Gill Rayner
- dereckhoward99
- Dec 23
- 3 min read
Affiliation: Weymouth Animal Rights
Location: Weymouth Town Centre
Gill Rayner is a leading figure in Weymouth Animal Rights, one of the more aggressive saboteur groups operating in the South West. Based in Weymouth but active across multiple hunts, Rayner has turned disruption into a long-term campaign - one built on trespassing, intimidation, and a network of like-minded sabs.
Rayner's dedication to disruption is notable for its consistency. He has been a central figure in the sustained harassment outside the South Dorset Hunt kennels, a campaign that continues to this day.
Rayner also doesn't limit himself to his home territory. Operating across South Dorset and beyond, he's made himself a familiar face at hunt meets throughout the region. The pattern is clear: wherever there's an opportunity to disrupt, trespass, or intimidate, Rayner is likely to appear.
The Company He Keeps
Rayner's choice of allies reveals much about his approach. He maintains a close friendship with Chrissy "Red" Connor, a saboteur known for blatant trespassing. Connor was recently filmed deliberately trespassing onto private land and using a horn to call hounds off a laid trail - a dangerous interference that could result in hounds being injured, lost, or running into nearby traffic.
Rayner maintains close ties to Neal Buckoke, another prominent figure in the saboteur network. Buckoke is known as a bruiser within the Devon County Hunt Saboteurs, Severn Vale Hunt Saboteurs, and Northants Hunt Saboteurs.
In May 2024, he was filmed abusing a follower of a Devon-based trail hunt. Shouting at the man driving past, Buckoke made typical classist sab comments, saying he "f**king hates rich c**ts like you" and calling the man an "upper-class little c**t", among other insults.
Rayner and BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham have been photographed together, an unsurprising alliance given Packham's well-documented affinity for the saboteur movement.
Packham has previously found himself in hot water after spending the day with convicted bomb maker Mel Broughton while livestreaming an outing with the Northants Hunt Sabs to disrupt a meeting of the Cottesmore Hunt in Leicestershire.
Despite being bound by BBC rules on neutrality and not bringing the corporation into disrepute, Packham seems unconcerned about his associations. That he's comfortable enough with Gill Rayner to pose for photographs tells you everything you need to know about the company both men keep.
These alliances place Rayner and Weymouth Animal Rights firmly within the more aggressive faction of the sab movement, the activists who've abandoned the pretence of peaceful demonstration in favour of violence and intimidation. Buckoke's tirade revealed what truly motivates many saboteurs: not concern for animal welfare, but class-based hatred and extremist anti-establishment views wrapped in a veneer of activism.
Pride in Violence
In 2023, Fiona Stewart, a member of Weymouth Animal Rights, assaulted a member of the hunting community - physically knocking them to the ground and grabbing them by the hood from a Land Rover in an aggressive, irate confrontation.
Rayner wasn't present for the assault, but was heard boasting about it afterward, reportedly saying to other sabs "that will be one less scummer", or words to that effect. Rayner's response to the Stewart assault reveals the true nature of his leadership: one that encourages aggression and treats violence as a success.
Operating in the Shadows
Rayner's online presence includes a fake Facebook account under the name Carl Smith - a tactic commonly used by saboteurs to monitor hunt social media, infiltrate private groups, and gather intelligence on meet locations while avoiding accountability for their real identities.
The Personal Toll
Rayner split from his wife Lisa last year. She continues to work at CC Moors Equestrian, a horse supplier, and now runs an animal sanctuary. Whatever drove that separation, Lisa has notably been absent from recent saboteur activity, leaving Rayner to continue his campaigns without her.
HATE SABS? SUPPORT BTM!
Over the past two years, BTM has unmasked nearly 100 hunt saboteurs.
We've exposed the links between hunt sabs, politicians, and the police.
We've helped bring criminal sabs to justice and shown the world how violent these countryside terrorists really are.
Now we need your help. With your support, we can keep the pressure on hunt sabs and let the whole world see behind the masks.
Please consider donating to our cause and share this link with anyone else who wants to keep the countryside free.
