Possibly the most undesirable place for a huntsman to trespass with his hounds, from his point of view, would be through the property of an Executive Committee member of the League Against Cruel Sports. This is just what happened, on 14th January, to the Cheshire Foxhounds; on more incident in a whole host of remarkable accidents and mistakes for the hunt.

League Officer, Chris Owen, lives at Clotten, near Tarporley, Cheshire, with his wife and young children. Their two acre garden has been turned into a wildlife sanctuary which has been successful in attracting foxes, badgers and other wildlife. As a precaution, Chris built several artifical bolt holes (small tunnels made from drainpipes) which provide a hunted fox with a temporary escape route.

On 14th January, Chris was walking his pet dog across the fields when he saw a fox running for its life with a pack of hounds in hot pursuit. They were all heading directly for his property at full speed and fortunately already had his camera with him.

The hounds ran riot in the sanctuary as the fox ran straight into the bolt hole. It clearly knew where it would be safe. A huntsman also broke into the property by trampling down a perimeter fence.

Chris Owen said: 'The huntsman went into my sanctuary with hounds howling frantically, and trying to dig down to the fox. I asked the huntsman why he was trespassing. He responded: "We go where the fox goes". I asked him to leave, but he refused. My wife, who had been ill in bed, then appeared and we managed to persuade him to leave our property. We checked the bolt hole late to find the fox still safely in residence. We know that hunting is cruel and inefficient, but incidents like this also show that it is also disruptive and destructive. We were thankful that our children where at school, and not playing outside.'

After leaving Chris's land, the huntsman trespassed onto a neighbouring farmer's land, from where they are also banned. There they allegedly trampled freshly seeded crops before cutting through a barbed wire fence to gain an exit.

Published in Wildlife Guardian, Issue 36, Spring 1997