Wednesday 9 December 2009

Hunting with dogs in the Peak District




After a stressful 48 hours away, I decided upon my return to head for the hills to unwind and to see if the local Mountain Hare are yet wearing their winter coats.

Getting close enough to photograph Mountain Hare can be challenging - but that is part of the fun! However today I had a an experience like never before. As I positioned myself in an area where I know a relatively tame Mountain Hare resides during the colder months I was convinced I could hear huntsman’s horns in the distance. I reassured myself that such a thing was impossible because this place is deserted and you would never get horses up the steep gradients.

I found my favourite hare and he seemed happy enough to let me get close enough to take some decent pictures. As I was doing this I was disturbed by what I assumed was a stray dog - now this was strange because the only dogs seen around this location is the occasional sheep dog with his master. This dog was different; it was a beagle type dog and it had no lead or collar. I went over to meet it and it was friendly enough, however moments later a dozen more of the same type of dogs arrived - along with camouflaged men who were carrying shovels and various other tools - as well as a legion of smaller terrier type hounds.

The situation now changed from strange to surreal as a huntsman’s horn - the exact type you would expect to hear at a Boxing Day hunt, sounded, and the dogs and camouflaged, shovel carrying men and their hounds all went dashing towards another location also frequented by Mountain Hare. I thought - no way is this happening to me here, this place is where I come to escape from the stresses and worries of day to day life and now I am going to find myself confronting a large group of hunters who seem to be after the blood of Mountain Hare.

I made it obvious I was watching them as I followed. I caught up with one of the camouflaged hunters and asked what were they doing and was what they were doing legal. He said they were after clearing the area of ‘pests’. I enquired what type of pests, he replied foxes, rats and rabbits who are all guilty of stealing and eating grouse eggs.

Now as far as I know; fox hunting is banned, and I have never heard of rabbits eating eggs. And would this group be able to distinguish the difference between a rare water vole which resides in the exact area their hounds were roaming and a common rat?

I think I can take a little credit for saving the lives of some Peak District Mountain Hare today; as I was watching, with camera in hand complete with very obvious 400mm lens they seemed a bit nervous, but god only knows what death and destruction they lay behind them from their exploits earlier in the day. I will be back in the morning to see what I discover. (To enlarge click on the image)






57 comments:

Roy West said...

Blood sports, Ah the thrill of the kill, the riping a part of the fox. Watching the dogs tear into the fox.
What better way of spending your time in the wilds than seeing such a sight?

we love roy west said...

They also hunt in Stalybridge on the moors at the back of Brushes all the time.

Anonymous said...

we love Roy west you moron...
Roy is being sarcastic.
He is against fox hunting you fool
and well done to him.
There is always a fox hunt going on somewhere, it needs to be stopped but the police cant catch them. you need to do it Roy, check out the local moors if we love roy west says they do it they more than likely do.......

ex-labour voter said...

The only good thing ever done by Labour was the banning of hunting. Everything else has been a disaster for the country.

TOODLE PIP TORIES said...

WELL DONE ROY YOU HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB EXPOSING THESE MONSTERS
AND JUST THINK IF THE TORIES GOT IN THEY WOULD BRING IT BACK .....
IT JUST A SHAME YOU STAND FOR BNP HAVE YOU CONSIDER BECOMING INDEPENDANT.

Labour candidate for Stalybridge South fights for foxes... said...

Looks like your not the only one Roy who is against Fox hunting.
just recieved a copy of Stalybridge South rose, the candidate has written to his local councillors asking them their stance. well done to both of you.
Blood sport in Brushes a complete disgrace..............

UKIP speaks said...

you have to admit as much as it breaks my heart to show support to both the Labour party and worst still the BNP. fox hunting is bad and down right cruel, Roy you have done something good and shown you do have a heart, cant beleive they hunt still it against the law. what are the police doing. if this Labour Candidate is campaigning as well then it bad... and with boxing day not far away I will have to go up thier and report any activity.
Well done to you both. keep fox hunting banned.

sick to the stomach said...

