The League Against Cruel Sports has released a captive fox from a private outbuilding on the Buckminster Estate, on the Leicestershire/Lincolnshire border, just hours before the Belvoir Hunt was due to meet nearby. The animal welfare charity said the find raised serious questions about the fox's treatment.
Darryl Cunnington from the League described the fox as dehydrated and underweight when found. 'The conditions it was kept under were far from ideal,' he said. 'There is no reason whatsoever to keep a live, healthy-enough fox in a shed.'
Two days after the discovery, a man was filmed visiting the building. The charity captured and removed the fox, and the following morning the same man returned with a net and bag, leaving after seeing the fox was gone. Later that day, the Belvoir Hunt held its annual gathering in Buckminster.
The Hunting Act 2004 bans chasing and killing wild mammals with packs of dogs, but allows some forms of hunting, including to prevent damage to livestock, with no more than two dogs and no dogs sent below ground. Wild mammals can be hunted if they escape from captivity, but not if deliberately released for hunting.
A hunt spokesman said: 'The Belvoir Hunt has no knowledge or involvement in this matter. They absolutely reject any suggestion that this has anything whatsoever to do with any of its staff or members.' The Buckminster Estate confirmed the man was an employee but declined to be interviewed, stating it was 'confident that none of its employees have acted in an illegal or improper way.'
Lincolnshire Police said its wildlife officers had been made aware. After care at an animal sanctuary, the fox was released at a different location.
