Disturbing footage shows the moment a pack of hounds appear to kill a fox to death during a hunt.
Members of the Warwickshire Hunt were filmed by saboteurs allegedly using their dogs to tear the creature apart in Chadshunt, Warickshire on Monday.
Graphic video footage shows dozens of hounds swarming around bushes in a field before clambering over each other to rip away chunks of flesh.
Meanwhile, huntsmen stand around and sit on horseback – appearing to do little to call off the attack as the dogs drag pieces of the dead animal away.
West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said the prestigious hunt met in Kineton at around 6am, and claim they later deliberately sought out a nearby fox den.
A spokesperson for the group said: “This was no ‘accident’, the Warwickshire Hunt can’t claim they accidentally came across this fox.
“There was no pretence at even laying and following a trail. The huntsman has been at the Warwickshire Hunt for a long time now and will know his hunt country well.
“The fact that he headed across the road and straight up to what he would have known was an active fox den shows that this was very much a deliberate act of hunting.
“He then let his hounds run up and down it until inevitably they found the fox and killed it.
“At no point prior to the hounds killing the fox did the huntsman or anyone from the hunt stop the hounds.
“Members of the hunt were all happy for the hounds to be running up and down an area that contained a fox den.
“What is most shocking about this apart from the fact that a fox was brutally ripped apart by a pack of hounds is the complete casualness and nonchalance of those involved and watching.
“No one rushes over to stop the hounds.
“The riders just stand watching before casually moving on to the next bit of land to hunt as if a fox being killed is an everyday normal occurrence.”
The Hunting Act has banned the hunting of mammals with dogs in England and Wales since 2004.
The Warwickshire Hunt and Warwickshire Police have both been contacted for comment.
