has not been published, was agreed prior to that being heard. It meant the CPN was dropped.
The matter was raised with the Warwickshire Police & Crime Panel – a body of councillors and independent members that scrutinises the work of Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Seccombe – last month.
Dr Denise Taylor, a wildlife conservationist, said the withdrawal of the PCN "has raised serious questions and has not been transparently explained to the public" and queried the "secret" protocol.
Nub News has approached Warwickshire Hunt for comment.
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