Action Against Foxhunting Podcasts

"The Hunt Meet is Not Welcome in Tiverton on Boxing Day, or Any Other Day"

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Councillor Chris Berry of Local Independents for Tiverton joins Pip to talk about the Town Council’s landmark decision to tell the hunt they are not welcome in Tiverton — on Boxing Day or any other day. They also dive into “salmonella-gate” and the hunt’s bizarre attempt to sue Berry for collecting a sample of their salmonella-ridden hound poo at last year's Boxing Day Meet.

Excitingly, Chris Packham provided a statement to back up the motion:

"Do you want the disgraceful spectacle of ethically and morally bankrupt sociopathic savages from a bygone age besmirching the reputation of your town at a time when we are all trying to celebrate life? Fox hunting is a redundant, illegal and vile anathema which has no place in a world in the grip of the catastrophic loss of wildlife. Please put an end to this horrific spectacle, which seeks to normalise and legitimise cruelty and suffering. And if it does go ahead, please do let me know when you next organise a witch burning in the town square."

Mr Packham sounds angry in his statement - and we all are angry. Why is this still happening in 2025? Want to kick out a hunt from your town? Contact AAF, and we can help.

www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org
info@actionagainstfoxhunting.org

www.facebook.com/ACTIONAGAINSTFOXHUNTING

If you'd like to join AAF, please fill in our Volunteer Enquiry form on our website.

Action Against Foxhunting - ENDING FOXHUNTING FOREVER

Emma Slawinski, CEO of the League Against Cruel Sports, talks to AAF.

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0400

The Hunting Act is on the verge of being strengthened — and this time, we want the ban to be a real one. Together, AAF, the HSA, Protect the Wild, and of course, the League Against Cruel Sports, must unite to get this over the line.

Holly Piper talks to Emma Slawinski, the new CEO of the League Against Cruel Sports. Emma is the right person in the right role. She is already working hard to push new hunting legislation forward. At the same time, the League continues to tackle shooting, greyhound racing, and dog fighting, while also confronting emerging forms of animal abuse — some of which (horrifically) take place online.

Ways of getting involved:

Interested in helping strengthen the Hunting Act? Click here, and make contact with the League.

https://takeaction.league.org.uk/page/172854/survey/

Pip also discusses stag hunting and how banning trail hunting won't help the stags. For more information on this, check out Action Against Staghunting:

https://www.actionagainststaghunting.org

INTRODUCTION TO ACTION AGAINST FOXHUNTING

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

Action Against Foxhunting is a national campaign group dedicated to ending fox hunting forever. We've been around for six years, and things have changed so much in that time. Six years ago, you couldn't mention fox hunting in the streets in case you caused a rumpus. These days, it's a common topic of conversation.

We are seeing the end of hunting. But it isn't over yet. We have work to do, and we need as many people as possible to do it.

Have a listen to this podcast and find out what you can do to help us reach the finish line. Pip Donovan explains how easy it all is.

Be part of it. Join Action Against Foxhunting and get active.

Why it's so important to be polite

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0500

I am always polite. Forthright, insistent, yes. But never rude.

Several times now, I have been forced to explain why other anti-hunt individuals have sent abuse and threats to people we have very good reason to believe support the hunt.

This has to stop.

This AAF Podcast is the shortest ever - only a few seconds. Please have a listen, and if you have sent abuse or threats to anyone, have a re-think. Don't do it.

Quite apart from anything else, it turns the hunters into victims.

And we don't want that.
Pip, Chair and Founder of AAF

Simon Russell, chair of the Hunt Saboteurs Association

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

What is hunt sabotage all about? Why are hunts still being sabbed, when fox hunting is illegal? How did Simon get involved in the first place?

Sixty years ago, the HSA began, and even then, fox hunting was a minority pastime, heavily criticised for its obvious cruelty. For more than forty of those years, Simon was personally involved, and now, as the chair of the HSA, he speaks candidly to AAF about his journey, where the HSA is now and where it is going.

https://www.huntsabs.org.uk

Human(e) Hunting - Hunting the Clean Boot

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 07:00:00 -0400

"We don't train hounds what to hunt. We only train them what NOT to hunt."

Involving horses, hounds, riders and a HUMAN quarry, Clean Boot Hunting is the way forward. Jeremy Whaley, Master of the South Downs Bloodhounds, takes us on a journey through a day's Clean Boot Hunting, explaining how his bloodhounds are trained to chase human quarries, and nothing else. Jeremy's enthusiasm for the sport is so infectious, that interviewer Holly Piper offers to become a quarry herself.

But are the bloodhounds happy? What do they get out of it? We learn that too.

For more information, check out these websites:

The Clean Boot Hunting Association

https://www.southdownsbloodhounds.com

Interviewer - Holly Piper
Producer - Pip Donovan

Rob Pownall from Protect the Wild talks about how it all started

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 07:00:00 -0400

While the rest of us were just making angry comments on Social Media expressing our revulsion for hunting with dogs, Rob Pownall was taking action. Sometimes it just takes one person to get things going.

Protect the Wild is a dynamic, ever changing organisation, with the same aim as Action Against Foxhunting - to end hunting for ever. Rob was 16 when he founded Keep the Ban (now Protect the Wild - PTW), and just starting out. PTW and AAF (founded by the newly-retired Pip - other end of the scale!) have worked together on several projects and hope to work together on many more.

How did it all happen? Listen to Rob chatting to Holly Piper and Pip Donovan.

https://protectthewild.org.uk

Produced by Action Against Foxhunting
Interviewer Holly Piper

Interested in AAF Outreach? Find out more...

