Southdown & Eridge FH supporter mob attack & injure sabs, says HSA - hunter arrested
27-10-12   HSA Press Release      Hunt supporter Arrested after assault on Hunt  saboteurs    The Southdown and Eridge fox hunt [right, Boxing Day meet 2010] held its opening meet of the season at Firle, nr Lewes, East Sussex, today.  It was clear from the start that they intend to carry on their practice of flaunting the hunting ban and launching organised attacks against any who oppose them.
Slightly east of the meet the huntsman put up a fox and was encouraging the hounds onto the scent.  Before sabs were able to intervene they were subject to an unprovoked attacked by around 10 hunt supporters, the very same men who had been the perpetrators of similar attacks in the past two seasons. The attack left three hunt saboteurs with head wounds and severe bruising which resulted in hospitalisation and stiches.  Their attackers also stole a video camera and glasses.  Following these attacks the sabs were ridden at by members of the hunt, driven at by a car follower and then assaulted by the ‘hunt stewards' while attempting to seek medical treatment.  The police were called but said they could not take any action until statements had been taken.
The remaining sabs soon located the hunt on the South Downs, a national park, with the Huntsman off his horse clearly hunting.   Before video evidence could be gathered they were surrounded by four quad bikes carrying the same men who had carried out the earlier assault, and attacked again.  The police were once again called and eventually arrested one hunt supporter.
Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: "We are pleased that the police eventually arrested one hunt supporter however they should of acted decisively much earlier in the day. The South Down and Eridge should have realised by now that violence doesn't deter our members and in fact only makes them more determined to thwart their illegal activities."

Pic above left is one of two sabs allegdly attacked by a mob of S&E supporters in October 2009. Below is the story as covered by the local paper. It is rare for newspapers to carry accounts of hunter attacks on sabs, though the HSA sends them plenty.

30-10-12   Brighton Argus     Hunt saboteurs: 'Masked men attacked us'     An anti-foxhunting group claims its members were attacked by masked men for trying to spot animal cruelty.    Police were called to clashes at the Southdown and Eridge Fox Hunt in Firle, near Lewes, on Saturday in which a number of people were hurt.   One man was arrested on suspicion of assault.      The Hunt Saboteurs Association said three of its supporters had to go to hospital to be treated for head wounds.  It also claimed its video cameras and glasses had been stolen in what it described as an unprovoked attack.     The group monitors fox hunts in the South East to ensure hunters are abiding by the Hunting Act 2004 - legislation that outlaws the hunting of foxes with dogs.    A spokesman for the Association said: "Three of our members who were filming the hunt were suddenly confronted and then assaulted by between eight to 10 men, some of whom were masked.   All three people were punched to the ground where the men proceeded to kick and beat them."     Matt Fincham, the head of media relations for the Countryside Alliance, said the people involved in the clash had no association with the hunt.    Sussex Police confirmed they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of assault.  A force spokesman said: "The man, from Haywards Heath, was arrested around 4pm after an allegation of assault was made following confrontations between hunt protestors and members of the Southdown and Eridge Hunt. Earlier in the day, police had been called to Charleston where two people were treated for injuries by ambulance personnel."   The 28-year-old was questioned before being released on bail until December 3.

A more detailed account of the latest incidents has also been uploaded, including a photo [below, right] of one of the sabs injured during the day;-

