ByAidan Frere-Smith

September 6, 2022

Mike Huskisson

What an Animal Investigator Learned From 50 Years of Undercover Work

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It was 1972 and Mike Huskisson had saved his money to purchase aniseed oil from the local chemist. But his plan wasn’t to use it as a herbal remedy. Huskisson lived in a small traditional English village where the exploits of hunting were discussed openly, often in gory detail in the local pub. At first, Huskisson would try to debate the ethics of hunting with his neighbors, but ultimately he became frustrated with their lack of compassion, and decided he needed to do more.

Inspired by the French Resistance tactics to fool German tracker dogs, Huskisson set out the night before the local fox hunt were meeting, dragging oil-soaked rags across the surrounding fields in the countryside. Alone…