WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
Footage has emerged of a brawl breaking out during an annual Boxing Day Hunt in Wiltshire:
People gathered in the village of Lacock for the Avon Vale Hunt as the hunt was set to begin outside the Red Lion pub.
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The hunters were to parade on horses with hounds as members of the public watched on. But with that, a number of protesters turned up.
They were holding signs that said things like 'only scum kill for fun', 'heard of elf on a shelf, well you're a c*** on a hunt' and 'if you hunt you are a c***'.
Though fox hunting has been outlawed for over a decade and the hunt's dogs now follow a human-led trail, activists argue that foxes can still be killed in the process.
In clips that have started to circulate, people can be seen brawling with one another, throwing drinks around and shouting 'shame on you' at the hunters.
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Taking to Facebook, the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs wrote: "Firstly thank you so much to so many of you who turned out to tell the fox-murdering scum at the Avon Vale Hunt they aren’t welcome.
"We know some of you were also assaulted, and had property stolen and broken - and we thank you so much for remaining calm in the face of such violent provocation and assaults.
"Well today was a day of two halves, as we have so much media to post but right now we are all enjoying a quiet pint or two."
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In another post, they wrote: "Terrible turn out for scum, but great for us. Despite this the handful of scum thugs clearly drunk from sniffs of the barmaids apron, decided to get aggy.
"Pressure is clearly getting to these wildlife criminals: today they launched a vicious attack at sabs and protesters."
They went on to urge people to get in touch with the pub where the hunt began, adding: "Please contact the The Red Lion, Lacock Village and demand they stop hosting these violent criminals every year."
A Wiltshire Police spokesman told LADbible: "We were aware of a planned local hunt in Lacock today (27/12) and officers attended at around 11am when concerns were raised about tensions between those involved in the hunt and protestors.
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“Officers remained on the scene to manage the two groups and they had dispersed by around 12.30pm.
“At this stage no arrests have been made but our enquiries are continuing.”
A spokesperson for the Avon Vale Hunt said: "The hunt has been made aware of an incident that occurred just after the hounds had left the meet in Lacock today.
"We do not know the circumstances but we do not condone violence even in the case of extreme provocation by anti-hunting protestors whose sole purpose is to antagonise those supporting a lawful activity.
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"We do not know if any hunt supporters were involved but we would like to thank the many hundreds of people who peacefully attended today in support of our hounds.”
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