Stag hunts ‘chased exhausted deer and shot one dead’

14th June 2022

Two stag hunts have been filmed chasing exhausted deer with hounds across the West Country before shooting one dead as it hid in undergrowth.

Devon and Somerset are home to the UK’s only three remaining deer hunts – the Tiverton Staghounds, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds and the Quantock Staghounds.

Investigators from the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) captured footage of the Quantocks chasing a stag on April 25 for hours with horses and hounds before shooting it dead as it hid in thick gorse.

The next day LACS filmed an exhausted stag being chased for hours by the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, before it leapt over a barbed wire fence and escaped the huntsmen.

The Devon and Somerset Staghounds are the largest of the stag hunts, hunting several times a week, with the Quantock Staghounds and Tiverton Staghounds also holding weekly meetings.

Although the Hunting Act 2004 outlawed the hunting of mammals with dogs, it allows hunters to use up to two dogs to locate wounded deer, to flush out prey from undergrowth to be shot “as soon as possible”, or for “observation or study of the wild mammal”.

Anti-hunt campaigners question whether it is necessary to chase deer on horseback for several hours to identify and kill injured deer or to carry out research on the deer population.

Critics also say there is no known public record of research data or scientific studies published by the staghound packs in the 17 years since the ban came into effect.

Chris Luffingham, director of external affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “These shocking scenes show distressed and exhausted deer being chased for miles with hunting hounds before being ruthlessly shot for so called ‘sport’.

“This is not just a one off – this sickening activity takes place across Devon and Somerset five days a week for nine months of the year.

“Enough is enough. The Hunting Act needs to be strengthened and the excuses being used to justify the hunt’s brutal and degenerate behaviour need to be swept away.”

The Quantocks began their meet at a farm in Weacombe, Somerset, on April 25, and set off at 11am with hounds running alongside the horses.

Investigators captured footage of huntsmen on horseback chasing a herd of deer at close range across a hillside, causing them to scatter.

By 3pm they were chasing two stags and a hind, with vehicles and riders being used to block their escape onto land belonging to the National Trust, who no longer allow hunting on their estates.

An exhausted stag eventually joined a larger herd around 4.30pm but it was eventually shot at 4.40pm after trying to hide in a bush, around 2.5 miles from the start location.

Investigators said the stag was prevented from reaching one of LACS wildlife reserves and land to which LACS have the sporting rights.

North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs filmed the dead stag as it was being strapped to the back of a quad bike to take it out from its hiding position in thick gorse.

The following day, Devon and Somerset Staghounds were filmed meeting in a field at Hele Bridge, just outside Dulverton, Somerset, with their hounds.

LACS investigators captured footage of a stag being chased across a field, with two hounds on the scent of the stag filmed 1 minute 4 seconds behind it.

“The stag was clearly looking exhausted on a very hot day, with its tongue hanging out and saliva dripping from it,” an investigator said.

“We believe the stag escaped by seeking refuge at our Baronsdown wildlife reserve although this could not be confirmed.”

The three staghound packs kill about 180 red deer a year during hunts, as well as around 80 injured deer a year which they are called out to dispatch.This is only around 15 per cent of the number required to be culled to control the deer population, which stands at around 3,500 in the area. The majority of the cull is done through stalking and shooting by marksmen.

A spokesperson for the Countryside Alliance said: “The Quantock Staghounds and Devon and Somerset Staghounds play a crucial part in managing what is one of the most successful red deer herds in England. The stag hounds operate perfectly legally using exemptions in the Hunting Act which specifically protect the welfare of wild mammals.”

The two stag hunts did not respond to requests for comment.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stag-hunts-chased-exhausted-deer-and-shot-one-dead-sk9c5rf7c