2023 Border Hunt Investigation
Over the winter of 2022/2023 the Hunt Investigation Team and Northumberland Hunt Watch, supported by Protect the Wild, recorded conditions at one of the Border Hunt’s ‘kennels’ at Redesmouth Farm in Northumberland.
What they found proves yet again that despite their claims on social media, as far as hunts are concerned ‘their’ dogs are not ‘loved’ or ‘looked after’ – they are little more than tools to chase and kill wildlife.
The Border Hunt
The Border Hunt persecutes foxes across the remote hills of the England/Scotland borderlands.
The Hunt Master is Thomas Scott of Redesmouth Farm, Redesmouth, and the hounds are currently kennelled at two sites in this village.
Concerned locals had already reported the Border Hunt to the local authority regarding poor kennel conditions, but in the depths of winter these dogs remained in squalid accommodation.
Away from the main pack HIT found eight hounds kept at the hunt master’s property, along with terriers and sheepdogs.
These dogs were kept in a combination of DIY pens constructed from flimsy, insecure metal fencing and sparse concrete kennels where dogs had only old wooden crates to sleep on.
The dogs were given filthy drinking water provided in roughly hacked up old containers. Excrement and urine covered the cold hard ground. There was no provision for warmth during the winter months, and no stimulation or enrichment. Several of the dogs appeared fearful, underweight, withdrawn and unhappy.
HIT installed covert cameras at the kennels, which showed minimal care or interaction with the dogs. These loyal, loving animals were left in a pitiful and neglected state. No dog-lover would tolerate this for their own companion animals, especially during the cold winter months.
HIT reported the conditions to the RSPCA due to immediate animal welfare concerns. They believe the RSPCA attended, but a subsequent visit to the property indicated that no meaningful changes had been made to these dogs’ living conditions.
Reflections from the investigations team
“It was very distressing to see that, even after a visit from the RSPCA, the hunt master had done so little to make these dogs’ lives less miserable. A few shavings of sawdust on the floor and a single blanket in a wooden crate – during February’s cold weather – are barely “improvements”.
Two dogs stayed curled in the corner of their pens, still too afraid or sick to interact. Others barked for our attention, clearly seeking more stimulation than the bare pens could ever offer.
Leaving these dogs behind in these supposedly “improved” conditions was heart-wrenching. Any animal lover can see that these kennels are inadequate and that the dogs lives are made miserable as a result. This is another unseen reality of the hunting industry.
Thank you to Protect the Wild – and their amazing supporters – for helping us to give these forgotten dogs a voice. It is time to end hunting for good.”
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