A PROBE is underway after horrific footage emerged of fox-hounds being caught in barbed wire fence during a Houston hunt.
Horrific images posted by Glasgow Hunt Sabs shows dogs trapped on a barbed-wire fence in a hunt by Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Foxhounds on Saturday, March 7.
The Scottish SPCA has served an animal welfare notice to a huntsman involved in the incident.
The two hounds are heard yelping as a huntsman lifts them by the scruff of the neck.
The dogs' back paws are seen snagging on the barbed metal wire at the top of the fence.
One dog, apparently unable to walk, is seen being lifted into the back of a truck to be taken away.
(7/3/20) Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire Hunt.
— Glasgow Hunt Sabs (@sabs_hunt) March 7, 2020
Multiple hounds injured today. This video shows two hounds getting caught in a barbed wire fence as the whipper-in looks on and laughs.
Luckily, sabs were on hand to free them. pic.twitter.com/6cEIzD2thW
A spokesman for Glasgow Hunt Sabs said: "It was really shocking how brutal he was, holding them up by their ears and so on. These are not light dogs, they are all muscle.
"Usually, they treat their dogs with disdain, but the new huntsmen have just come to the Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Hunt this year and even we are shocked by how they treat their hounds."
He added: "We were shocked at the handling and lack of care for the wellbeing of the tangled hounds as the huntsmen showed no interest in checking to see that the hounds had suffered no injury.
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A spokesman for the SPCA said: “We appreciate the video is very distressing. Given the dogs required no treatment and professional veterinary advice was that no unnecessary suffering took place, an animal welfare notice was the maximum penalty we could award. Any further action would’ve been dependent on veterinary input and visible signs of injury which required treatment.
“The Scottish SPCA remains opposed to fox-hunting and will continue to campaign for a total ban on hunts.”
The brutal footage was captured and posted to Twitter by Glasgow Hunt Sabs, a branch of the UK group which aims to disrupt and stop hunts.
Hunting with hounds was effectively banned in 2002, but dogs can still be used for flushing out foxes to be shot.
New legislation is currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament which would tighten restrictions further.
Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Foxhounds have been contacted for comment.
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