December

A Sheffield sab had been victim to a serious assult at the Barlow a few weeks previously and on the 13th we were invited to join them at this hunt which met at Old Brampton, just west of Chesterfield. Due to the relatively large number of sabs, we split into two groups initially. Horns and gizmos were used to good effect which kept the hunt pretty well disrupted. Superintendant Williams of South Yorkshire Police who actually hunts with the Barlow was pretty vocal until a sab confronted her on her association with "wildlife criminals" - ie the terriermen. She fell silent at that point - read what you will into that - the police would! The Derbyshire police eventually turned up and were predictably dodgy. Fortunately some normal traffic police also turned up and instantly did the terriermen for operating an untaxed/uninsured quad bike on a public road! To quote the traffic cops: "A Super goes out with this lot? We'll have to find something to nick her on - we'll get extra points for that!" A Wolves sab was assaulted which resulted in a mangled horn but once again there were no kills at the end of the day.

The next week we invited Northants and Wolves groups to join us at the Atherstone near Tamworth. The weather conditions were appalling but sabs stuck fairly close to the hunt. Staffs police declared "zero tolerance for Christmas - bah humbug". There were 15 PC's but because of the weather most of them stayed in the riot van. A few hitched rides on the back of the terriermen's quad and gave chase to the sabs in the field. Problem is - all you have to do is nip over a fence and they can't follow and they were too slow (even when supposedly fresh) to keep up with us on foot! Lay off the doughnuts, guys! No kills.

On Boxing Day, a small number of us celebrated Christmas by joining the High Peak Harriers in Bakewell. A large number of people turned out to watch them set off from the "Peacock Hotel". I think most of them suffered from dementia as they were very old and kept referring to foxes. It's a hare hunt for God's sake - don't you country people know anything about country ways?! They didn't really have much intention of hunting and sabs only intervened once when the huntsman attempted to put his hounds into a covert - unsuccessfully I might add! Kaye Chapman took some photos of us - I think she has a crush on someone in the group! Interestingly by the end of the day, there were no foot followers or field left and the only people still following the hunt were sabs! We escorted them back to the kennels - no kills.

November

On the 15th, we joined Wolves at the Albrighton who met at Lapley, in Staffordshire. Sabs stayed with the hunt most of the day, saving one fox directly. The threats started pretty much from the beginning but a fairly uneventful day. The highlight was a Staffs PC, threatening to do a sab for "cruelty to animals" on the word of the rather overweight whipper-in. The sab simply responded "Just think about what you said!" which I think summed it up quite well. Clearly the officer wasn't the brightest around. No kills.

A slight mix-up in logistics the following week meant we had the week off and we returned with Wolves to the Albrighton on the 29th at Wheaton Aston in Staffs. The hunt was even more tetchy this week, probably encouraged by the even more dodgy policing (4 cars plus a 4WD). A couple of minor scuffles broke out when riders fancied their chances during the day, but sabs stuck with the hunt resulting in no kills.

October

The next week we joined Wolves at the Albrighton. Unfortunately we failed to pick up any sign of the hunt.

We returned to the Meynell the week after near the Newchurch Guinea Pig Farm and again were helped by Birmingham and Worcester and Wolves. The day started typically with the hunt blocking a country byway in their normal arrogant way for nearly quarter of an hour - no change there. It all kicked off soon after when sabs got seperated in a big wood. Four riders from the hunt set upon a lone sab, knocking him to the ground and repeatedly kicking him in the ribs while he was lying on the ground. They then wrestled his video camera out of his grasp and rode off with it. Everyone rallied together after that incident and continued after the hunt while the assault victim returned to the vehicle. The group successfully kept with the hunt while in the large covert and then returned to the vehicle themselves when the hunt left them behind. A complaint was made to the two Staffs cops who had just turned up, who dutifully ignored it completely, as they were too busy threatening to arrest us for Trespass, some rubbish Trade Union Law and Obstruction of a Huntperson's fist with one's face etc, etc. We carried on after accepting some ground rules but the "officers" decided to change their minds at that point and arrested 3 sabs. With reduced numbers in the field and the help of clearly biased cops the hunt then kicked off again. The brave whipper-in grabbed a young woman around the neck and dragged her at the side of his horse choking her in full view of one of the PC's who seemed to have selective short-sightedness. That ended the day's events more or less except for the Wolves van tyres being slashed.

The last Saturday of the month we needed a break from the insanity and violence that seemed to be sweeping the Midlands and joined our old favourites the High Peak Harriers near Buxton at the more respectable time of 11.30am. As usual there were a few close calls where sabs had to react quickly with standard intercept and rating techniques but fortunately there were no kills.

September

We sacrificed one weekend to attract new members and raise funds at the Derby Ecofest. There was generally a good response to the stall so this "59% that support hunting" clearly aren't interested in environmental issues! We also attended a mid-week meet of the Atherstone Hunt near Swadlincote. Low numbers of sabs (we do have work of course - unlike those that hunt) hampered our progress but due to extensive use of citronella spray causing most of South Derbyshire to smell of lemons the hunt failed to kill, despite an attempted dig-out towards the end of the day.