Dear Roy West, Thank you for exposing such horrific events I am absolutely shocked and disgusted at what you most have witnessed. I have reported both incidents to the relevant authorities, and should I find out there is going to be BOXING DAY HUNT IN TAMESIDE I WILL BE THERE CAMPAIGNING AGAINST IT. you can write and let the below know about any events.


League Against cruel Sports
New Sparling House
Holloway Hill
Godalming
Surrey
GU7 1QZ
United Kingdom

We can be contacted by phone on 01483 524 250

another tory voter going red next election said...

Looks like Labour have hit the nail on the head with their fox hunting campaign in Stalybridge South. They have been out today, How can the Tories want such a thing they have lost my vote for sure…..

Anonymous said...

foxes are vermin and so are Labour and if the tories want to go around ripping them to piece with their hounds so be it.. think yourself luck labour they dont hunt you down with a pack of dogs. nothing would be more enjoyable then watching Roy Oldham chased and torn to pieces. In fact do you think he is available on Boxing day.

benefits cheat said...

Congratulations on your inflation busting payrise Roy. Working people are having paycuts, no rises and a 1% increase in NI. Carers allowance is going up by 1.5%!
How exactly can you care for somebody in Dukinfield when you live in Hyde?

Anonymous said...

just recieved my christmas card from the local Labour candidate from Stalybridge South and a second news letter what a nice chap and I will be voting for him next year there is no way the tories are bringing fox hunting back...
i have often walked onto walker wood and wonder what was going on a lot of folk with dogs etc.
it needs to be stopped.
i notice TC has not put the Labour news letter on this site yet,

Roy Walker said...

I hope people realise that James Purnell voted against the banning of Fox hunting
So Labour piss off with your classless campaigns.

Shut up Roy Walker you missed the point its cruel said...

Mr Roy Walker, you dont strike me as a man that would want to see a pack of dogs rip apart another animal surely not, and I think you might find that whether James did or did not vote he is not the one that is currently trying to bring it back, moreover the Labour candidate is trying to stop it happening and with the looks of things it has been, if it was not for that nice man Roy West we would never have got to the true. Classless, more like brainless comments for you

good bye
perhaps one day you will be chased with a pack of dogs and teared apart then let us hear what you have to say on the matter.

Dont be shy vote for Ky said...

Fox hunting is bad, hunting with dogs is bad, hunting down clueless Tories in Stalybridge is good fun,seeing West squirm at the recent allegations is fun,seeing the BNP and UKIP stay out of the debate because it means they have to have policy on the subject is even more fun.

ABC said...

Well done Labour, your opposition to an old English tradition that necessarily and relatively painlessly exterminates rural vermin is in direct contrast to your support for the Islamic community's industrial scale and totally unnecessary slaughter. An alien tradition that involves throat cutting, without pre-stunning, which results in a massive increase in the animal's suffering. The final hypocrisy is that a British slaughterman inflicting such barbaric cruelty would be prosecuted.
This along with the equalities Bill, which will make it legal for potential Public sector employers to discriminate against WHITE MALES ONLY, and was recently passed in the Commons, confirms New Labour's war on the indigenous population, its traditions, history and culture.
These types of anti-British acts by the government are the BNP's biggest motivator and recruiter.

Anonymous said...

It would be great if more people like you would catch these criminals on film!

All those who support the hunting ban, please get your name on the R.O.A.R. (Register Online Against Repeal), an 'all party' list at:

www.campaignfordecency.org.uk

Yellow bellies said...

The RSPCA (unless said Animals are religiously slaughtered because we're a bunch of gutless hypocrites and only like easy targets) non-action on Halal is a disgrace.

Nero fiddled... said...

Can I echo those congratulations and say well done, again, Labour on focussing on the vital issue of the extermination of what is in effect a giant brown rat with a slightly cuter face, while Tameside's unemployment and economic problems expand ever faster. Along with Brown's pathetic, 'Playing fields of Eton' remark and the return of the 'Tory Toffs' campaign it's good to see the government that has led us to economic meltdown and an £800billion pound debt, that will take decades to pay off, is concentrating on the core issues.

