Distressing footage appears to show moment pack of hounds killed fox in what would be an illegal hunt

Distressing footage has emerged appearing to show the moment a pack of hounds savaged and killed a fox in what would be an illegal hunt. The video showed the dogs swarming around the wild animal as it was laying near a ditch in a field next to a country lane near Canterbury, Kent. Two hunt saboteurs then jumped out of a Land Rover and began shouting at the hounds to leave the fox alone. As the approached the scene opposite a nearby property, the pack of dogs scattered and a man picked up the injured and bloodied fox. The video was captured in Westmarsh by members of the West Kent Hunt Saboteurs Association. Hunting foxes with hounds was made illegal in England and Wales in 2004, banning the use of dogs to kill wildlife. Many hunts still meet with hounds, but say they only follow the scent of foxes and do not chase and kill any foxes. Members of the Kent hunt saboteurs group intervened as nearly 20 hounds set upon the fox in front of a property on Saturday (Jan 14). According to the group, the animal could not be saved due to the injuries it suffered. Harry Blackhurst, a spokesman for the hunt saboteurs' claimed they saw the hunters chasing the fox for two hours. He said: "We arrived about 10.30am - they started hunting at 11.30am. "Immediately the hounds went into cry, which is the noise they make when they pick up the scent of a fox, it’s like a howling noise. "For two hours they were hunting this fox and we saw it several times. “Our main goal as hunt saboteurs is to save wildlife and also to record illegal activity." While fox hunting is illegal, drag or trail hunting, where a scent is laid and hounds and horses follow the trail, is still allowed. Mr Blackhurst added: "We tried our absolute best to save it by distracting the hounds and the hunt, but unfortunately in this incident it wasn’t to be. "They killed it in someone’s front garden which is shocking. "Most of the time, we are able to save the wildlife, but not everyday is like yesterday. "It is hard and everyone in our group is upset in some way about what happened." The incident has been reported to police who have been contacted for comment. Fox hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2004 when the Hunting Act was introduced. It is also illegal in Scotland under the Protection of Wild Mammals Act which was introduced in 2002. Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where fox hunting remains legal. But hunt saboteurs claim legal trail hunting frequently ends up with hounds following the scent of a live animal. According to the Hunting Office: "If the hounds pick up the scent of a live quarry, the huntsman and other members of hunt staff stop the hounds as soon as they are made aware that the hounds are no longer following a trail that has been laid." Those opposed to the practice claim hunting groups just use this loophole as a smokescreen to hide the continual illegal use of dogs. The Hunting Office is responsible for the administration of hunting across Great Britain and aims to promote and protect the interests of hunting. Despite the legislation, Mr Blackhurst insists hunts still go ahead twice a week in Kent between September and April every year as the legislation can easily be exploited. He added: "We are determined to see the end of fox hunting nationally, but in Kent first and foremost. "The amount of people who go out to support hunts has never been so small and that’s because they are breaking the law every week. "People don’t want to be associated with that video. "But hunts have continued as normal because there is just no incentive for them to stop. "The police are investigating but the problem is that the Hunting Act has various loopholes and one of them is that they are legally allowed to trail hunt, so they can hunt the scent of the fox, but they are not allowed to hunt an actual fox. "If they end up killing a fox by accident, then they can get off because that’s allowed. "Almost certainly they will say it was an accident. Convictions have happened but it’s very difficult. "We would like to see law strengthened."