The last Saturday in September we attempted to locate the Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt but to no avail. Our flagging spirits were given a boost when we found a large commercial partridge shoot at Bloor Hall (near Ashbourne) instead! Derby Sabs with help from Wolves, and Birmingham, went into the field and successfully stopped the shoot. Most of the shoot took it quite well but one kid and a senile old bloke continued to shoot with people in front of them. A mixture of sabs and their own more responsible colleagues convinced them otherwise. After a short break for lunch they lost sabs for a short time and tried again further down the valley. Sabs quickly located them and then the shoot called it a day and probably claimed on their insurance.

Summer

It was the silver anniversary of the first ever grouse shoot sab this year. One of the original sabs described what happened:
The first grouse shoot that was "sabbed" was in August 1978. I don't believe any shooting activities were disrupted prior to this date. The day was a huge success, with shooting abandoned for the day. The moors were the ones above Glossop. The look on the faces of the beaters and the guns was a sight to behold. Having never had their activities "sabbed" before, they just couldn't understand what was going on as a 100 or so sabs marched between the beaters and the guns singing "All Things Bright and Beautiful". It was a great day.
The following year, a motion was passed at the HSA's AGM in Bristol, to amend the constitution to formally commit the HSA to opposition to shooting.

This year Derby members joined forces with sabs from Manchester, Sheffield, North Yorkshire, Reading, Birmingham, Pewsey Vale and South Wales. The groups met up in Glossop and the moorland was split into areas for checking. The shoot was soon found further east in South Yorkshire on Strines Moor. The word got out and the different groups converged on the shoot from all directions. The shoot packed up having killed only 2 grouse. The die-hard shooters almost gave the sabs the slip by setting up slightly further east but they were quickly located and again they were shut down. The day was topped off nicely by a celebratory drink at "The Globe" - a vegan pub in Glossop.

The last Thursday in August was the surprise first day of the foxcub hunting season for the Meynell. A small number of sabs from Derby, Leicester and Northants (thanks guys) managed to attend the event. Despite the attendance of some of the most experienced sabs in the country, the Meynell pack ripped apart one fox cub and another cub was dug out and shot with a small handgun (aren't these illegal?). This was mainly thanks to Swadlincote police who were behaving more like paid hunt stewards than neutral police officers. One hunt supporter in a silver Landrover Discovery also attempted to run down sabs in the field, which the police considered to be perfectly acceptable. Of course we're still waiting for Swad police to arrest the terrier men from a different hunt who trashed the Derby vehicle to a sum of £1200 4 years ago!

The last Saturday in August sabs from Derby, Nottingham and Leicester joined forces for an incursion into Quorn territory at Ragdale Hall in Leicestershire. The hunt was kept on the run for most of the morning and despite this sabs still managed to gain control of the pack at least 4 times, and split them a number more. This was a good day for the sabs as the hunt barely penetrated any coverts at all. It cannot be confirmed if the hunt succeeded in killing.

March

We had a bit of a dilemma the following week. The Meynell are always one of the first hunts to finish (and should be given credit for this, recognising that vixens would soon have litters) and we heard that Sheffield were covering the High Peak. What should we do? We took a democratic vote and decided to head for the Atherstone. This hunt, which sometimes encroaches into South Derbyshire, has been seriously neglected over many years and this was evident in the skill of the huntsman and whipper-in . The hunt was surprisingly respectable and nobody was attacked or ridden down in the field (a refreshing change). Some of the hunt support were not quite as respectable however, and a few old codgers kept trying to pick a fight with us! We kept on the move and despite the skilled hunt staff we managed to disrupt hunting to a reasonable level. No kills.

Due to the lack of choice as to which hunt to do, we returned to the Atherstone again the following week. Our reputation as violent combat clad anarchists is seriously in danger as our good deeds that day included aiding a farmer to free a sheep entangled on barbed wire and towing a vehicle out of a field - not terrier-men I hasten to add! We directly saved one fox and caused enough disruption to restrict hunting. It may have turned a bit nasty towards the end if we had not retreated into the middle of a field. The police eventually turned up and despite photo evidence of the hunt support blocking us in, and half of them clearly running off down the road, the police (Leicestershire - surprise, surprise) threatened to arrest us. Fortunately the hunt was packing up, so we decided to leave and avoid any further hassle from Hinckley police with unprofessional attitude problems. As it was only about 2.00pm, we contacted Nottingham to see if they wanted any help. We headed across to the Belvoir but the hunt had packed up by the time we got there. (I think they had heard we were coming!)

