ANTI-HUNT campaigners are calling for the immediate suspension of one of Cumbria's main foxhunts and the resignation of the chairman of the central committee of fell packs.
The call comes after tourists claimed that they had witnessed a Cumbrian hunt digging out a fox that had gone to ground and then throwing it alive to a pack of frenzied hounds. This act would be a clear breach of the Master of Foxhounds Association's 'Code of Good Hunting'. One of the rules states that: 'A fox which has had to be handled by a terrierman or his assistant must either be freed or humanely destroyed immediately'. However, Cumbrian fell packs are not signed up to the Master of Foxhounds Association's 'Code of Good Hunting'. Instead, they are answerable to the central committee of fell packs.
The North West League Against Cruel Sports (NWLACS) are calling for the resignation of Mr Edmund Porter, chairman of the central committee of fell packs and master of Eskdale and Ennerdale Foxhunts, for failing to investigate the claims and they are also calling for the suspension of the hunt responsible pending a full independent inquiry into the allegation.
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