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I LIFTED THIS BIT AND THERE WAS MORE. 

𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 - 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭: 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝘂𝗻𝘁

Arriving at the Herefordshire and Clifton kennels at an ungodly hour yesterday morning we found all quiet and in darkness. We decided to act on a gratefully received tip off for the rarely sabbed Teme Valley Hunt. 

The meet was at Pen-Rhos, Llanbister Common, which advertises luxury glamping – not a place you would want to spend a holiday if you care about our wildlife. We arrived before the hounds were unloaded from the cramped livestock trailer they had been squeezed into for the journey from kennels.

We use the term meet lightly. The 'meet' amounted to four or five riders plus the huntsman, a young lad whipping in on foot and four or five supporters vehicles (all 4x4s due to the terrain). We parked up and immediately a blue pickup was dispatched to do a hasty drive-by. Result - we weren't offered any port!

Our arrival may have prompted some hasty discussions at the meet, but eventually hounds were let out and huntsman Jamie Wittles (newly arrived this year from the Tynedale) set off at a pace across the common, before dropping down to the telephone box in the amusingly named (considering the location) Moelfre City and from there up onto Moelfre Hill. Groups of sheep scattering willy nilly marking his route made it easy for us to keep tabs on him in the unknown location.

Once on the hill Wittles' tactic was to put as much distance between him and his hounds and our two foot sabs as possible. He might have been more successful if he could have kept his hounds under control, instead they were scattered across the moorland within minutes of leaving the road. We deployed our drone a couple of times which was very effective at keeping eyes on the hounds in the hilly terrain. Maybe Wittles should invest in one too!

Having spent a considerable amount of time and effort gathering lost hounds Wittles headed back towards the meet, but not before attempting to draw an area of bracken on the north of Llanbister Common. Heading towards this area our foot sabs met two local residents who were furious because the half the hounds had split off shortly after Wittles had gathered them and rioted across their land, endangering their own animals and right onto their patio. Another local resident had called the police, who attended and we have advised the residents how best to pursue the issue.

We're unsure if the arrival of the police affected Wittles decision to call it a day but in all the hunt had been out from 7.45am and packed by 10.15am.

We receive a number of tip offs for the Teme Valley Hunt every season and occasionally some detailed reports of foxes being hunted by them. Despite hunting a very rural area in the Welsh Hills they have clearly made themselves unpopular with local residents. Thank you to everyone who sends us info and to everyone who donated towards our ongoing fuel and vehicle costs yesterday. It is so much appreciated, and keeps us out in the field doing what we do.