Ex-Commie said...

Why do Roy West and bloody fox hunting ZZZzzzz... Sorry I nodded off for a second there attract so many comments on this Blog?

Kraven The Hunter said...

Just because a lot of modern men have become feminised and squeamish does not make a practice that goes back to the dawn of man 'wrong'.

Anonymous said...

Actually Kraven, it is not about feminised men but a matter of civilised men. This is 2009 and the practice of hunting down animals with dogs belongs in that 'dawn of man' era you spoke of.

Drag hunting is legal, the heritage and pageantry still there, sense of community intact, jobs intact, and yet you still can't wait to get back to the kill.
Quite sad really.

Tameside Citizen said...

I went back to the area where the hunters and their hounds were observed yesterday. Thankfully the semi-tame Mountain Hare (pictured) survived. I did not find any evidence of other dead animals either - but that is not saying they are not yet to be discovered because the area is vast.

I maintain that the only form of hunting which is any way acceptable is when people have to hunt to survive. Hunting for ‘sport’ or pleasure has no place in a civilized society.

I still cannot understand what kind of depraved minds can gain pleasure from slaying innocent creatures which have never harmed or threatened them. It may be that they are inadequate in other parts of their lives so they choose to take it out on the defenceless.

Tameside Citizen said...

Click on the image of the hunting dog and check out the scars on its nose. They are almost certainly caused by a fox fighting for its life or even a badger. What is the betting when the hunting dog has passed its ‘sell by date’ it meets a cruel and inglorious end - ie, a bullet or a spade over the head. I just cannot imagine the people who own these dogs caring for them when they are too old to hunt.

Kraven The Hunter said...

Mhayworth, explain to me, using reason and logic, what is 'uncivilised' about hunting. And what is wrong with it coming from the dawn of man era. We should be careful before jettisoning the things that made us who we are.
I'm presuming your patronising final comment was a substitution for an inability to construct a reasoned argument.

Eugenicist said...

According to the 'logic' of people like Mhayworth, TC and the rest of the 'morally superior' brigade anything unpleasant is automatically 'wrong'.
Speaking of early man, it was putting thought before infantile and self-indulgent emotionalism, and applying the rudiments of logic, which sometimes involves 'unpleasantness', that got us out of caves and where we are today.

Grow up said...

Why don't fox lovers protest outside farmhouses etc? The vast majority of foxes will be shot, trapped or poisoned at the behest of farmers and landowners.
It's because farmers not seen as upper class and the 'kick the apparently rich' thrill element has been removed.

Vivian Edward Section said...

Those Beagles are extremely useful animals. I used to breed them and sell them to laboratories for vital medical research.

and you call us classless said...

Fox-hunting with hounds is cruel and unnecessary. It has little effect on reducing fox numbers. In the main, it is practiced by well-heeled snobs who are in it for the social stature of mixing with who they see as the "right" people. At the hint of being portrayed as such, they trot out some hapless individual to pour out a sob story about how his livelihood will be devastated and rural life destroyed if the "sport" is banned. This is scare-mongering nonsense. Only a tiny minority of horses are involved in hunts.

tories eat my hamster said...

Foxes die a horrible death when caught by hounds. They are caught from behind by the leading hounds and ripped to pieces whilst still alive. The lie put forth by hunters that foxes are killed instantly by a quick bite to the back of the neck was exposed by post mortems at Bristol University for evidence presented to the Burns Inquiry into Hunting with Dogs. These examinations revealed profound trauma by repeated dog bite, little tissue damage in the head, neck and shoulder region but pronounced damage to the ribcage and the thoracic organs, with damage to the abdomen, hindquarters or chest probably being the cause of death. Foxes that attempt to run to ground often find their lair has been intentionally blocked and those that manage to escape underground are frequently dug out and beaten to death with a spade, before their "brush" is cut off in a traditional form of weird ceremony.
But foxes are not the only victims of this barbaric activity. Hounds that reach middle age and those that are disinclined to follow the scent are destroyed and there are numerous incidents where horses and hounds are injured and killed during the chase. It has also been known for hounds to mount a frenzied attack on domestic pets.

