Hunters hunt despite dog theft

Beagles were donated so the hunt could go ahead

Members of a Kent hunt met as usual despite the theft of dozens of its beagles.

More than 100 people - four times the usual number - set off on Saturday afternoon determined that the Wye College Beagles Hunt should go ahead.

With them were 25 hounds chosen from 38 packs which had offered help after hearing of Friday's theft of 46 dogs from the Wye Beagles' kennels.

Will Denne pleased with "overwhelming support"

The Animal Liberation Front has claimed responsibility, saying the animals were taken as part of a direct action campaign against hunting and the government's failure to ban the sport.

The hunt set off from Haguelands Farm, Dymchurch, about 12 miles from Wye.

No saboteurs were present at the start though about a dozen were reported to have gathered at nearby Elham Valley as the East Kent Hunt set off.

Addressing the hunt before it set off, hunt secretary Will Denne said the group had received "overwhelming support" from across the country.

"The one thing we are not going to do is give in to the Animal Liberation Front and activists of that nature," he said.

'Unusual theft'

He added it was "very unusual" for an entire pack to be stolen and would have needed a lot of people and organisation.

Hunt chairman Frank Middleton backed calls for help in finding the dogs which all carry ear marks, the letters WCB on one ear and a number on the other.

He said the dogs would suffer because they needed regular exercise.

One of four dogs not stolen awaits the start of the hunt

"I have nothing but contempt for the people who have done this," he said.

"They are being very cruel. Man has been hunting for hundreds of years. It is not barbaric."

Despite the large number stolen, the beagles have disappeared without trace.

Farmers who searched within a six-mile radius of the kennels found nothing.

In a written statement, the ALF said: "All the dogs will be placed in safe, loving homes."

The Hunting Bill, which is before Parliament, includes options to clamp down on hunting with hounds with a total ban, self-regulation or compulsory licensing of hunts.

There were no problems at the Wye Beagles' hunt but two people were arrested during an anti-hunt protest at the Chiddingfold and Leckonfield hunt which met on the Surrey-West Sussex border.