'Horrific' moment SUV smashes into woman: 'Oh my god'
WARNING — GRAPHIC FOOTAGE: Video has captured the shocking moment a woman was struck down by a SUV on a quiet English country road.
Seemingly unaware of the vehicle until the moment before it strikes her, she shouts out a warning before she is flung into the air by a grey vehicle.
Screams of “Oh my god” are heard and repeated by a woman behind her.
Moments earlier, the mood at the Ladywood Estate in Knossington, Leicester, had been tense, but no one expected this outcome.
Activists from the Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs had walked onto the property on Tuesday (local time) to protest against a fox hunt being conducted by the Cottesmore Hunt.
The video documents a hound sniffing the ground in search of a fox. Hunters in traditional red jackets canter by. Everything is quiet for a moment. Then the car strikes the female activist. It doesn't stop.
A separate video appears to show the vehicle at a standing position and then driving at high speed in the direction of the activists. Cries to "call an ambulance" are then heard.
Believed to be in her 40s, the victim was taken to hospital, with non-life-threatening injuries, and later released.
Police released a statement on Thursday saying a 59-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday evening on suspicion of attempted wounding with intent "following a collision" at Knossington.
'A matter of time until someone is killed'
The Cottesmore Hunt published a statement online saying it was “aware of an horrific incident involving a hunt saboteur” and denied the driver was connected to the club.
“We will of course help police with their ongoing investigation and wish the injured person a speedy recovery,” it said.
Speaking with local media a Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs spokesperson called the incident a “shocking escalation”, adding “it's only a matter of time before someone is killed”.
Isn't fox hunting banned?
While the Hunting Act 2004 banned most forms of fox, badger, deer, hare and mink hunting in England and Wales, there are loopholes in the law.
Dogs can be used to follow artificial scents, and can also be used to flush out unidentified wild mammals. It also allows hunters to chase foxes “for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt”.
Hunt clubs have operated in Australia since the 1840s, and with foxes classified as an invasive species, their practices are allowed to continue.
Liam Barwick from Melbourne Hunt Saboteurs notes that fox hunting does not significantly affect population levels or offer ecological benefit.
He campaigns to see the practice banned, describing it as nothing more than a "callous outlet to violence".
UK police, Cottesmore Hunt and Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs have been contacted for comment.
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