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EYES IN THE SKY: Drones increasingly reveal illegal hunting

And hunts are getting desperate trying to stop them

ELIZA EGRET

DEC 14

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Drones have proved to be an essential piece of kit for hunt saboteurs and monitors, enabling them to keep a closer eye on hunts. It goes without saying that hunts themselves do not like this - and there has been an increase in attempts to vandalise or steal the drones or target their operators.

Surveillance from above is very unnerving for hunts that commit wildlife crimes. Staffordshire Hunt Saboteurs have described drones as:

"effectively another sab, our eyes in the sky that hunts cannot escape, and they will only continue to aid us in our fight against fox hunting."

The powerful impact of drone equipment was demonstrated this year when North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs' footage made nationwide headlines. The video, aired on Channel 4 News back in January 2024, showed the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (BSV) murdering a fox, sparking outrage across the country. It led to the BSV being suspended by the British Hounds Sports Association (BHSA), and also provided essential evidence for the police and CPS to charge BSV staff under the Hunting Act.

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The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hounds kill a fox. Drone footage by North Dorset Sabs

The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hounds kill a fox. Still taken from drone footage by North Dorset Sabs

Debunking the ‘trail hunting’ myth

With a proper hunting ban in sight, the industry has been desperate to convince the Labour government that hunts are legitimately following a pre-paid scent trail. Terrified that the bloodsport's days are numbered, the British Hound Sports Association organised a National Trail Hunting Day in September 2024. The BHSA dubbed it “the day we begin to change minds…” Hunts across the country held events, demonstrating how they lay trails. For many hunts, we are sure that laying a trail was a first!

As more and more saboteur and monitor groups opt to use drones, footage from the air provides the vital evidence needed to prove that hounds are not trail hunting – that is, that they're not following a pre-laid scent trail.

In January 2024, Cheshire Independent Hunt Monitors' drone, provided to the group by Protect the Wild, captured essential footage of the Cheshire Hunt as it blatantly flouted hunting laws. The Indies described the footage, saying:

"Desperate to keep on the line of the fox as they’ve been taught, the hounds try to break through the hedge. Some manage it, falling into the path of oncoming traffic on a 60mph road. Many don’t.
As the drone watches from overhead, the huntsman Robert Truscott and whipper in Craig Maggs enter from the left. Craig Maggs dismounts from his horse and retrieves something from his saddle to cut the hedge with..."

High resolution drone footage shows the Cheshire Hunt on the trail of a fox.

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In September 2024, North Dorset Sabs' drone footage was crucial in securing Portman Hunt staff convictions. Tom Lyle, who is huntsman and master, and Marcus Boundy, who is whipper-in, were filmed by the sabs as hounds chased a fox. Lyle insisted to the court that the hunt was legally trail hunting, and stated that it was normal to lay a scent trail through barbed wire!

Fast-forward to this month, December 2024, and West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs showed once again how vital drone footage can be, as they filmed the Dummer Beagles hunting a hare. The sabs reported:

"not realising the drone was above them, the Dummer carried on hunting with huntsman Stephen Duckmanton casting the beagles out across a field in the hope of finding the scent of a hare."

The beagles are caught on the footage chasing a hare across a field as the huntsman watches on. The sabs continued:

"No-one from the hunt did anything to stop the pack who carried on following the scent of the hare for several more fields."

And there are numerous other instances of monitor or sabs' drones capturing hunts flouting the law.

North Dorset Sabs' drone footage helps to secure Portman Hunt conviction

Violence

Hunt members and their supporters have always been violent, slashed tyres and stolen equipment, and so it's of little surprise that drones - and those who fly them - are being targeted. Back in 2022, South Coast Hunt Sabs reported:

"A crazy red coat ran at the drone pilot and assaulted them and tried to rob the drone controller. The drone pilot threw the controller into the car and then you can see the red coat on the footage trying to force open the car door and then reaching through the partly open window and trying to grab the controller out the car..."

On 17 November 2024, Dorset Hunt Monitors reported:

"Yesterday the Locals Against The BSV Hunt drone operator had no fewer than four hunt supporters attempting to impede the landing of the drone, which was about to run out of battery power. Presumably the intention was for them to take or damage the drone so it was fortunate that we were able to get there in time to record on film events as they unfolded and to deter them from doing anything stupid.
These drones are seriously expensive and are classed as aircraft and endangering them, or the pilot is a criminal offence with offenders facing fines of up to £2,500."

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Drone jammers

Hunters have made no secret in discussing whether they can use jammersto block drone signals, and it's quite probable that hunt staff are discussing the use of jammers confidentially too.

Drone jammers (which feature technologies including microwave and radar detection, and/or radio monitoring), are illegal in the UK. But on 25 September 2024, Dorset Hunt Monitors reported that they were being used. The group's aerial footage showed the Portman's criminal huntsman Tom Lyle hunting a fox through a maize field yet again. The monitors stated:

"The drone that Protect the Wild so generously helped us to buy was again invaluable and will be a huge asset to our ongoing campaign. So much so, that it’s already become a target of the Portman who have attempted to down the drone several times using drone blockers and evidence of this is currently in the hands of the police."

And on 30 September 2024, North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs shared a photo of a car on social media, saying:

"We have now gathered a significant amount of evidence including detailed flight logs and film taken from both drone flights and on the ground that shows a direct correlation between interference to drone controllers and this vehicle belonging to a senior member of the Portman Hunt...
It is clear that the Portman will use all sorts of illegal measures to avoid scrutiny of the actions including using illegal drone blockers.
The evidence taken from a body cam being used by the drone controller on Saturday clearly shows radio contact with the drone fails as the vehicle arrives and returns when the vehicle is forced to move on."

Dorset Hunt Monitors' drone footage captures the Portman Hunt taking hounds through a thick hedge. No trail could have possibly been laid there.

'Volunteer community police'

Hunts may not like being watched, but police forces across the country should be grateful to sabs and monitors for doing their job for them. It should be down to officers to actually enforce the Hunting Act, and it should be down to officers to capture the footage of illegal hunting themselves.

Some officials have recognised the importance of monitors and their drone equipment. Tiverton Town Councillor Chris Berry told Tiverton Trail Hunt Drone Monitors that he will provide them with hi-vis vests and body cams as they monitor the Tiverton Hunt. Berry has, apparently, offered to join the group as a drone operator. He said:

"The monitors are basically volunteer community police, supporting an underfunded police team to drive out crime in Tiverton and its surrounding areas. Matt Longman [the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Fox Hunting Crime] recognises the work being done by these groups, and I hope in time this team will be awarded for its hard work."

It remains to be seen whether the police will take any action against hunts who illegally interfere with the drones that are catching them breaking the law.

For more information on the groups that are making such a difference in the field please use the links below:

The fight against illegal hunting goes on and Protect the Wild is proud to support groups with the vital equipment they need. It is exactly why we set up our Support Network and Equipment Fund. Supporters can chip in a small donation at any time.

We plan to give out many more pieces of equipment to (largely unfunded) volunteer groups over the coming months and years. And we will always keep you up to date with how your support is directly helping wildlife!

If you’re an individual or organisation working in the field and would like to apply to our fund please read our T&Cs here first and use the online application form on the same page.