CUBBING STARTS THIS MONTH — A BLOOD SPORT FOR SOME — JUST CRUELTY FOR OTHERS

In this mid-August fox hunting update, hunts around the UK have begun the Summer 'cubbing season'. Cubbing is the disgraceful practice of hunting and killing young foxes and hares (leverets) to give their new hounds a taste for blood. Our stories this month include: - Sabs and monitors organise to stop cubbing. - Police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announce new charges and prosecutions against hunters for breaches of the Hunting Act. - In parliamentary news, over 60 MPs wrote to the Minister for Food and Rural Affairs demanding a timeline for the government's promised consultation on fox hunting. Independent MP and ex-Leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn and Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy have pledged their support for a proper ban on hunting. Meanwhile, a Tory Police and Crime Commissioner has defected to the openly pro-hunt, far right Reform party. - Two Welsh country shows have hosted hound parades by hunts, despite local opposition. - Finally, Locals Against the Cottesmore Hunt and Northants Hunt Sabs (NHS) organised a demo against another of the Cottesmore's fundraising events. NHS have pledged to protest every fundraiser organised by the struggling hunt. Read on to find out more. Attempted killing of fox cubs continues In our last fox Hunting News Update we published reports of early cubbing. Unfortunately, more news of cub hunting has been coming in from sabs and monitors. On 2 August, Shropshire Against Blood Sports published reports from local people in Stapeley that the United Pack were out causing chaos with their hounds at 5am, in a likely cubbing incident. Residents reported that the pack frightened sheep and pets, and that their concerns were met with a callous shrug of the shoulders from the hunt. East Yorkshire Coast Hunt Sabs have been watching the Middleton Hunt closely, too. The Middleton has also been out repeatedly in the early hours and sabs are keeping them under close tabs to stop any attempts at cubbing. Saboteurs save cubs in Devon Devon County Hunt Saboteurs were out on the evening of 9 August, after receiving a tip-off that the Eggesford Hunt - equipped with a quad bike carrying caged terriers - were hunting fox cubs at Ingleigh Green. The Hunt Saboteurs Association wrote: "Two sabs [From DCHS] followed huntsman Jason Marles and his whipper-in Jade on foot, while a sab drone unit followed proceedings from above. Marles put hounds into hedgerows, maize fields, waist-high cover crop and dense woodland in his search for cubs to hunt." DCHS Sabs were able to intervene twice to prevent the Hunt from making a kill. The scorching heat of the day hampered the hunt too, with many dogs taking refuge in the cool stream. Training dogs to hunt by tearing up young foxes and hares is shameful and cruel. We need a proper ban on fox hunting to stop this bloodsport once and for all. Last week Protect the Wild handed in a petition demanding that the government close up the loopholes and put in place a workable ban on hunting. Read our post about the petition here to learn more. Support the sabs and monitors organising against this barbaric practice: Shropshire Against Blood Sports | Devon County Hunt Saboteurs | East Yorkshire Coast Saboteurs More charges and prosecutions against hunters