But eventually I got out into the countryside, and ended up in the Elan Valley. So far, I've considered this blog as being my own personal diary of nature around me, and wanted to keep a feel-good factor and not concentrate on any negativity. But this is about the Welsh Countryside in general, and when you live here you can't really ignore the illegal hunting that goes on. It's quite blatant, and nothing is done to stop it.
I came across this group of hounds in the Elan and took a few photos before they disappeared up over the tops of the crags. I couldn't see the huntsmen and I didn't hear the hounds go into cry, so was rather hoping they hadn't come across a fox.
In case you don't know, hunting with a pack of hounds has been illegal since 2004 in England and Wales, although you'd be forgiven for thinking that nothing has in fact changed. It is legal to flush a fox to guns, but with only two dogs, and those dogs cannot kill the fox. It should be shot, not torn apart by a pack of hounds. So if you see a pack of hounds anywhere in the country (not only Wales) it is likely the hunt is illegal. Yes, if questioned they will insist they are "trail hunting" which was invented to allow hunts to continue their activity undisturbed. It is a cover for actual hunting and makes the most of loop-holes in the law and friends in high places. There are legal "drag" or "clean boot" hunts around, who follow a genuine trail, but it seems these are few and far between. The rest of the hunts who "accidentally" kill foxes on a regular basis, seem to be above the laws of the land that apply to the rest of us. Clearly if they were trail hunting the trail wouldn't be laid across railway lines (where hounds have been killed) or main roads (where hounds have been killed) across private gardens (where pets have been killed) and so on. I could go on, but if you are sufficiently interested and want to find out more then a quick google search will tell you all you need to know.
So back to the pack in the Elan Valley. This was on Saturday, 22nd December 2018. Clearly more than two dogs and no excuse for "trail hunting" with horses on those crags. These are the Welsh gun packs which I've had experience of first hand. Pretty much the lowest of the low.
One dog appears to have a bloodied tail. I know from first hand that the hunts don't care for their dogs, so no surprise there if a hound is injured. But I digress. Dated from the same Saturday I read from a local bird blog this, and I quote "Up the Elan, a Peregrine near the quarry (Caban Coch), 50+ Bramblings at Sawmill and sadly a lovely fox not 10 feet from the car, exhausted, tongue hanging out and 2 mins later several mud bespattered hounds followed by ladies and gents armed with guns-also salivating."
This is also, very sadly, part of the Welsh Countryside!
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