Evidence of blood was discovered in a garden after an animal was reportedly put to death during a fox hunt in the Cotswolds region.
The organisation Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs announced it uncovered blood marks in a garden at Condicote, close to Chipping Norton within the Cotswolds area.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, March 11, with campaigners asserting that a group of hounds belonging to the Heythrop Hunt, which operates from Oxfordshire, pursued a fox through the village and killed it on private lawn space.
Activists say the homeowner emerged from their property and appeared deeply disturbed by what they witnessed.
Video footage obtained by this publication depicts multiple hounds moving through the village, with reddish discolouration visible on the animals as they drank from containers and plant vessels.
Images captured during the Heythrop Hunt activity in Condicote show staining on private garden areas.
The organisation experienced multiple disagreements with members of the hunting party throughout the village, as activists contend that the fox’s remains were carried away while blood marks were allegedly left on a participant from the hunt.
Recordings reveal that campaigners were directed to leave the garden by Heythrop Hunt representatives despite the location being private land and the hunt lacking permission to access the grounds.
Images show a Heythrop Hunt member in a rear garden during the event in Condicote.
A representative for the Three Counties Hunt Saboteur Group stated that a fox was destroyed for entertainment at a period when female foxes are either in late pregnancy or caring for young offspring. This occurred within approximately half a mile of a location where activists filmed Heythrop Hunt personnel feeding foxes with dead poultry. The gaps in the Hunting Act require immediate legislative action.
An object highlighted in footage allegedly shows a deceased fox during the Heythrop Hunt gathering in Condicote.
The Heythrop Hunt, headquartered at Swinbrook near Burford, was contacted for response but has not provided a statement.
The Hunting Act 2004 established that pursuing wild mammals with dogs constitutes an offence, except when the activity falls under permitted exemptions such as specific stalking and flushing activities.
The Labour administration has indicated intentions to prohibit trail hunting as part of its animal welfare programme.
Gloucestershire Constabulary has been asked to comment regarding the occurrence.
Rowan Hughes, representing the Hunt Saboteurs Association, said hunts are brutally and unlawfully killing foxes while also obstructing highways, threatening public safety, and demonstrating complete disregard for private land ownership.
This follows a Channel 4 broadcast in February 2026 examining hunting practices in countryside areas, which depicted foxes being torn apart and featured the Heythrop Hunt among other groups.
A Hunt Saboteurs Association spokesperson further noted that between June and August 2025, prior to the current hunting term, concealed recording equipment documented the terrierman employed by the Gloucestershire-based Heythrop Hunt repeatedly depositing black bags containing dead chickens at feeding locations in woodland near Longborough, Gloucestershire. The equipment subsequently captured footage of a female fox and her offspring who had been attracted to the site by food provided by the hunt. By October, the same devices recorded the Heythrop Hunt racing through the woodland pursuing the exact foxes they had nourished throughout the summer months.