WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
SHOCKING video shows hunt saboteurs risk life and limb by wading in to a huge pack of excited dogs to rescue the mauled body of a fox.
One of the saboteurs is bitten on the hand as she battles to retrieve the mangled corpse from a densely-packed circle of around 20 baying hounds.
The incident happened at a farm outside Torrington, Devon, on Saturday afternoon and was posted by Devon County Hunt Saboteurs.
They posted: “One of the sabs – a visiting Brighton sab – was bitten by hounds on her hands and wrists as she wrenched the still-twitching body of this beautiful young fox away from them.
“The fox was disembowelled, bits of his face were ripped off and in the footage you can see hounds running around with bits of fur and flesh hanging out of their mouths.
“The huntsman who was stood just metres away made no attempts to call hounds off at any point.”
The video shows the hunt saboteurs racing towards the howling pack of hounds.
The saboteurs can be heard shouting “leave it!” repeatedly as some 20 barking dogs all begin to tug on the dead animal.
Another saboteur can be heard shouting “get out! Call them off!” as they scream at the hunter watching metres away.
Tracy Bravey responded online: “Sorry I cant watch… I know what happens. I’m so upset and f****** angry at these vile a*******s. Heartbreaking for sabs to witness.”
Maureen Jennifer Ryan added: “Oh my god this is absolutely sickening all those dogs on one fox this has to stop.”
Julia Lewry wrote: “They really are the cess pit of the gene pool!”
Alison Graham Lindsay said: “So sad, poor fox it’s heartbreaking. As an animal lover and dog owner it saddens me to see dogs trained to kill and never knowing kindness and love. The whole thing is cruel and barbaric.”
Penny Hall added: “Sickening, I could not watch it all. How brave of the sabs to get right in amongst the hounds to rescue the fox. I just wish the outcome had been different.”
Terri Brooks wrote: “I feel so bad for those hounds. They visually seem confused. They thought they’d done a good job and they are being shouted at (rightly so). Poor animals. All of them.”