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0400

The last thing the hunts want, is to see AAF Activists talking to passers-by in the streets about fox hunting. They prefer it if we all just avoid the subject and not mention the cruel pursuit and grisly deaths of our wildlife, at the hands of the 300 or so fox hunts (pretending to be "trail hunts") in England and Wales.

Outreach isn't difficult. Outreach is fun and one of the most satisfying things anyone can do with their time.

But HOW?? HOW can YOU do outreach? We have all the resources, advice and support you need.

Aly Rogers and Pip Donovan talk to Holly Piper about AAF Outreach.

Find out more here:
https://www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org/aaf-outreach-information-and-resources/

BBC Sussex Interview - Wheelbarrow Run Lewes

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:00:00 -0500

Fear and Favour - Warwickshire Police and the Warwickshire Hunt

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0500

After receiving multiple reports of anti-social behaviour by the Warwickshire Hunt, not to mention over 52 reports of very dangerous behaviour on the roads, the Warwickshire Rural Crime Team issued a Community Protection Notice (CPN) to the Warwickshire Hunt. The CPN was intended to force the Hunt to behave safely on the roads, respect landowners who did not want them on their land, and obey the law (like everyone else). Did it work? No, it didn't. In a private meeting between the Hunt and an unnamed senior police officer, the CPN was dropped at the 11th hour and replaced by a secret "protocol" or a "gentleman's agreement" between the Hunt and Warwickshire Police.

The community it was meant to protect was outraged. Anti hunt organisations were outraged. Why was it dropped, we asked? Why is it secret, we asked?

AAF Midlands teamed up with West Midlands Hunt Sabs to campaign against this astonishing decision.

Blodwyn Lea, Dr Denise Taylor and Dave from the West Midlands Hunt Sabs talk to Holly Piper about what happened, and what we are going to do about it.

If you'd like to get involved, click here and contact us https://www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org/aaf-midlands/

For more details about how to report hunt road chaos anywhere in the country, click here
https://www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org/hunt-road-chaos

AAF Newsbyte - Quick News November 23

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0500

Just the quick news. For the detail, see the rest of AAF Newsbyte 6!

A Criminal Christmas - Law-Breaking and Boxing Day Meets

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Smartly dressed people, gleaming horses, thirty friendly dogs, displaying themselves in front of Town Halls and parading through public streets to rapturous applause from hunt support - this is a Boxing Day Meet.

Boxing Day meets are charades. Hunts want everyone to think they are valued community organisations, engaged in legitimate and worthy activities. But, are they?

If they were, would they just turn up in town centres without permissions? Would they fail to consider the risks to the public by staging a high-risk equine event without any safety checks? Would they wilfully and illegally block the roads with no road closures? Would they collect money without a licence? Would they illegally and dangerously direct traffic?

Unlike the rest of us, hunts will not behave properly, even when it comes to their Boxing Day events and until recently, no one has challenged them.

Phil Gadd and Pip Donovan - veteran Boxing Day campaigners - talk to Holly Piper about Boxing Day meets, what they are and how to stop them.

If you want to take action yourself against a Christmas meet in your area, click here:
https://www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org/boxing-day-and-new-years-day-campaigns/

Host - Holly Piper
Guest - Phil Gadd
Producer - Pip Donovan

Hunt with the hounds and run with the fox

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

We already know that hunts pursue and kill foxes. We know that the law is meant to protect them, but doesn't. But what about the hunt itself? Why do hunters do it? What exactly DO they do?

Lynn Sawyer used to be a hunter. But, thirty years ago, she realised how cruel it was. Not only did she stop, but she became a hunt saboteur too.

Lynn talks to Holly Piper, giving us a clear and troubling insight into the minds of fox hunters and tells us how difficult it was for her to break away from her upbringing and social circle, and move into ours.

Guest - Lynn Sawyer
Host - Holly Piper
Producer - Pip Donovan

Hounds, unpacked

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Most of us know that wildlife suffers when the hunts are out. But what about the hounds? Are they ok?

Warmth, love, even veterinary treatment - these things (and food) are the bare minimum most owners give to their dog. Hunts don't think like us though. They are a traditional bunch. They do things in the same old ways and waste no time or money on anything they would consider irrelevant to hunting.

Find out how hunt dogs are bred, how they live and how they are taught to pursue and kill wildlife.

Guest - Jac McGil
Host - Holly Piper
Producer - Pip Donovan

Our Space - when the animals' pain overwhelms us

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Animal Rights Activists are, by nature, sensitive people. We are compelled to take action against animal abuse; we can't live with ourselves otherwise. We cannot turn away from the brutal savagery of the hunters and the suffering of the animals. We have to be there, see it, and take action.

But this comes at a cost to us. Sometimes it is overwhelming and that's when we need a bit of help from our friends.

Sarah Little talks about Our Space, a support group she set up for AAF members. It is a place for members chat with each other to vent our own suffering and explore ways of coping.

If you are interested in joining AAF, check out our website www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org

Becoming and anti-hunt activist

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

Joining Action Against Foxhunting made all the difference to Alyson Rogers. Not only did she find support and friendship, she finally unearthed the dynamic the anti-hunt activist she really is.

Aly Rogers is the AAF Network Contact for Somerset and part of the admin team for the national group. Here, she talks about her role as an AAF Contact, her motivation to get involved and her campaign to end the Hunt Boxing Day meet in Chard.

If you want to get involved yourself, check out the website www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org

GUEST Alyson Rogers
HOST Holly Piper
PRODUCER Pip Donovan

Hello From Action Against Foxhunting.

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 10:00:00 -0400

A brief overview of Action Against Foxhunting. What we do, how we do it and why we are so successful.

Holly Piper interviews Pip Donovan, Chair and Founder of Action Against Foxhunting.

www.actionagainstfoxhunting.org

Email: info@actionagainstfoxhunting.org