𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘯 & 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘨 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 25𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 2023.
Sabs recorded this prolonged chase of a healthy stag by the Devon and Somerset Stag Hounds on Tuesday 25th April, using both our drone and handheld cameras on the ground. The stag was first spotted by sab team 1 (Three Counties Sabs) who were positioned on the lane by the northeast corner of Anstey Money Common. Another stag had already been witnessed fleeing from the hunt across the lane but was not pursued. The hunted stag was spotted shortly after, running back and forth next to the road. He was turned by hunt support on the road and ran southwards back up the small combe towards the huntsman and hounds.
This is where the chase was first picked up by the drone. The stag had joined a herd of about five deer that were running through gorse with hounds close behind. Hunt support and followers were spread out over the common and on the nearby bridleway looking down into the combe. Had this been legal hunting using the “flushing to guns” exemption, there would have been ample opportunity for gunmen on the common to quickly shoot the stag once he had broken covert. However, this did not happen and once the stag ran from the gorse he was subjected to a prolonged ordeal being chased for many miles.
When the stag was first separated from the herd, the hounds pursued the main herd instead of their intended quarry. As they were brought back onto his scent, a red-jacketed hunt rider chased the stag on his horse further south across the common until he crossed a hedge into open farmland. The stag then continued running into Venford Moor and further east into East Anstey Common as the hunt raced to catch up. The stag came into view of sab team 2 (Mendip, 3Cs & Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch) and shortly after the hunt were seen following on his line.
Vehicle supporters followed on the road and made an almighty noise as the stag tried to cross near Five Cross Ways, beeping their horns and shouting to scare him back as the pursuing hounds struggled to pass through a hedge. This caused him to double back into East Anstey Common, where hunt and hounds continued to chase him. Still, no attempt was made to shoot the stag which should have been done at the earliest opportunity had the hunt been legally flushing to guns.
As the stag approached the road further to the west, hunt support again made huge amounts of noise to try to turn him. However, this time they were unsuccessful and he managed to cross northwards into the Barle Valley as witnessed by sab team 2. Hounds followed in cry on his line as he fled towards the river. The location he was running towards was where a stag was shot in front of a sab a few days before. With the resulting fallout from that incident and sabs close by and watching, the hunt decided to leave the valley and the hunted stag escaped. The presence of sabs and their cameras therefore undoubtedly saved his life. The hunt continued searching the moors for another stag to chase, but we are fairly confident that they did not kill later in the day.
Thank you to Three Counties Sabs and Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch who we had the pleasure of sabbing with that day.
We are enormously grateful for all the support we have received in our campaign against the stag hunts. Please consider helping us out as we switch our focus to other forms of hunting over the summer. You can donate to our fuel and equipment fund at or buy us a virtual coffee at . Thank you
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