Support Stalybridge south Labour campaign said...

Farmers do not suffer greatly from fox attack and many are among those who oppose hunting with dogs. A 1996 MAFF publication stated that only 0.4 % of lambs die from accidents, dog attacks and all other animal predation. This extremely small number includes those killed by foxes. Indeed, it has been said on many occasions that shepherds will blame the fox for killing a lamb when what has actually happened is that the fox has scavenged from one that was already dead. Also, with regard to the favourite accusation of foxes killing chickens - whoever heard of a fox having a key to open a secure poultry pen?
The fox is a friend to the farmer as a predator of rats and rabbits and assists in cleaning up fields by eating the afterbirth during lambing. He is also a predator of deer fawns that begs the question of why there is a need to kill foxes when it is thought by some that deer populations are too high. But that’s another story.

Anonymous said...

I think you have got it wrong it was TC who pointed it out not Roy West and well done,

keep the BNP out said...

had a shower fitted to today by a BNP plumber he connected the gas instead of the water oh well guess oldhabits dont die.

tonydj said...

TC...

Were any of the hunters wearing German camoflague and using dachunds (aka Badger dogs)?

I believe such is sometimes the case...but don't say anything to him you may appear in court!

another blue going red said...

I HAVE HEARD THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE A HUNT ON BOXING DAY UP NEAR THE WALKERWOOD PRIVATE ESTATE,
WE NEED TO STOP THIS NOW

WELL DONE TC FOR POINTING IT OUT AND WELL DONE TO THE LABOUR CANDIDATE IN SOUTH I HAVE RECIEVED YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD AND NEWS LETTER VERY NICE. THANK YOU
TC COULD YOU POST STALY SOUTH ROSE OR WOULD IT BREAK YOUR HEART BECAUSE I RECON YOU LIVE IN STALYBRIDGE SOUTH AND DONT WANT TO ADMIT THAT THAT YOUNG KIA LAD IS DOING US PROUD AND BEATING THE TORIES.

Tameside Citizen I beg of you said...

I happened yesterday to mention that I was on this site to my neighbour and was telling her about the fox hunting and how much of a shock it was to know that such a horrid thing was going on... I was even more shocked by her response when she told me that it had never stopped and that brushes,saddleworth,glossop and most of the UK still hunt and kill foxes for sport. Then This morning I recieved a christmas card and campaign letter from a labour candidate in my ward, , he too is fighting just like you Mr TC to stop such a thing and I think you should support this one and put aside your political views, all of us dont want to see fox hunting brought back it has no place in todays society. I will be supporting him and have wrote to Doreen and Basil to ask them what they intend to do about it, but i wont hold my breath it appears that they are all for it.
PLEASE TC I KNOW YOU HAVE A HEART SUPPORT KY'S CAMPAIGN TO STOP FOX HUNTING IN TAMESIDE, YOU HAVE THE ABILTY TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE INTO ACTION..

Anonymous said...

Nature is what it is - bet the people who are aghast at fox hunting do not mind their pet cats decimating the local songbird population. That happens in my garden day after day and the cat owners couldn't care less.
The way you all go on you would think it was a crime for anyone to walk their dogs in the countryside - surely this is what Mr West wants - the streets free of dog excrement, so he doesn;t have to go around picking it up.. If foxes are not controlled by some method (maybe not by being ripped apart by dogs), they will over produce as they do not have a natural predator. So, what is the answer in your undoubted intelligent opinions ...... just screaming that it is cruel to kill foxes doesn't solve the issue and despite many posters saying that farmers do not need to get rid of them, the truth is that they do need controlling. Most of the people against it are city / town dwellers who think the countryside is cute.