27-10-12   South Downs Hunt Sabs   Violent attack on hunt saboteurs leaves two in hospital    At the opening meet of the South Down and Eridge fox hunt.... . Three hunt sabs were attacked and severely beaten by ten hired thugs.  The sabs had been following the hunt at Firle, East Sussex and were in the process of filming them hunting a fox when four cross-country quad bikes loaded with heavies arrived, and, without hesitation, attacked them.   The attackers were all wearing balaclavas and carrying weapons.   They launched a sustained and extremely vicious and attack on the trio.   Outnumbered they stood no chance of defending themselves ,and once on the ground were repeatedly kicked and battered with sticks,  One of the sabs was almost unconscious by the time the attack eventually stopped.  During the assault a video camera containing evidence of illegal hunting was stolen.
Even then their ordeal wasn't over,  Covered in blood and in extreme pain they attempted to make their way back to find the other sabs, who were frantically trying to reach them.  As they tried to leave a driver of one quad bike attempted to run them down, as did one of the horse mounted red coats. They were also attacked a few minutes later by the so-called stewards, hired by the hunt to monitor the sabs,  This only stopped when other sabs arrived at the scene.  By the time they had managed to reach the road the police and an ambulance had arrived.  The news was worrying,the paramedics at the scene suspected that one activist had a fractured skull and broken ribs (thankfully after x rays and a thorough examination in hospital this turned out not to be true).
Just when we thought that the day couldn't get much worse,  Sussex Police decided to get involved.  In their usual impartial manner.  The thugs, now minus balaclavas,  were pointed out.  Unbelievably one officer asked.. "Well,what do you want us to do about it.?".   The sabs suggested that they should at least take details so they would have something to refer back to later, or maybe conduct a search for the video camera.  The officer's response was..."Well,if you want to come to the station and make a statement...we follow it up later"!!!    Can you imagine..say you'd just been attacked in the street by some drunken thug and the police told you they weren't willing to do anything about it at the moment, whilst that thug stood on the other side of the street gloating..  how would you feel??
......  Well I suppose by now you probably thought that would be the end of the days events,  Sadly it was not as by now the hunt were in sight -,the Huntsman off his horse and clearly hunting the line of a fox.  It was at this point the police decided to leave.   Left in an impossible situation, but knowing the three injured sabs were at least safely away and out of the area, the remaining activists swallowed deep and decided to film these events.    Shortly the hunt thugs were back and spoiling for a fight.  They started throwing flints at the sabs and then attacked.  This time,with greater numbers they were able to defend themselves,  But even so one sab received a nasty blow to the face resulting in a black eye and nasty gash.  Again the police were called, and,eventually, a different set of police officers arrived, claiming to have no knowledge of previous events.  Initially they claimed to have been informed by the Hunt that it was they who had been attacked by sabs.  The police then started making noises about arresting the sabs....  Luckily,at this point, some video footage taken by sabs was shown to them and, after a while,one of the thugs was arrested.     This all on the opening meet of the season!!

Ross Harriers supporter fined after attack on sabs caught on camera
24-10-12   HSA Press Release     Hunt supporter pleads guilty to saboteur assault     Paul Standen [left], a supporter of the Ross Harriers Hunt, pleaded guilty today to assaulting two hunt saboteurs.   Standen, who was on trial at Hereford Magistrates Court, had to pay a fine, costs and compensation.   The incident occurred in March this year when the Ross Harriers met at Kilpeck near Hereford.  Standen drove his vehicle at a group of saboteurs before jumping out and violently pushing a female out of the way before punching another member of the group in the face.   Unfortunately for him the whole attack was filmed and he was arrested.     Lee Peters, Master of the hunt, is also in court next month for racially abusing a hunt saboteur.
Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: "It is always a pleasure to see justice done, however we wish Mr. Standen had done the honourable thing and pleaded guilty much earlier in the proceedings and saved the tax payer a great deal of money. We look forward to a similar result next month, when Mr. Peters is in court, and we hope the Ross Harriers will start to realise they are not above the law." 

POWAperson adds;-  This Hunt is fast acquiring a highly unsavoury reputation.  Another alleged incident of assault on the same day, in which a different sab was reportedly injured, appears not to have been prosecuted.  The alleged racial abuse incident, soon coming to trial, was vividly reported by the Daily Mail in January.  Whilst excoriating the sabs generally, JM Lee Peters is said to have exclaimed 'fucking wog' when he spotted a black female sab in a Landy.  Allegedly, when Peters was told police wanted to speak to him about the matter, he sent back word that he was 'too busy' !   One of the Ross Harrier's most prominent known supporters [seen with them, right] is the broadcaster Richard Hammond, who presents 'Top Gear' with that other well-known hunt enthusiast, and member of the 'Chipping Norton set', Jeremy Clarkson.  Hammond has apparently often entertained the Harriers' at his country pad.  However, a recent rumour - apparently originating from a hunt source - suggests his enthusiasm for hunting may have been dented. That rumour goes as follows;-  ".... the Cotswold Vale Hunt killed Top Gear presenter, Richard Hammond's cat last week. Our sources tell us that the hunt's hounds got on to Hammonds property, killed the cat, and attacked a pony with such ferocity that it had to be cut out of the fence that they forced it into.  Hammond regularly hosts meets of the Ross Harriers and his wife, Mindy, rides with the Ledbury.  They're said to be furious about the incident.... "     POWA has no means of ascertaining the veracity of this account and would be happy to publish any statement from any of the parties allegedly involved, whether confirming or denying the rumour.

