Today, Kernow Hunt Sabs revealed the hunt group that was issued a Community Protection Warning (CPW) in January 2026. In a response to a Freedom of Information request, Devon and Cornwall Police disclosed that the group in question was the North Cornwall Hunt, one of a number of hunting groups based in Cornwall.

CPWs are official written warnings issued to individuals, businesses, or groups, requiring them to modify a pattern of behaviour that is harmful to a community. They are often given to individuals with uncontrollable animals or businesses that engage in minor infractions such as littering. Any breach of a Community Protection Warning entitles a court to issue a Community Protection Notice, which can result in a fine or fixed penalty notice. In cases of hunting crime, CPWs are often labelled a “slap on the wrist” by sabs.

In an initial statement given to the press, Devon and Cornwall Police did not name the group issued with the warning or the location in which the preceding events took place. The CPW was issued for trespassing and antisocial behaviour, though the details of the events remain unclear. What is known is that the North Cornwall Hunt have acted illegally on a number of occasions, and local police services are often unable or unwilling to intervene.

On Boxing Day, reporters from Cobblestone Media accompanied West Cornwall Hunt Sabs, catching illegal hunting practices in Gunwalloe, a small village outside Helston. Video footage captured from the hunt shows hounds chasing a deer, only for the animal to outrun the pack. Roaming hounds on public land were also captured by the group, breaching trespass laws and causing concern among walkers. Similar instances have been repeatedly documented and reported by hunt sabs across Cornwall and the South West.

Under the Hunting Act 2004, it is illegal to hunt any mammal with a pack of hounds, though the practice of trail hunting – chasing a scent laid with a scented rag – is used as a smoke screen for groups continuing the practice of fox or deer hunting. Hunts are also barred from private property and public footpaths, though farmers regularly catch hunts trespassing on privately-owned land.

In a post released today, Kernow Hunt Sabs disclosed that it was the North Cornwall Hunt that had been issued with the CPW. Cobblestone reached out to the group to ask for more information on the past activities of the hunt and the events of mid-January. In their statement, the group said:

“North Cornwall (Hunt) has been illegally hunting for many years. They also have terriermen who regularly dig out foxes. Sadly the level of evidence required to prove illegal hunting is notoriously difficult to meet, given the terrain, obstacles, distance if on the moors, and the very nature of an unpredictable prey in an emergent and dynamic situation.

“North Cornwall Hunt have never laid a trail in their lives so every time hounds go into cry they are on live quarry. We have submitted evidence to the police on several occasions and been told it will not meet the criteria, despite it blatantly showing illegal hunting.”

On the recent police action they said:

“We are very pleased to see at least some action is being taken at long last, but given that the behaviour of most Cornwall and Devon hunts is similar to this or worse much, more should be done.”

Photographs and video footage released on the Kernow Hunt Sab Instagram page documents incidents of criminal damage committed by the group in order to intimidate activists. One video shows a car, allegedly vandalised by members of the hunt after a sabotage in St Breward.

Video of incident in St. Breward, North Cornwall. Facebook, Kernow Sabs, Monitors and Animal Rights Team – Cornwall.

This is one of only a handful of times any police action has been taken on routine illegal hunting in Cornwall. Announcements made in December suggest the Labour government is seeking to ban the practice of trail hunting.

Images Via: Alliance Against Foxhunting. Instagram and Facebook, Kernow Hunt Sabs.