Rutland: I had a miracle escape, says trampled hunt saboteur

A hunt saboteur captured on film being trampled by a horse said it was a "miracle" she was not badly injured.

Rachel, a nurse from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, said she still suffered flashbacks of the incident on 11 February.

The 60-year-old was struck by a huntsman's horse when it jumped a gate as she monitored a meet in Rutland with the Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs.

Police arrested a man before releasing him under investigation.

Rachel, who did not want to give her surname, said: "I could hear the thundering hooves behind me and then he jumped and I could feel the pressure on my back and a pain in my leg.

"By some miracle I wasn't injured badly. I don't think the shock and enormity has hit me yet."

Using hounds to chase or kill foxes was made illegal in England and Wales in 2004 in the Hunting Act.

Following the ban, many organised hunts began trail hunting where a scent is followed instead of purposely flushing out foxes.

But Rachel and fellow protesters, known as sabs, claim foxes were still being purposely hunted illegally.

She said the incident had not put her off being a sab and declared she was "not going anywhere".

Rachel had been monitoring the historic Cottesmore Hunt when she was injured.

At the time, the Cottesmore Hunt said the woman, who did not suffer any serious injuries, deliberately put herself in the way of the horse.

Leicestershire Police, the force that covers Rutland, said a 34-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, had been released under investigation.

Hunting season, which normally takes place over the winter months in the UK, is drawing to a close after a number of police incidents.

In February, saboteurs obtained CCTV of a group of hounds entering the private garden of a home in Hingham, Norfolk and killing a fox.

Three men arrested on suspicion of hunting wild animals with dogs have been released under investigation.

In October, footage emerged of a woman from Northamptonshire Hunt Saboteurs being hit by a car while monitoring the Cottesmore Hunt.

Leicestershire Police said a 59-year-old woman, who was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent, had been released under investigation.

Rachel said the "level of aggression is ridiculous" at some hunts.

"The days are numbered for a lot of these hunts because saboteurs are not going anywhere - we're in for the long haul," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance said a recent independent review of the policing of hunting "revealed exactly how dishonest and duplicitous anti-hunting activists are".

"There is an organised attempt among anti-hunt groups to create an impression that hunts are not operating legally, despite over 12,000 days of lawful hunting activities taking place each season," she said.

"Activists regularly make spurious allegations and provide unreliable and fraudulent evidence to back their claims."

The BBC has approached the Cottesmore Hunt for further comment.

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