Dunster Show (Somerset)

“Dunster Show is the premier Agricultural Show in West Somerset and one of the major one day Shows of the West of England. Taking place on the lawns below Dunster Castle the dramatic backdrop is a perfect setting for a magical family day out.” Dunster Show lists their popular food and craft marquee, the trade stands, and flags up what it terms “captivating main ring entertainment”. What might that ‘entertainment’ include? Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be a mention of the Show’s support for hunting on its website (though there is an image of a beagle pack to illustrate ‘How to Find Us’), but in fact the Show is giving THREE hunts – the appalling Devon & Somerset Staghounds, the fox hunting Minehead Harriers, and the hare-hunting Ilminster and West Somerset Beagles – the opportunity to parade in front of the public. Shows like these help promote hunts during the weeks before cubbing and levereting starts again. They really ought to warn the public, or at least be honest about the animal abuse these hunts they’re showcasing are responsible for…especially when as the Countryside Alliance Hunting feed posted in August 2025 that “The organisers of the West of England Hound Show have taken action in the interests of animal welfare ahead of this year’s show due to be held at Honiton on Thursday, 7th August. One pack of hounds which exhibited at last week’s Dunster Show are displaying signs of kennel cough so any pack that showed there last week is no longer eligible to take part at Honiton…The West of England Hound Show is one of the highlights of the summer hunting calendar and we hope that the hunting community will continue to support the show this year before both Dunster and Honiton return to their full glory in 2026.” Which of those hunts brought sick hounds to a hound show isn’t yet known, but typical of the casual approach so often taken by the ‘community’…