Remembering Mike Hill. Remembering Violence.
The price of protecting wildlife.
On Saturday 9th February 1991, 30 years ago today, Alan Summersgill killed 18-year-old Mike Hill. Summersgill was the Cheshire Beagles huntsman at the time and, frustrated that sabs stopped him chasing and killing hares, he sped off in his car. Trapped beneath Summersgill’s wheels, Hill would be the first human killed while sabotaging a hunt.
Unsurprising violence
Hill was part of the Merseyside Saboteurs group at the time. The Citro reached out to Liverpool Hunt Saboteurs for comment and received the following statement. It is from an individual who, though wasn’t present at the time of Hill’s death, is a long-standing saboteur that knew him personally:
Mike cared deeply about injustice and cruelty towards animals and humans alike. A naturally kind and caring person who was willing to put hard work into fighting for what he believed in. He loved being with animals and doing rescue work. It was a natural thing for him to get involved with the anti-hunt movement. We would talk about the danger of disrupting the hunts. Sometimes we would make light of it as a coping mechanism but very often the conversation would focus on who was the latest person to be attacked or what we could do to protect ourselves.
So although it was a shock to hear that Mike had been killed, it came as no surprise to most of us. In fact it was a miracle that we had survived the violence for so long without a fatality. The shock wasn't just because he was a friend but because Mike was such a gentle and compassionate human being.
The violence in Cheshire and North Wales towards anyone opposing hunting had been relentless for years and continued at a high level for many years after Mike's death. Hunt sabouters were particularly hated by the Hunt and their often psychopathic supporters, many of whom ended up going to prison for violent crime, rape and child abuse unrelated to hunting. As for crimes against hunt saboteurs, the police turned a blind eye to even the most extreme use of violence.
Two years later, on Saturday 3rd April 1993, another saboteur was killed while disrupting a hunt. 15-year-old Tom Worby was caught underneath the wheels of Tony Ball, huntsman for the Cambridgeshire Foxhounds.
Neither huntsman was prosecuted.
Painful memories
Violence from hunt staff and their supporters has a long history. Enduring anti-hunting activist Mike Huskisson details accounts of violence in his book Outfoxed in the 1970s, and states that this was a factor in why he took an undercover role within bloodsports for campaign purposes.
According to the Hunt Saboteurs Association’s timeline of violence, which specifically details convictions between 1979-1999, “you could multiply the number of these [convictions] by 50 and still get nowhere the true number of incidents of violence against hunt protesters”.
Liverpool Hunt Sabs detail how Hill’s death did little to deter hunt violence in their region:
There was no let up after Mikes death and the hunt supporters would regularly chant 'One Nil, One Nil' at us. As far as they were concerned hunt sabs were a thorn in the side of the hunting establishment and they were determined to literally beat us into submission. Pick up trucks would pull up full of masked men brandishing iron bars, golf clubs and baseball bats. They would lay into anyone they could get hold of. One follower would regularly single out a sab, produce a shotgun and tell them he was going to kill them as soon as he could get them on their own. A Liverpool sab was held down and had his legs broken with stone boulders. A particularly violent hunt supporter was nicknamed the Grim Reaper as he would follow us wearing a long hooded jacket, often carrying a scythe. The attacks over the years were relentless and yet Mike and other brave people continued to save the hunted animals and expose the hunters as elitist sadists. The police were always there to help protect the hunt with no regard to the crimes they were committing or the terrible cruelty they were inflicting upon the animals.
It would be easy to single out red neck psychopaths as the source of most of the violence but the rich and powerful would regularly get involved. Judges, Lords, famous horse trainers and 'celebrity' jockeys were all part of the violence. The riders would use their horses as weapons or the metal ends of their riding crops to split our heads open as they rode past. The use of vehicles to drive directly at sabs was probably the most cynical attempt to hurt sabs. They would laugh when you managed to dive out of the way and when they struck a sab they would claim you had stepped out in front of them without looking. They regularly covered their vehicle number plates to avoid identification. The police did almost nothing to prevent them. The violence didn't stop at the scene of the hunt. The homes of hunt sabs in Liverpool, Manchester and North Wales were targeted by hit squads. Homes and vehicles were smashed and sabs viciously attacked. Dead foxes and other animals were nailed to front doors.
The violence from hunt staff and supporters has never gone away although it is less intense than it used to be. Every year sabs are still attacked, hospitalised and some are lucky to have survived their injuries. The fact that we have smart phones and Go pro's means we can record and expose the hunts in a way we never could when Mike was sabbing. The police and the CPS are almost as biased as they ever were and have to be shamed into taking any action against the hunts. However, the hunts are steadily losing the battle. Prosecutions slowly mount up and public opinion is still on our side.
A sustained issue
Not limited to Merseyside, hunt violence continues erupting across the country.
Steve Christmas spent four weeks in intensive care and almost died after he was run over by a four-wheel drive. After four years of investigations and an appeal he received compensation of £18,500.
After years of campaigning by multiple organisations as well as mounting pressure from the public, the Hunting Act 2004 was passed through parliament. The legislation included exemptions and campaigners continue to call for the act to be strengthened. Though it was hoped that this legislation would stop “getting beaten up for caring”, violence toward saboteurs continues as much as the hunting of wildlife.
Whilst attending a cub-hunting meet on 28th August 2014, Nid Warren received multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung after being charged by mounted huntsmen Mark Doggrell of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale hunt. However, Doggrell was found not guilty of this incident in 2017.
Attacks aren’t just carried out by lone individuals. On 18th March 2017, multiple Sheffield sabs were apparently subject to a prolonged attack by Philip Makin, Roger Marley, Richard Robertson-Tierny and Robert Robertson-Tierny of the Middleton Hunt. Like Doggrell, these men were later cleared in court.
Another saboteur was hospitalised after he was charged by mounted hunt staff Chris Mardles of the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt. On Saturday 5th September 2020, Mel Broughton suffered fractures to his ribs and shoulder, as well as a partially collapsed lung.
These are just some of the better-known examples of hunt violence. More can be found on social media, and many aren't public at all.
The long game
Hunting in itself is violent. From the chasing and killing of wildlife to the treatment of the horses and hounds used. It is therefore logical to conclude that those who engage and support bloodsports will also defend it with violence when and where they see fit. Until the Hunting Act is strengthened and enforced, hunt saboteurs and anyone who actively opposes bloodsports will continue to be considered ‘fair game’.
Liverpool Hunt Sabs concluded:
Mike would be proud of all the hunt sabs that have kept on fighting against animal cruelty. We knew it was going to be a long struggle and the price we have paid has been great. Mike should always be remembered for his gentle kindness, compassion and because he made the world around him a better place.
Thank you to Liverpool Hunt Sabs for the moving contribution.
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Headline image via Hunt Saboteurs Association