Harrowing footage filmed by anti-hunt protesters shows the moment the fox was torn to shreds after being set upon by the hounds.
The incident has been reported to Warwickshire Police. In the footage, the terrified animal can be seen fleeing across fields in Idlicote House Estate, Warks., with hunt members giving chase.
The fox then bolts through a field and into a hedgerow before the pack of crazed animals descend on the creature and eat it alive.
A woman hunt saboteur can be heard screaming in horror in the background: “Leave it! Leave it! Leave the fox alone.”
The 3.41-minute video then shows the hounds mauling the fox to death while a huntsman on horse back 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 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. “We hope that the police also look at the landowner of the Idlicote House Estate as they may have breached Section 3 of the Hunting Act if they have knowingly allowed illegal hunting on their land.”
The Warwickshire Hunt was handed a community protection notice (CPN) in December 2022 after concerns about their hounds running on the road.
Failure to comply with a CPN can result in fines of up to £20,000.
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This article by Adam Dutton was first published by The Express on 11 October 2023. Lead Image: The horrifying attack was recorded on a phone (Image: Getty).
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