In the winter months of early 2023, HIT recorded conditions at one of the Border Hunt’s kennels at Redesmouth Farm in Northumberland. What we found proves yet again that despite the hunting fraternity’s claims on social media, hunting dogs are not ‘loved’ or ‘looked after’ – they are little more than tools to chase and kill wildlife.
The Border Hunt is a farmers hunt that hunts 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 freezing, squalid accommodation. Away from the main pack, HIT found eight hounds kept at the hunt master’s property, along with terriers and sheepdogs, all kept in equally sparse conditions.
These dogs were held in a combination of DIY pens kennels constructed from flimsy,
insecure metal fencing and sparse concrete kennels where dogs had with dogs
provided only an old wooden crate 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 bitterly cold 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 Several of the dogs appeared fearful, underweight, withdrawn and unhappy.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. We believe the RSPCA attended, but our subsequent visit to the property indicated that no meaningful changes had been made to these dogs’ living conditions: a shameful reflection of what passes for acceptable animal welfare standards in this country.
As our team wrote at the time: “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.“
huntinvestigationteam.org 