BASIC SABBING EQUIPMENT

The first, essential piece of equipment is a van and money for the petrol to run it! Without a vehicle, you'll get nowhere fast! Aside from this obvious necessity, all sabs should have, as absolute minimum equipment, a whip. This is the most useful of tools and is often required to keep hounds under control if they are on to the scent of a fox or hare. A whip can be either a proper hunting whip or can be home-made (see section Making a Whip).

A hunting horn is also useful but takes a lot of practice to blow effectively! It is not essential for every sab to have one but one or two members of the groups should be competent hornblowers. Being able to imitate the huntsman's horn calls and use of the whip can also serve to confuse the hounds into coming under the control of sabs, or distract them.

A gizmo is an almost vital group possession. This is basically a modified loudhailer which plays tapes of hounds in cry - this has saved the lives of many foxes when used correctly because the hounds will follow the pack cry onthe tape. If you know a fox is in a covert and the hounds are getting on to it, playing the gizmo from a field's distance will call the dogs away from the quarry. We have had a few memorable moments playing the gizmo by the side of a field, driving along a dirt track in the van, and hounds have run towards us from a field away and then ran alongside the van with us! Always be careful not to call hounds on a main road or through an area where a fox or hare may be.

Spray is another effective tool. It could be cans of anti-mate, or a home-made brew concocted from citronella or garlic - anything that will mask the scent of the fox or hare. Never spray the hounds or horses (it is a favourtie complaint of hunts to the police that we spray their hounds and horses in the eyes!) only spray where a fox/hare has passed, or, if you think the hounds are on to a scent, then spray the area they are heading for.

CBs and mobile phones are also useful to have for keeping all sabs up to date with progrress reports on the hunt's whereabouts if more than one van is out sabbing.

If you can afford it, buy a video camera, or borrow one, and take out a normal still camera. These are invaluable for recording hunt violence, hunt misconduct, kills, even police harassment, and arrests. If something particularly outrageous has occurred it is worth sending someone off with the film for safe-keeping. We have had incidents of both the hunt and police trying to wrestle cameras off us to remove film with incriminating evidence on it. Film anything that you think could be useful later.

OS maps are necessary for plotting the hunt's progress and where it is likely to go. Such maps also show footpaths and can be useful in disputes over trespassing. A central contact telephone number is sensible to have. This number can be used to phone in a meet if a few cars are out scouting for the hunt, or can be used by sabs to phone in for information on where the hunt is, for example. It is also useful to have in case anyone is arrested.