Start a group against hunting
The most powerful tactic we have against hunting is direct action against hunters and work in the field.
If not you, who? If not now, when?
Starting a sab group can sometimes be difficult but we have helped pave the way for more groups to emerge and grow easily with our help and a framework to build off. There are many things to take into consideration but here are the top four: time, ability, motivation and cost.
The more hunts being sabotaged the faster we can reach our goal of banning and ending hunting and bloodsports in Ireland, which means YOU must come together with folks in your area who are against hunting and sabotage hunts or no one else will.
Hunt sabotage is preferred because it is direct action which saves lives, but monitoring hunts (which carries less risk) is beneficial too. Many groups in the UK have emerged from “Locals Against [insert hunt]” groups which rally a specific geographic population against their local hunt and report on that hunt specifically. A “Locals Against” group could simply be a Facebook or Instagram page made up of anonymous locals who report on the hunt and gather information for hunt sabs. Both monitoring and “Locals Against” groups are valuable assets to hunt sabotage and add serious pressure against hunts and all bloodsports, that said, they should not be prioritised over direct action and hunt sabotage.
Hunt sabotage group
What’s needed: training, gear and sabs
Training: we recommend you get involved in existing sab groups and go out sabbing with them multiple times before starting your own group so you know what to expect and what’s required. Security culture, knowledge of hunting, understanding hunt jargon, learning voice and horn calls, understanding Irish law, the Gardaí, and being able to cope with high-stress situations and understanding your rights are all things that can be picked up faster by being out with another sab group, but also by taking the initiative and reading and learning about the (linked) above yourself.
Gear: someone wishing to start a hunt sab group needs to think of their main piece of gear: a vehicle (or two) which they can use for sabbing, if not their own, then finding someone else with a vehicle who is keen to sab. It’s likely that any group will have to use personal vehicles before raising funds for a specific sab vehicle. More gear that’s needed but not always necessary at the beginning: GoPros, camcorders, VHF radios, binoculars, monoculars, citronella bottles, NAF-OFF (citronella spray), Gizmos (speakers), hunting horns, etc. You can always contact us for more information on where to source gear and we may be able to support you in purchasing it depending on our available funds. Personal gear can include good vegan waterproof hiking boots (we recommend the high quality “Wills Vegan” waterproof hiking boots), jacket, compact warming layers, light “ski-mask” balaclava, etc. While personal gear should be bought personally, group gear can be paid for though donations you receive after hit-reports, when people see action they are more likely to help support you financially and this allows your gear to grow and takes the burden away from funding the group gear and petrol yourself.
Sabs: lastly, but most importantly, you will need a team around you so you can all support and protect each other, and most importantly help and protect nonhuman animals. Starting a Facebook page with a name like “South Munster Hunt Sabs”, “Donegal Hunt Sabs”, “Meath Hunt Sabs”, etc. is a good place to start, work a basic logo and start to build up the group from there. We will help grow your group and find you locals who want to get involved. You can get in contact with us for help whenever needed. We have sign-ups from all over Ireland, some with no other sabs around them.
Hunt monitor group
What’s needed: knowledge, some gear and one or two other monitors
Knowledge: monitors need to know how hunts work and where and when they will be to monitor their activities. Monitoring carries less risk than sabotage, however, it is not without risk. While monitors would rarely leave their vehicle, getting boxed in and intimidation from hunters can happen, however, the intensity would be far reduced than that of saboteurs. In the resources and bloodsports section of this website there are pages detailing how hunts work and how they’re built. Understanding this and hunting voice and horn calls will help you have accurate details of what these hunts are doing and why. Monitoring may carry less risk but all of those who do direct and indirect action against hunts and hunters should be concerned about their security culture—make sure to keep yourself and family safe. Read the above advice for sabs to understand how hunt saboteurs work and the information they will be focusing on. Monitoring is majorly beneficial to hunt sabs, as the intel that monitors build up can help sabs be in the right place at the right time. Monitors are akin to intelligence gatherers for hunt saboteurs.
Some gear: vehicle, binoculars, monoculars, camcorders (for filming hunt and Gardaí interactions), GoPros, etc. For more information and details on personal gear read the hunt sab section above.
Monitors: monitoring won’t need the same numbers that sabs do, two monitors at a minimum should be fine. Like sabs, building up a Facebook page for people to rally behind is a good idea, release reports of your action and accept donations from supporters. Regularly release sensitive information to the relevant sabs. Following hunts with a few monitors may be easy to covertly do while impersonating hunt supporters. You can always contact us for ideas an support on what to do and how to do it.
Locals against [insert local hunt] group & Facebook page
Some saboteur groups in the UK have been birthed from groups with names like the “Locals Against the North Galway hunt” page. This is a great and simple way to rally support against hunting in your area. 77% of Ireland wants fox hunting and hare coursing banned, and when we get together and start to communicate and work together anonymously (and securely) to protect our communities from hunters is when we will start to see real change from the grassroots level. It could start with a Facebook page of two neighbours who detest the sight of the hunt and want them off their land and it could grow from there. Hunts won’t like the pressure of a growing group of locals who are specifically against what they do. We are stronger together, and there is far more of us than there is of them.
Intelligence that locals can source together as part of a neighbourhood, town or county is on the ground information that is invaluable to sabs and foxes in your local area. It can save lives and it puts immense pressure on the local hunts.
With time work like this can lead into sabotage or monitoring. The hunt thrives on being able to intimate individual households and farmers with house visits for “requests of land use”, when we’re all together they can no longer bully their way into murdering Irish nonhuman animals.