At 11am yesterday, Helston’s Cury Hunt, comprised of around 20 adults and children on horseback and accompanied by helpers, arrived in the centre of Helston to a crowd of 300 supportive spectators and those protesting the hunt. They were led by huntsman Geoffrey Hollowin (pictured above), who addressed the crowd before making the call to set off from the square at 11:45.

Reporters from Cobblestone Media, curious about the nature of the hunt in the post-ban era, followed the horses and hounds further west, to a collection of fields around Gunwalloe. A common spot for Helston’s Cury Hunt every Boxing Day, they released the hounds and began their ride across fields that they had been permitted to use.

Cobblestone had been told that the Cury Hunt was planning to act in accordance with the Hunting Act 2004, which specifically prohibits the use of a pack of hounds to hunt foxes, deer, or any other mammal. Instead, it was stated that the huntsmen were “trail hunting”, a practice which involves laying a track where the scent of an animal is used to simulate fox hunting.

Despite these assurances from the huntsmen, a spokesperson from West Cornwall Hunt Saboteurs made claims to the contrary:

“They’ve been fox hunting for 20 years. They seem to think they’re above the law and above government. They said they’d continue when the hunting ban first came in, and they’re finding out the consequences. We have protested it every year we can for the last five/six years because they are illegally hunting. They know they’re illegally hunting, and we know they’re illegally hunting.”

Following the hunt for a number of hours, it became clear that the huntsmen did not have control over their pack. The hounds were seen routinely splitting, veering away from the hunt, and getting lost amongst the forestry of Gunwalloe. This also led to accusations that the hunt had not laid a trail for the hounds to chase, and were actively looking for foxes along hedgerows and in forests.

This accusation became concrete when at around 1:45pm the hounds began to “cry” – the term used when the pack have discovered a scent. Reporters captured the moments that followed as the hunt was spotted chasing a deer across a field, being called away by members of West Cornwall Hunt Sabs and finally by the leader of the hunt – only after the deer had outrun the hounds.

On occasions such as this, where an animal is illegally killed or chased down, huntsman claim that hounds may be distracted from a trail by a wild animal, but their pursuit of animals is never purposeful.

According to local campaigners, this is not the first time the hunt has broken the law in this way, or has very nearly done so. They also state that police action is limited when huntsman are seen to be acting illegally, and getting convictions remains difficult. There have been a handful of exceptions, such as in 2021 when a prosecution was secured against a huntsman in Cornwall when a pet cat was killed by a pack of hounds.

The government announced this week that there would be new restrictions on trail hunting in the new year. Hunt Sabs and other wildlife campaigners are optimistic about the changes, though are aware that many who partake in the hunt may be able to find loopholes to continue the practice in secret.

Images via: Cobblestone Media.