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Twitter reports that a train hit some hunting dogs on Saturday. Judging by Real-time trains it was in the Badminton area

https://mobile.twitter.com/BluntThomas/status/1218529333842546693 (https://mobile.twitter.com/BluntThomas/status/1218529333842546693)


Sympathies to all concerned. Sounds nasty

That sort of thing used to be a far more common occurrence!

Nasty

A scene involving a hunt and a train appears in the 1973 film "The Belstone Fox".  The scene included a D70XX Hymek class loco and a short goods train.  Filmed near Leigh Woods Level Crossing on the now West Somerset Railway during the time it was closed-down after BR had withdrawn services

That happened around here (nr. Erlestoke) a couple of years back, except the hunting dogs didn't "stray" onto the main line, they were deliberately directed there by hunt saboteurs.

2 hounds killed, no significant damage to train.

Of course, if the outdated and pointless practice of hunting with dogs - even drag hunting - had already been consigned to history, then this incident would never have occurred.

Those responsible for allowing, or directing, the dogs onto the railway should be prosecuted.

Lovely people aren't they?

I remember seeing them once at a Devon hunt scattering ball bearings under the horses hooves.

All brave boys hiding behind their balaclavas.

Whilst I am opposed to hunting, I have no sympathy for violent tactics used by hunt saboteurs, especially when such tactics result in harm or distress to horse, dogs or other animals.
Hunting of wild mammals with dogs has been prohibited for some years, and whilst drag hunting and other substitutes that don't involve live victims are permitted, they seem to be declining in popularity.

I support the killing of foxes when they are causing significant harm to young lambs or other livestock, this is permitted AFAIK.

Farmers can shoot foxes and other vermin - my late cousin who farmed in Cornwall and his labourers took a pretty heavy toll of them every lambing season when Mr Fox would hang around unsettling the ewes and hoping to grab a lamb.

Similarly they can also shoot dogs if they are worrying sheep or other livestock.

More on this in South West Farmer (https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/news/18182453.beaufort-hunt-hounds-killed-train-following-scent/).

Edit to add

And in the Gazette (https://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/18184948.beaufort-hunt-apologises-hounds-killed-train-tragic-accident/)

It sounds to me as though the law was broken.
It is reported that the hounds were following a scent. To me that implies that either the scent for drag hunting was laid along or across the line, Or that the hounds were illegally pursuing an actual fox.

It looks as though "drag hunting" in which hounds track a scent rather than live animals, is to be banned.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mrj3r30nno (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mrj3r30nno) news report.

Drag hunting is IMHO less bad than hunting live prey, but nevertheless has resulted in foxes being killed "accidentally" or hounds being killed by trains.

On balance I support the proposed ban.

Living in a rural area with two hunts it can be quite a divisive topic. It's one of the subjects along with tractors on the lanes that gets instantly closed down on the community Facebook page.

I'm not against drag hunting in principle but I did have a 'disagreement' with one hunt recently who had blocked the roads with their vehicles and weren't letting traffic through while they did their thing. I understand why they want to protect the horses and dogs but equally not impressed at being made to wait 20 mins before they eventually moved their large 4x4s to let people past. I think that and the number of 'accidental' trespasses has probably moved me into the banning it if they're not going to be considerate.