Northants declared a regional "hit" at the Woodland Pytchley the following week, due to the escalating violence meted out by hunt stewards in Northamptonshire. Nottingham, Leicester, Essex, and Chiltern groups were also present. Communications hampered the day and unfortunately Essex was caught on their own by the hunt stewards. Two female sabs were assaulted and one male sab had his leg broken. All three required hospital treatment and the male sab required surgery. There were at least 3 other assaults that day. Two hunt stewards were arrested. The hunt was advised to pack up early by the police.

Due to these assaults a national hit was declared the next week at the Woodland Pytchley. In addition to the groups from the previous week, Reading, Liverpool, West London and token force from Sheffield (how far?!) joined us. Co-ordinating this number of groups was a logistical nightmare, and although the hunt did little hunting one fox was unfortunately killed. This was sheer luck as there was no chase and the fox was "chopped" instantly. There were a number of minor assaults again but thankfully nobody was seriously injured this time.

The Woodland Pytchley was out yet again the next week (the last in the country?) and it was felt a change of tactics was required. It was decided to go for a more modest number of groups who were reasonably safe if they stuck together, but fast enough to sab effectively. These tactics worked! The three vehicles deployed, contained Northants, Essex, Derby and a token force from Wolverhampton and Leicester. There were no kills, and the hunt was given the proverbial finger as a fox was directly saved just before the end of the day which was their last meet of the season. There was only one minor injury thankfully, when a hunter hit a female sab with the hard end of a whip and broke her finger. The hunt stewards didn't really get a look-in so I'm sure the hunt stewards (whose numbers had expanded from other regions) were given a good telling-off for failing so abysmally!

February

For some reason we decided to return to the High Peak Harriers who were meeting at Church Inn, Chelmorton the next week. I think it was because for some of the new members of the group it was their first taster of a hare hunt which can have multiple kills in one day. This was a significant day for us as it was the first day we had seen a police presence at the High Peak. He wasn't particularly interested though and after a brief question of "Are you going to behave yourselves?", left us to it! The terrain was far more difficult in this area, making our job even harder, but again they failed to kill. Kevin was in a much better mood and informed us he was moving on at the end of the season.

During February some members had time between sabs to protest outside The (not so) Great British Circus which had camped out in Stapleford, on the edge of Nottingham. This circus has expanded it's collection of exotic performing animals since last year. A number of people, who watched the show, came out and reported they had found it distressing when many of the performing animals were repeatedly whipped in full view of the audience.

After a single weekend off we returned to action the following week with Wolves and after a lengthy search we found that the Meynell and South Staffordshire had met up at the Okeover Arms in Mapleton yet again. They seemed to be hunting properly this week by casting the pack through a number of coverts. Staffs police were present this time, and after a shaky start, seemed reasonable enough. We split the pack a number of times, when needed to disrupt hunting, and the hunt continued to a record breaking 5.00pm (for them) without a kill.

January

The first Saturday of the New Year we again joined forces with Nottingham with the initial intent of "joining" the Quorn, but perhaps due to extremely icy conditions, the hunt had cancelled. We decided to go onto the neglected Belvoir hunt which used to be renowned for the number of wildlife that was killed in one day. Unfortunately the hunt may have succeeded in one kill that day but another fox was directly saved by saboteurs in the field.

Northants asked us down to support them at the Grafton the following week. They had been experiencing some trouble with a number of 4WD's packed with hunt stewards recently. Hunt stewards are basically vigilante thugs hired to keeps sabs away from the hunt using whatever means necessary. The majority of police constabularies and even the Home Secretary discourage the use of stewards as they recognise they are the main cause of serious crime. With 2 sab vehicles and greater numbers we thought it would make the stewards' job more difficult and we would be able to stay with the hunt for most of the day. Unfortunately we discovered when we got there, that it was a joint meet with the Bicester (considered to be one of the most violent hunts in the country). The field sabs did well to keep with the hunt all day and prevent any kills despite the threats of violence. It turned nasty towards the end of the day when the Derby vehicle was almost rammed, then blocked in. About 30 supporters descended onto the vehicle, but we ran the blockade with a deft bit of driving, and managed to get out without anyone getting hurt. Things spiralled out of control then, and the Northants police who had done nothing all day, decided to call the helicopter out. By this time (almost time to pack up anyway) we had accepted it was prudent to leave.

The next week we joined Wolves, to hunt down the Albrighton. We saw no movement at the kennels and we failed to pick up any horseboxes. They either went out very early or didn't go out due to the misty weather.

The last week in January, we went back to the Meynell and South Staffordshire which met at the Okeover Arms in Mapleton. They were hunting the same area as when we were targets for a pre-planned full-on attack 2 months previously and so we were, perhaps understandably, treading carefully at the beginning of the day. Fortunately the police were already out because HRH Charlie was out yet again! A fairly uneventful day was had by all, as the hunt seemed happy to just go for a hack and no serious attempt was made to hunt properly. On our travels that day we did notice one landowner in a BMW who seemed to guarding their land for fear of the hunt trespassing!