Chris Packham is facing accusations of harassing members of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt after spending five hours following the group across the Dorset countryside on Saturday.
The 64-year-old conservationist was joined by his stepdaughter, broadcaster Megan McCubbin, as well as members of the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, using drones and thermal imaging equipment to track the hunt.
During a livestream broadcast on social media, the Springwatch host described the scene as “ancient medieval savagery,” branding those involved “a bunch of entitled lunatics, possibly sociopaths or psychopaths.”
He accused hunt participants of “riding around the countryside taking vicarious pleasure out of chasing wildlife and then watching it getting torn to pieces by dogs,” adding sarcastically that he was not witnessing history, but was “in Dorset on a Saturday morning watching this carnage”.
Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin spent five hours following the hunting group in Dorset
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Olly Hughes, managing director of the British Hound Sports Association, accused Mr Packham of using “harassment of the hunting community as a campaigning tool”.
“Trail hunting is lawful, yet he repeatedly portrays it as criminal without evidence,” Mr Hughes told The Telegraph. “That is intimidation, not debate.”
He also raised concerns about Mr Packham’s relationship with the BBC, arguing that “other presenters have faced consequences for far less overt campaigning,” and questioned whether the corporation’s director-general should now review his contractual arrangements.
Throughout the five-hour broadcast, Mr Packham praised hunt saboteurs, claiming they routinely faced “threats, verbal abuse and all sorts of violence” from hunt supporters, and urged viewers to donate funds to support their work.
A member of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt
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Ms McCubbin can be heard saying: “We are hot on the trail of one of the most notorious fox hunts in the UK. They’ve had their drink of port and they’ve gathered together and set out in this direction.”
She then goes on to label them “a particularly notorious bad group.”
However, the saboteur group’s conduct has also drawn scrutiny.
In December 2022, a member of the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs was fined nearly £1,000 after assaulting an 82-year-old landowner during a confrontation with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt.
Chris Packham has been accused of ‘harassing’ the hunting group
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Video footage showed the woman striking the man on the head with a camera, causing him to fall and sustain a bleeding injury.
During Saturday’s footage, Mr Packham also referred to one huntsman as a “tit” following a dispute over his presence.
A BBC spokesman said Mr Packham does not hold a staff role at the corporation. “He is a freelance presenter we work with a few times a year for his expertise. His private activities and views are his own and not those of the BBC,” the spokesman said.
The presenter sparked a fierce reaction online after a video from the live broadcast circulated widely on social media.
The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt was followed by Mr Peckham for five hours
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The footage prompted strong responses from both critics and supporters, many of whom did not hold back in sharing their views.
One X account reposted the video, captioning it: “Brave locals speaking up against these criminal thugs just been abused.”
Another user replied: “It’s crazy that we need to call them ‘brave’ locals. This should ring alarm bells to the police as this suggests they will be abused.”
They added: “If this is the normal with the hunting fraternity, then clearly a total ban on ANY ‘hunting’ by these people needs to be stopped.”
A member of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt
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A further comment read: “Fox hunting is illegal – where are the police and the legal sanctions?”
Many users praised Mr Packham and his stepdaughter for their advocacy work.
“Good lad Chris, well done,” one supporter wrote, while another added: “Thanks for this – keep fighting.”
Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin
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The row comes amid renewed debate over the future of trail hunting. Fox hunting was banned by Labour in 2004, with trail hunting introduced as a legal alternative in which hounds follow an artificially laid scent rather than live quarry.
The current Government has signalled plans to outlaw trail hunting entirely, describing it as a “smokescreen” for continued fox hunting.
The proposal has faced growing resistance, with Boxing Day hunt gatherings increasing in size in response.
Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt has been contacted for comment.