Three men arrested in Wiltshire after hunt video emerges

A still from a video that appears to show a fox being pulled out of its den

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of wildlife offences after a video emerged appearing to show people pulling a fox out of a den.

A 29-year-old, from Lacock, a 38-year old, from Bromham, and a 35-year-old, from Devizes, were all arrested earlier, Wiltshire Police said.

The clip appears to show members of a hunt dig a fox from its den before throwing it to fox hounds.

All three are currently in police custody.

The men have been arrested on suspicion of offences connected to hunting a wild animal with dogs, causing unnecessary suffering and disturbing a sett.

'Disturbing footage'

The video, which was first reported by ITV, has sparked outrage amongst animal conservationists.

Ch Insp James Brain said: "After being made aware of this disturbing footage, our officers have acted quickly to detain a number of people in relation to suspected wildlife offences.

"I would like to thank members of the public in responding to our appeal for information relating to this.

"We take such allegations extremely seriously and we continue to appeal for anyone with further information to contact us."