Fox and deer disembowelled prove hunt cruelty . . .
>
> DEER ATTACKED AND DISEMBOWELLED
>
> Hunt saboteurs yesterday (5 Oct) looked on in horror as hounds from the Old
> Berkshire Hunt ripped apart a muntjac deer in a field at Westcot,
> Oxfordshire .  The hunt had met at Kingston Lisle near Wantage at 7.30 a.m.
> to hunt young fox cubs.  At approximately 9.30 a.m. protestors observed the
> baying pack of hounds pursuing the deer.  By the time they reached the pack,
> the deer had been mauled and was being hit over the head with a stick by a
> hunt supporter.  The deer's internal organs had been ripped out.
>
> When the saboteurs recovered the carcass, hunt supporters and police
> officers wearing white gloves assisting them at the scene made light of the
> incident making suggestions that the visibly upset protestors take the deer
> home and eat it!  Despite the fact that protestors were present, no attempt
> was made by the hunt to prevent the pack from attacking the muntjac.
>
> The saboteurs slammed the biased policing.  In what is claimed to be a waste
> of tax payers' money, 11 police cars, 2 land rovers, a riot van and
> helicopter were mobilised when 16 protestors joined the hunt.  The driver of
> a protestors' vehicle was arrested in what was viewed as a tactic to halt
> their progress.  His disabled occupant was left on her own at the side of
> the road despite reassurances from the police present that this would not
> happen.  The driver was released without charges.  The level of police
> available to prevent saboteurs from blowing hunting horns would suggest that
> there would be sufficient police to enforce a ban!
>
> FOX DISEMBOWELLED
>
> A fox was disembowelled at a meet of the Cheshire Forest Hunt at The
> Millstone Inn, near Whitley attended by North West HSA.  At roughly the same
> time as the incident in Oxfordshire, the hunt put the hounds into a field of
> kale where they put up a fox. A hunt rider rode in front of the fox to
> 'force' it back to the hounds. There was nothing the saboteurs present could
> do to save the fox but they managed to pick up her body despite violence and
> threats from the hunters and take the body away.  An autopsy revealed the
> following information:
>
> "RE: Young adult female fox
>
> I examined the above animal she had been dead for approximately two hours.
>
> There were puncture wounds to her neck, but not enough to cause death. There
> were large puncture wounds to the right flank with heart and lungs exposed.
> The liver was prolapsed on the right flank. There were was a large wound to
> the ventral abdomen with the abdominal contents outside the body.
>
> The likely cause of death is the disembowlement and puncture to the thoracic
> cavity (rib cage) combined"
>
> Speaking about the incidents, Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson Nathan
> Brown said "Yet again we have evidence of how packs of hounds kill an animal
> - by disembowelment.  This would mean the animal enduring high levels of
> pain as it is ripped apart live by up to 30 pairs of gnashing teeth - not
> the romantic notion of a nip to the back of the neck promoted by the hunting
> fraternity.  The fact that these incidents occurred when protestors were
> present leads us to question what other wildlife crimes go on when nobody is
> there to witness events.  Hunters portray themselves as a 'pest control'
> service when in actual fact they attack any animal that has the misfortune
> to cross their path - be they wildlife or peoples' pets.  Hunting is neither
> necessary, humane or efficient."
>
> Referring to the Countryside Alliance submissions to the recent DEFRA
> consultation on hunting, the spokesperson said "We view the death of a deer
> as tragic as that of the fox.  However the hunt killed an animal other than
> the one they were supposed to be hunting which pokes a gaping hole in the
> Countryside Alliance's recent claims of hunt utility.  There is also
> scientific evidence to prove that the fox population does not need
> controlling and hunting has no overall effect on levels of the fox
> population.  The disembowelment of both animals and the autopsy result
> challenges the Alliance's assertion that hunting is not cruel.  Since the
> announcement of the DEFRA consultation on hunting, saboteurs have noted that
> the behaviour of hunts has been more cruel and even less controlled proving
> that self regulation is not a viable option.  For the sake of animals in the
> countryside, and on the issues of cruelty and utility, nothing but a ban is
> acceptable."
>
> Pictures of the carcasses of both animals are available.
>
> See www.huntsabs.org.uk or www.nwhsa.org.uk or phone Nathan Brown on 07815
> 313181

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