11th March 2015
EXCLUSIVE: Man, 64, charged after confrontation between Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds and hunt saboteurs on Saturday.
A huntsman is facing court action after footage emerged of him allegedly punching an animal rights activist in the face.
Police said a 64-year-old man had been charged after a report of assault near Penpont, Dumfriesshire on Saturday. The incident took place around 12.30pm as members of Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds clashed with activists from the Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs group who were trying to disrupt their activities.
The group allege a member of the hunt punched an activist in the face. In a statement, Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs said: “On Saturday 8th March, at a meet of the Dumfriesshire & Stewarty Foxhounds, our team was monitoring the hunt when, at around 12:30pm, a man from the hunt launched an unprovoked attack on one of our members.
“Since the assault, we’ve been bombarded with disturbing messages from the hunting community, many of which encourage further violence and claim the attack wasn’t severe enough. Let this be clear: violence will not stop us from holding fox hunts to account and exposing them for what they truly are – violent thugs.
“We welcome the swift action taken by the police in charging this individual. It’s crucial that this sends a strong message to the hunt – unprovoked violence will not be tolerated.”
Hunting foxes with more than two dogs is illegal in Scotland following a landmark 2023 Holyrood Act. However, it’s still possible to hunt with a larger pack of hounds under a new licensing scheme provided it’s strictly for reasons like protecting livestock or wildlife.
In a post on social media over the weekend, Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs said they rarely visited the Dumfriesshire-based hunt so “decided to drop in and pay them a visit”. They continued: “This hunt is one of the only mounted packs in Scotland with a licence to hunt with a full pack of hounds under the new Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act of 2023…
“We decided to make ourselves known, which sent the hunt into disarray, not knowing how to behave with their new company. It wasn’t long before the hunt were throwing dummies out of prams… insults started to fly.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Around 12.30pm on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, officers received a report of an assault in the Penpont area. A 64-year-old man was charged in connection and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds has been asked for comment.
We’ve previously exposed how notorious Scottish fox hunts, including the Lauderdale Hunt in the Borders, have used NatureScot fox control licences to continue the cruel blood sport despite Scotland’s new ban. The Record revealed in January how the hunt allegedly travelled 100 miles to rampage through the Renfrewshire countryside terrorising foxes under cover of an official licence.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fox-hunt-probe-after-huntsman-34831573
This is so typical of hunt scum this is the only way they know how to behave with violence, their hunting days are coming to an end and they know it so they go and attack the innocent people who defend the innocent animals these filthy bastards murder, these parasites have been breaking the law for 21 years now and attack anybody that finds them out, lock the bastard up.