Animal Advocates Protest Fox Hunts

Animal rights activists plan to picket a development company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday to protest fox hunts held on company-owned land near Hidden Hills.

The activists want H. F. Ahmanson & Co. to stop the hunts, which have been held at Ahmanson Ranch for years.

A company spokeswoman said Thursday that the company stopped allowing the hunts about a year ago, although protesters claim the hunts still continue.

Activists say that picketing, which will be held at the company’s corporate headquarters in Irwindale, will also be aimed at Home Savings of America, an Ahmanson subsidiary.

The activists charge that the fox hunts, conducted by an area hunt club, drive coyotes and other animals from their natural habitat on the ranch into nearby developed areas or onto roadways where they are often killed, or captured by animal control officers.

Ahmanson Ranch is located in unincorporated Ventura County near the Los Angeles County line.

The Ahmanson spokeswoman, Mary Trigg, said the company stopped allowing the hunts because it was afraid of being sued if participants were hurt.

She said Ahmanson officials plan to meet with the activists this weekend to discuss their claims.

However, Joyce Pieper, a Los Angeles representative for the Fund for Animals Inc., said she heard “from a very reliable source” that the hunts are still taking place.