Grow up said...

The anti-fox hunting brigade consists almostly entirely of, dinosaur class warriors; utterly ignorant townies; the squeamish who think because something turns THEIR stomach it is automatically 'wrong' and close their ears to facts or evidence to the contrary; and the bunnyhuggers who think animals are the same as humans.
It's almost unbelievable with the mountain of serious problems facing Britain so many people are fixated on such an utterly insignificant and unimportant issue.

Anonymous said...

hear hear - totally agree - never mind the financial crisis, housing crisis, benefit cheats, immigration control, education,, health ........ the main issue is saving some flea ridden varmints ..... typical of parties who cannot discuss REAL issues!

Labour Out. said...

Re ABC's comments, there is a huge Islamic block vote to be gained for the main Parties from being IN FAVOUR of the dreadful cruelty of Halal slaughter and, for Labour at least, a few more votes to be gained from being AGAINST foxhunting. This explains their pure double standards on the animal cruelty issue, votes first; principles, integrity and core values a distant last.

Sloping foreheads said...

Get up on the moors on Boxing Day and get savaged by dogs and beaten up by hunters to try and save a verminous flea ridden animal that will be shot, snared or poisoned anyway. F*****g morons only need apply.

Led by donkeys said...

Can we have a comment from the 'Friends of the Fox Pseudo-Socialist Society' (i.e. New Labour), on why fox hunting is an abomination and Halal slaughter (you know - legal for slaughterman Mohammed, illegal for slaughterman Smith) is unmentioned. Perhaps if Muslim huntsmen, wearing green jackets and carrying scimitars with which they cut the fox's throat, took it up Labour would start promoting it. Or perhaps they're just total bullshitters and hypocrites.

shut the f**k UP BNP BOLLOCKS said...

TYPICAL BNP RUBBISH ALL THEY CAN DO IS ATTACK ANOTHER RACE OF PEOPLE WHEN EVER POSSIBLE IF WE WHERE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT BLACKPOOL ROCK THEY FIND SOME WAY TO RESORT BACK TO RACIAL BULLSHIT . WE THE TRUE BRITISH AS THE BNP LIKE TO THINK, STUN OUR ANIMALS BEFORE WE KILL THEM. BUT THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE AND NITHER IS HOW HALAL MEAT IS DONE. THE ARGUMENT YOU PEA BRAINED GOBSHITE IS PEOPLE CHASING AN ANIMAL THEN LETTING IT GET RIPPED TO PIECES AND THEN LETTING LITTLE PIPPING TAKE ITS TAIL HOME AND SMEARING HIM WITH IT BLOOD. LOVELY BUT BECAUSE YOU CANT TALK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE OTHER THEN RACIAL AGGREVATION YOU INVADE EVERY PAGE WITH YOUR SHIT...

Anonymous said...

ABC do you really believe that being ripped to pieces by a pack of dogs is painless for the fox.
have a think for a little second about what you are saying? think about what you have said? you seem reasonable bright for BNP. Are you trying now to convience the people that animals do not feel any kind of pain. You have tried to pull the wool over lots of eyes with your "we are British and protect the British indigenous population" INDIGENOUS !!!! ARE YOU FOR FUCKING REAL, the only time we have every been indigenous was 8000 years or so ago and since then and up until 1066 we have been invaded,captured,raped,and interbred with every possible race on the planet, there is no true british person, we are the mongrel of Earth and always have been. the only thing that makes me british is my passport certainly notmy DNA and i hazard a guess that yours isnt as British as you would like it to be...
by the way back to fox hunting


Vermin is a term applied to various animal species regarded as pests or nuisances and especially to those associated with the carrying of disease. from now on i will consider the BNP as vermin is it without doubt that you are all suffering from some sort of disease of the mind that seems to spreading.

UKIP SAID said...

kraven the hunter,
what is wrong with hunting, nothing is wrong with hunting if you are going to eat it and use it for survival, but for sport come one dont be silly,

dawn of man 2009 said...

