An investigation into alleged fox hunting by the Eggesford Hunt has been dropped by police due to a lack of evidence.

A video showing the hunt allegedly chasing foxes on land at Ellmead Farm, Okehampton was posted on X by the Devon County Hunt Saboteurs on November 4.

In the post, a hunt sab is sat in a wooded valley filming hounds allegedly chasing a fox. 

A spokesperson for Devon County Hunt Saboteurs said: “There is no doubt that this was an illegal fox hunt. The video in question shows an incident from October 12 2024, where we were responding to a tip-off that the Eggesford Foxhounds would be terrorising wildlife at Ellmead Farm.

“The Eggesford huntsman Jason Marles drew his hounds using horn calls to encourage them to follow animal scents up the valley. On two occasions our sabs had to jump between the hounds and the foxes they were chasing, to call the dogs off. One of these occasions is in the video. We also documented another fox fleeing the woodland as the hounds ran riot.”

The Eggesford Hunt deny all fox hunting claims, saying that they “only hunt trails and rabbits which is well within the law” and that they have received “false claims” from this group of sabs before.

An Eggesford Hunt spokesperson said: “We’ve had numerous accusations thrown at us but unless there’s actually anyone in the footage it could be any pack of hounds... we are just being targeted because we’re obviously local.”

In a statement from Devon and Cornwall Police, they said: “Officers in the Okehampton area carried out a full and thorough police investigation following a report of potential wildlife offences in the area on October 12. Following the investigation, based on the evidence available, the case has not been proceeded with.”