A conservationist and farmer has spoken out after hunting hounds crossed his land which is home to a conservation project for rare and endangered native species.
Derek Gow claims that five hounds ran amok on his 400-acre farm at Broadwoodwidger near Lifton on January 11 in what he believes was an illegal fox hunt. The Lamerton Hunt deny any unlawful action took place.
The dogs were found next to aviaries containing sensitive turtle doves, which are being bred for release in south west England where they are virtually extinct.
Derek said: “The incident was an absolute disgrace exposing the whole façade of trail hunting. The hunt had either lost complete control of their dogs or they were hunting a fox.
“The hounds were running everywhere and without a shade of doubt they were a major disruptive influence on the animals being reared here.”
Derek said that the hunt had neither sought permission to lay a trail nor were seen laying one on his farm, and that a neighbour had seen a fox being chased off a nearby road by hunt hounds at around the same time on the same day.
He has now written to the hunt to inform them that any further trespass on his land by them or their dogs will be met with an injunction to ban them from entering his land.
Emily Lawrence, campaigns manager at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The behaviour of this fox hunt was entirely inconsistent with so-called trail hunting and points towards them pursuing a fox.
“It’s time for change and for the Government to lay out a timetable for when it is going to ban trail hunting, remove the loopholes in the Hunting Act being exploited by hunts and introduce jail sentences for those caught breaking the law.
“This shocking incident shows the blatant disregard hunts have for rural communities and could have had a disastrous impact on a project trying to help reverse biodiversity loss and restore native species to the West Country.”
A spokesperson for the Lamerton Hunt said: “The Lamerton Hunt conducts lawful trail hunting activities to comply with the Hunting Act. We are aware that a few hounds deviated from the trail that had been laid for them to follow on January 11 and efforts were made immediately to collect those hounds so they could rejoin the rest of the pack to continue trail hunting.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and we will take steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The hunt works hard to maintain good relationships with the farmers and landowners within our hunt country.”
According to Devon and Cornwall Police, between August 2024 and October 2024 the force received 14 calls in relation to fox hunting, eight of which they attended.
The public can report wildlife crime to the League’s Animal Crimewatch service on 0300 444 1234 or email [email protected] or WhatsApp at 0755 278 8247.