HUNT saboteurs from across the North West gathered outside the home of an East Lancashire huntsman to lay the dead body of a fox on his doorstep last night. Members of the North West Campaign Against Hunting staged a peaceful protest outside the home of Arnold Greenhalgh, huntmaster of Holcombe Harriers. Carrying banners proclaiming "Hunting is a crime not a sport", protesters confronted Mr Greenhalgh with the corpse of a vixen which they claim had been fatally wounded when horsemen deliberately rode over it. He went outside his home in Holt Lane, Brindle, to listen to their protests but insisted that the fox had been seriously injured before the hunt found it on Saturday. The protesters, however, said the huntsmen took delight in torturing the animal.

Spokeswoman Sarah Hill said: "Our members were there at the hunt and they saw the hounds pounce on the fox and then saw the huntsman ride into the pack and trample the fox. "Mr Greenhalgh picked it up by its tail and taunted the saboteurs with it. We snatched it from him and we took it to a vets but it died a few hours later." Denying the claims, Mr Greenhalgh said the fox had made no attempt to get away from the pack. He said: "The hunt saboteurs are entitled to their own opinion if they would just be truthful. The fox in question would have died anyway because it was either diseased or injured."

The hunt saboteurs have now threatened to step up their action against the hunt and target the pubs where hunters meet.
Saboteur Jane Smith said: "We have shown Mr Greenhalgh that he can't go out killing during the day and then go back to his cosy home and forget about it at night. "There is no escape for the animals and there will be no escape for him. "Next we will target the pubs where members meet before a hunt to tell everyone there what goes on and what these people do."

News Story: Bolton Evening News, 19 November 1996