SWLNed – by Lauren Beavis
Hounds from a fox hunt have been filmed running through a private garden and orchard – co-owned by former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband MP.
Locals in Claydon, near Banbury, reported the incident to animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports.
They shared footage of the hounds on the private land in Oxfordshire – where Ed Miliband owns one of three cottages.
They also shared doorbell camera footage of the hunt riding through the village itself.
Some claim the hunt, which claimed to have been following a pre-laid trail, was trespassing on a number of properties and in other areas, such as a public park, where a trail could not have been laid.
One resident who reported the incident to the League and who wishes to remain anonymous, believes the hounds belonged to Bicester Hunt with Whaddon Chase and that they could not have been trail hunting, as they claimed.
She said: “To see the hunt running riot like this was very upsetting and they either had no control over their dogs or they were hunting animals, their behaviour being entirely inconsistent with the excuse they use that they are trail hunting.
“Having hunt hounds so close to our house where we have cats was really scary as I know from experience what they can do.”
During the Mollington Road incident, although not caught on film, residents reported a muntjac deer fleeing from the hunt towards a busy road.
Another resident reported watching a fox in Claydon village also running from the hounds.
Chris Luffingham, acting chief executive at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “This incident should not have happened, 20 years after this so-called sport was supposedly banned, and the outrage from local residents shows hunts are not wanted in rural communities.
“The current government, which Ed Miliband represents, has promised the most comprehensive animal welfare package in a generation so we are calling for it to urgently set out a timetable of measures for fox hunting laws to be strengthened.
“It’s time for change – to end the sham of trail hunting, for loopholes in the Hunting Act to be removed, and a maximum custodial sentence introduced for those that break the law.”
The League approached Ed Miliband for comment, but is yet to receive a response.
Hunting with hounds was made illegal by Labour almost 20 years ago on February 18, 2005, with the introduction of the Hunting Act, shortly before the now-Energy Secretary became an MP for the first time.
The hunts have been approached for a comment.
The environment secretary Steve Reed has called for a full hunting ban that will remove the loopholes in the Hunting Act that make it difficult for the law to be enforced, and a ban on trail hunting.
ENDS
