Rest in power Lou 🖤 It saddens us to hear of the passing of Lou, a passionate advocate for animals. She was a vital member of Somerset Sabs, who have shared a heartfelt post about how fiercley Lou fought for animal rights and how much her presence will be missed. Thank you Lou for everything you did for animals. Our thoughts are with Somerset Sabs and all who had the pleasure of knowing Lou.

📣It has been a busy few days in the courts! Very recently, several individuals associated with 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 hunts that have either been found guilty, charged, or had a plea hearing ahead of trial in relation to illegal hunting & associated offences. 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 Firstly, we announced that the huntsman and hunt master of the Quantock Staghounds have both been charged with illegal hunting, in relation to an incident in which a stag was killed on March 16th, 2026. 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙨 (top, left) 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨 𝙂𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙨 (middle, right) Watts also faces a further charge relating to a seperate incident on April 23rd, 2026. Both are due to appear at Taunton Magistrates Court on October 22nd, 2026. You can read about the Quantock charges here 👉huntsabs.org.uk/quantock-hun… 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗣 𝗙𝗔𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧 Next we wrote about the plea hearing on the 15th September 2026 of three members of the Mendip Farmers Hunt who are charged with illegal hunting in relation to an incident in which a fox broke cover and was chased and killed on January 17th, 2026. 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 (middle, left) 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙢𝙢𝙖 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙧 (bottom, right) 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙋𝙖𝙮𝙣𝙚 (Top, centre) All three pleaded not guilty and are due to face trial at Taunton Deane Magistrates Court on the 15th September 2027. Read about the Mendip Farmers Hunt charges here 👉huntsabs.org.uk/mendip-farme… 𝗘𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧 / 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 & 𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗥 𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗧 Then there is the Eggesford Huntsman who had pleaded guilty, when a drone captured the hunt digging a fox out of rubble before the hounds gave chase on Boxing Day 2025. 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨 (middle, left) Marles was fined £500 and order to pay £285 in costs. 𝙏𝙤𝙢 𝘽𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣 (top, right) terrier-man for both the Eggesford Hunt and the Spooners & West Dartmoor Hunt, was also convicted following two seperate incidents involving hunt saboteurs. Bounsall was convicted of intentional disorderly behaviour and careless driving. The driving incident occurred at an Eggesford Hunt meets and the public order offence was at a Spooners Hunt meet, in November 2025 and January 2026 respectively. He was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay a further £685 in costs and victim surcharge. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Of the above cases, the footage supplied for all the above charges have came from hunt sabs. Footage that have lead to these actions was supplied by several HSA affilated groups including North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, Mendip Hunt Sabs, Devon County Hunt Saboteurs, Plymouth & West Devon Hunt Sabs, and also footage from Wildlife Guardian. You can join the HSA for just £20 a year, and help us support the sabs doing the legwork to end hunting - week in, week out, in the fields 👉huntsabs.org.uk/product-cate…

Three people associated with the Mendip Farmers Hunt have pleaded not guilty to hunting a wild mammal with dogs. Emma Clothier, Charlie Thomas and Bill Payne appeared at Taunton Deane Magistrates’ Court on 15 September 2026. All three pleaded not guilty and are due to face trial on 15 September 2027. The case relates to a fox killed on 17th January 2026, when the Mendip Farmers Hunt met at their kennels in Priddy, Somerset. The incident was filmed on a drone camera being operated by Mendip Hunt Sabs A HSA spokesperson said “𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 – 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 – 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰-𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 “𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨” 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦.” Read more 👉🏻 huntsabs.org.uk/mendip-farme…

𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 Avon and Somerset Police have charged Quantock Staghounds hunt master Chris Gibbons and huntsman Martin Watts with illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs in relation to an incident on March 16, 2026. Watts faces a further charge relating to a separate incident on April 23, 2026 Both men are to appear in Taunton Magistrates’ Court on October 22, 2026 to answer the charges. The charges relate to the brutal five-hour pursuit of a stag, which ended with the exhausted animal becoming trapped and being shot. "𝐴𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑏 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑛, 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑏 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙." Read more 👇 huntsabs.org.uk/quantock-hun…