Hunts take fright at recent convictions and enhanced monitoring
11-10-12   Horse & Hound     Hunts warned to be diligent this season     The Hunting Office is reiterating its message that there will be more covert surveillance by antis this season - so hunts must diligently record evidence of their legal activities.     Stephen Lambert [left], chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), told H&H that his colleagues had been working with hunts across the country to ensure "that it becomes second nature to file evidence of trail laying or hunting within the exemptions of the Hunting Act".    Private prosecutions* by animal charities this year have seen members of the Meynell and the Crawley and Horsham convicted of unlawful hunting.   A case brought by the RSPCA against the Heythrop is due to be heard in December.  And the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has hired eight new investigators since last season, many of whom are former police officers.     "Hunts are taking this very seriously and we are pleased they have accepted that they must be able to defend everything they do and keep a log of their legal activity," said Mr Lambert.   "We must be absolutely punctilious about this and have our ducks in a row."      Mr Lambert's warning was echoed by Tim Bonner [right], campaigns director at the Countryside Alliance.   "LACS' strategy is covert surveillance, which would mean that in most instances, hunts would not even be aware that they were being filmed. The threat of spurious allegations from such a biased source is obvious," he added.      Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent huntsman Mark Bycroft [left] said evidence gathering was not an onerous task.   "It is just like extra paperwork - you get used to it," he told H&H. "We have three teams of trail layers and each one has a camera. At the end of the day you take the memory card out of the camera and put it onto the computer - so you've got the evidence in case of any problem."    Mr Bycroft stressed that this approach was essential to safeguard the future of hunting.   "There's a small minority who will try everything to get you into court,"  he said . "If the case for repeal is presented to the government and more hunts have been up for illegal hunting, then it may not happen," he added.

POWAperson comments:-   With the usual casual hunter disregard for the truth, the writer 'forgets' that both the Meynell and Crawley & Horsham prosecutions were brought by the police/CPS - the first Hunting Act cases taken up by the authorities against organised Hunts for quite some time. This would seem to be significant, indicating that they are finally wising up to the 'cynical subterfuges' being used by Hunts - as would the scathing comments made by judges in the past year concerning the behaviour and evidence of accused hunters.     Quite how the hunt heirarchy think that having video evidence of trails being laid is going to help them if hunters are then caught on camera hunting live quarry - the minimum requirement for a conviction - is a puzzle.  If they really want to avoid exposure and possible prosecution, then they could try not using fox-based scents, not laying these in areas where foxes are likely to be laying up, not sending hounds into such coverts and not chasing wildlife.   Stephen Lambert is the father of 'Nessie' Lambert [right], a JM of the Heythrop FH, one of four people from that Hunt who are facing trail in December on multiple counts of illegal hunting.

Local press finally cover case of female pensioner punched by CVFH hunt thug
31-3-12  Gloucestershire Echo    Pensioner 'attacked' by Cotswold Vale hunt on own land    PENSIONER Jean Adams claims she was punched in the face by hunt followers as she tried to move hounds off her land. The 67-year-old woman says she was "whacked" as she came to the defence of her son, Tony, at their home in Lower Apperley.   But the hunt say they were only acting in self-defence.    Mrs Adams claims she was trying to protect her son who she says was knocked to the ground when he confronted the Cotswold Vale Farmers' Hunt after dogs raced onto their property on Tuesday.
Mrs Adams was taken to Cheltenham Hospital with facial bruising, (pictured right), and her 47-year-old son suffered minor injuries.    Mrs Adams said the family had heard "yelping and howling" and noticed the hounds were on their land.    She said her husband John was ignored when he asked the remaining lone huntsman to clear the hounds and a "commotion" erupted when her son got involved.    Mrs Adams said her son ended up being knocked on the ground and punched.   She alleged: "When I tried to pull him off, I knocked a man's sunglasses off and he whacked me full in my face.  "I fell back on the road and there was blood everywhere and some activists helped me."
Mrs Adams, who has previously suffered a brain haemorrhage, said six years earlier the family had "come to an agreement" with the hunt that hunting wasn't allowed on their land. She said: "I'm not an activist but an animal lover and feed foxes on our scrub land."      Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesman Lee Moon added his support to Mrs Adams and her son, who he said were unhappy the hunt was on their land.
Countryside Alliance hunting office spokesman Tim Bonner said: "The hunt has been very happy to help police with inquiries. It's our firm belief no one connected to or employed by the hunt has acted in any other way than in self-defence. It is unfortunate the hounds were where they weren't meant to be but the hunt was only seeking to move them as fast as possible. He also claimed: "The hunt has been a victim of a campaign of harassment by animal rights activists."  A 47-year-old man from Ashleworth and a 22-year-old man from Longlevens were both arrested on suspicion of affray. They have been released on police bail pending further enquiries until May 4.