Hounds killed in collision with train
A group of hounds have been killed after running onto a railway line in Devon on Saturday (22 November).
Thirty hounds from the Dartmoor hunt found their way onto the tracks between Langham Levels and Fardel Bridge (not pictured). Six of them were then hit by a passing train.
Tom Lyle, joint-master of the Dartmoor, has called it a “distressing and regrettable incident”.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to the hunt before and it was very upsetting to all involved,” he added.
A Network Rail spokesperson confirmed to H&H that at around 12.15pm on Saturday police rung to inform them that 30 unaccompanied hounds were on the line at Ivybridge.
“Sadly, at around the same time a train travelling through the area collided with six of the dogs, all of which died as a result of their injuries,” the spokesman said.
“Our staff attended the site as soon as they were able and worked with police to try and locate the other dogs and remove the remains from the track.”
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This is the second fatal incident involving trains this week. On 19 November a group of 12 horses were killed after escaping onto tracks in Cambridgeshire.
The British Transport Police put out an appeal after the incident to try and trace the owner of the horses who had not come forward.
“We are very keen to find out who the horses belong to,” sergeant David Barker said.
“At the moment it is not clear how many horses died in the incident, however, we now believe that at least 12 were killed.
“We just can’t ascertain how the horses got onto the line, there doesn’t seem to have been any obvious access point, but we’re keeping an open mind.
“If anyone has any information, which they think that could help us in our investigations please get in touch.”
Anyone with information about the incident in Cambridgeshire is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting reference ESUB/B2 of 20/11/14. Information can also be passed anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11.
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Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.