Kraven trying to grasp at the moons reflection was something we did at the dawn of man but do we still do that now .. what you did not realise it was a refelction
sorry.

fantastic mr fox said...

That evening, at the foxhole, Mr. Fox wakes up eager to venture out into the night. Mrs. Fox warns her husband to be careful, and with good reason, because the three Tories are closing in on the foxhole. Basil and Buckley start bickering in the spirit of their earlier tussle over the birds, but Dorren warns them to quiet down or the foxes will know they're there. The three hide in the undergrowth and wait. As Mr. Fox leaves his home, gunshots ring out and the sound of dogs can be heard

ABC said...

Shut the f**k up BNP bollocks, firstly, five year olds in the middle of a tantrum should not comment on here.
I'll take it from your comment that you approve of gratuitous suffering inflicted on animals as long as it's done to suit the religious beliefs of a foreign culture, but if an old English tradition is involved (and there are no votes in it) it must be stopped at all costs. Thus confirming my earlier point about the utter hypocrisy of the political and class war motivated Labour war on hunting.
As for your ranting girlfriend Ms Anonymous, I never said we weren't mongrels, so is every race on earth if you go back far enough, you however choose to quote, in what I presume you see as an insult, the fact that the British are a mongrel race. The indigenous -or 'mongrel' - population goes back thousands of years and we have gradually assimilated small numbers of other, similar, peoples over a long period of time. This is the exact opposite of the enforced flood, by our own government, of massive numbers of very alien peoples and cultures that has been attempted over the last twelve and a half years. The rest of your comment seems to consist of the predictable, 'I'm incapable of constructing a rational argument so I'll throw the usual abuse'.
According to the United Nations every indigenous people are entitled to the same recognition. why should the British be any different?

NCB said...

A Nation of Immigrants? A Brief Demographic History of Britain
By David Conway

A must read! Using genetic, archeological and historical evidence, this book shows that the British people are NOT a "nation of immigrants" as the far left lies, but actually a highly homogenous group of people with roots going back millennia. Perfect to refute those who try and justify today's mass Third World immigration.

labour until i die said...

it is a disgrace poor little animals being ripped apart well done Labour well Done

abc please answer the question for or against said...

ABC i suggest you read a copy of mein kampf and one jewish man and his holocaust. the latter book can be found inside most stores, the other i suspect is beside your bed along with your first fox tail it was not your fault the torries turn you away and now you have a disease of the mind that makes you a racist.

Tameside Citizen said...

I will gladly post the latest Labour/Conservative, or any other political leaflet if it is relevant to Tameside. Please email me a copy and I will post it.

mosleys revenge said...

Wrong again abc, the bnp are a socialist party, they have there own union and plan to nationalise many industries. Yet more left wingers. the labour partys racist wing!

Well Done TC said...

Well Done TC for bringing to light the Fox Hunting and I am glad you support the ban.

PS
are you married a love a man who fights for what he believes in

kiss kiss

ABC said...

Please answer the question, point out where I made a racially based comment. You can't because the obsession with 'racism' exists only in your mind and you consequently try to project it onto others.
I don't have a foxtail as I've no interest in hunting, I was simply pointing out the utter double standars of Labour's positions on foxhunting and Halal slaughter. A point which you have manifestly failed to answer, resorting instead to the usual juvenile abuse.
My mind ISN'T diseased but yours DOES lack the capability for independent thought or the capacity to construct a reasoned argument.
I cannot respond to the Mosley's revenge comment as it is incomprehensible and totally irrelevant to the subject at hand.

Kraven the Hunter said...

UKIP SAID, dawn of man 2009, what is wrong with hunting for sport? You still haven't supplied a REASON to abandon an act that is a fundamental part of what made us who we are as a species. 'Moralising' and being oversensitive is no substitute.
As for the moon's reflection comment I think you've been reading too much bad poetry.

Peace by the riverbank said...

Well said, and if you try to ban angling next you'll get a war you won't believe.