Sabs leave trail of destruction at Derwent kennels

A group of saboteurs vandalised kennels belonging to the Derwent Hunt near Snainton in North Yorkshire.

The sabs are thought to have struck in the early hours of Saturday morning, slashing the tires on an SUV and trailer used by the hunt. The vandals also graffitied the words ‘HUNT SCUM’ on the walls of the kennels.

The perpetrators vandalised the Derwent kennels in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It is not currently known who carried out the attack, however the Derwent Hunt is regularly harassed by members of Teesside Against Blood Sports, including Simon Taylor and Michelle Smith. The hunt is appealing for anyone with information about the crime to get in touch.   

Sabs slashed the tyres of a vehicle used by the hunt - a typical tactic for such break-ins.

Scenes like this are sadly all too familiar for many rural communities as the sabs ratchet up their campaign of countryside terrorism, egged on by a Labour Government that has pledged to ban the legal and harmless sport of trail hunting.

In June, a group thought to be connected to the extremist Animal Liberation Front (ALF), attacked a farm near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, leaving behind similar damage to vehicles and graffiti.

According to Thames Valley Police, the sabs stole expensive power tools from the farm outbuildings during the break-in, suggesting that the perpetrators were motivated by more than just moral outrage over hunting. They also slashed a tractor’s tyres, poured maize into its fuel tank, and cut the wires.

Sabs scrawled the initials ‘ALF’ on a barn, suggesting a link with the extreme animal rights group that was flagged by the FBI as a “serious domestic terror threat”.

Sabs thought to be connected to the extremist ALF vandalised a farm in the Cotswolds.

The chair of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, Simon Russel, previously faced criminal charges for his links to the ALF, publishing articles in support of the extremist group. Last week, Russell was invited to Parliament as a guest of MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Ruth Jones to launch a charity single, ‘Fox on the Run’.

In December 2020, sabs left a similar trail of destruction at a farm in north Staffordshire, smashing car windows and trying to force their way inside the property.

CCTV footage of the Staffordshire break-in showed sabs in typical ski masks.

CCTV footage showed the perpetrators wearing sabs’ signature ski masks. Police were unable to track down the culprits, however locals suspect the work of the Stockport Monitors, led by the notorious Paul Allman, who previously served 20 weeks in custody for assaulting two members of the Wynnstay Hunt.  

Members and supporters of the Derwent Hunt are now living in fear that their properties could be targeted next. It’s shocking that anyone in Britain should have to put up with this kind of terror-inducing vandalism, just for enjoying a perfectly legal sport.