30th April 2007

Gamekeeper admits poison charges

A Borders gamekeeper has admitted using live pigeons as bait and lacing pheasant carcasses with poison in a way likely to injure to birds of prey. George Aitken, 56, admitted eight wildlife offences at Selkirk Sheriff Court while not guilty pleas were accepted to another seven charges.

He was caught in a joint operation last August when banned pesticides and traps were found at Blythe Farm near Lauder.

Sentence was deferred on Aitken for background reports

29th April 2007

Stag stabbed to death at deer sanctuary

THE man in camouflage gear walked up to the stag and brandished his knife before plunging the blade into its neck. As the deer reared up in an attempt to escape, he stabbed it again, cutting its neck open before twisting its head around in an apparent effort to snap the spine.

The horrific sequence, which was captured on video and is now the subject of an RSPCA investigation, is at the centre of a row between pro and anti-hunt campaigners, with each accusing the other of playing some part in the animal’s death.

The video was released this weekend by the Countryside Alliance, a pro-hunt group, as evidence of the neglect of deer on a sanctuary run by the League Against Cruel Sports on Exmoor

watch the video

22nd April 2007

Four charged over hunt scuffle

FOUR people have been charged in connection with a violent scuffle between hunt stewards and protestors, police revealed tonight.

The Essex and Suffolk Hunt at Whatfield, near Sudbury, in February was marred by the incident, which was linked to the second anniversary of the hunting ban.

Five people were originally arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and police said tonight that four - three men and a woman - had been formally charged with the offence

20th April 2007

'Sickening' deer deaths condemned

Wildlife rangers have condemned attacks on two deer found dead in Strathclyde Country Park. The animals were discovered in separate locations at the popular outdoor spot last week. Experts believe they were butchered by hunting dogs.
Police and conservation experts said those responsible for the killings would face prosecution.

Hunting with dogs became illegal in 2002 with those convicted facing a fine of up to £5,000 and six months in jail

4th April 2007

WHY NO ASBO?

Police officers say magistrates and judges need to better understand the nuisance hare coursers cause after two culprits escaped Anti-Social Behaviour Orders.
Lincolnshire Police wanted Stephen Taylor and Troy West to be given Asbos because they are regular offenders and because officers believe fines, driving bans and nights in the cells don't work.

The hare coursers, who appeared in court this week, were each fined £500, bound over for another £500 to keep the peace for one year and ordered to pay court costs of £110. But they were not given the Asbos police thought were necessary.

District judge Richard Blake said: "In this case I don't consider it proportionate or necessary to issue Anti-Social Behaviour Orders."

The decision was based on the fact that no-one was being harassed, alarmed or distressed by their actions. But wildlife crime officer PC Nigel Lound said Asbos were both proportionate and necessary