Hunt saboteurs were assaulted by members of the Middleton Hunt at their meet in Uncleby, North Yorkshire on Saturday the 18th of March. Riders from the hunt stole a video camera and two body cams, hit sabs on the head with whips, attempted to ride them down and jumped off their horses to continue the attacks.
One female saboteur has cracked ribs after being crushed between two horses. Other sabs suffered serious head injuries and broken fingers. Multiple ambulances had to be called to the scene and several of the injured were encouraged to attend hospital.
The attack was filmed, attackers have been identified and this information has been passed to the police who are investigating. The footage can’t currently be released due to the ongoing investigation.
Lee Moon, Spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “In 2015 an undercover investigation implicated the Middleton hunt in the rearing of captive foxes to be illegally hunted. In January of this year huntsman Charles Carter was filmed making sexually inappropriate comments to a member of the public. He subsequently had to resign as a Tory councillor. The hunt have now added violent assault and theft to their list of crimes and are fast becoming one of the most notorious in the country.
“We repeatedly see hunters using their horses as weapons and, has been shown in recent years, this can result in serious injury. We are hopeful that the large number of police who attended the scene yesterday are indicative of how seriously they are taking this situation and we look forward to a swift and positive investigation.
“Lord Middleton of Birdsall was Joint Master of the Hunt and has their kennels on his Birdsall estate. It is alleged that that he no longer allows the hunt on his land due to the recent controversies. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to having his name associated to robbery and violent assault.”
The attack is the third high-profile violent attack on hunt saboteurs this month.
