28th August 2008

Keeper clubbed badgers to death

A GAMEKEEPER who killed birds of prey and clubbed badgers to death could be sent to prison. Kyle Burden, of Lydbury North, appeared before Ludlow Magistrates last Thursday on several counts of animal cruelty

The court heard how Burden, aged 19, used guns and illegal traps to kill badgers and buzzards on the Kempton Estate between May 14 and July 21 last year. He will be sentenced next month in Telford after admitting nine charges. Six other offences were taken into consideration.

Phil Mason, prosecuting, said the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was tipped off by two whistleblowers working on the 6,000-acre estate in 2007. He said a complaint was first reported to the National Gamekeepers Association (NGA) but the witnesses were unhappy with the NGA’s reaction

28th August 2008

Hunt's vow as pack kills pet

Hunt leaders have vowed to stop exercising their hounds in Peak villages after a family's cat was savaged and killed by their pack of dogs.

Members of the High Peak Hunt had been riding through Sheldon near Bakewell when the pack of around 40 hounds attacked the animal after spotting it by the side of the road.

Bob Graham, joint master of the hunt, said some of the younger hounds ran to the cat before the other dogs followed – eventually killing the pet – during the early morning ride through the village

20th August 2008

Boy's pet cat savaged by hunting dog

A BOY has been left heartbroken after his pet cat was killed and eaten by a rampaging hunting dog. Jack Burnett, seven, had been given rescue cat Penny after his rabbit died two months ago.

Over five weeks he grew close to her, getting up early to feed her every morning, and playing with her during the day. But Jack was left devastated when a dog from a pack roaming the fields around Newton Garth Farm in Boldon ran across his family's land and chased his cat and savaged it.

And when the family confronted the dog owner, he told them: "It's just nature. I'll buy you a new cat."

13th August 2008

'Hare Coursing' Crackdown Leads to Vehicle Seizures

A CRACKDOWN on suspected hare coursing in Braughing, near Ware, led to two vehicles being seized for various alleged criminal offences on Sunday (August 10).

After several reports relating to a white van illegally hunting hares in the Braughing area, a vehicle matching the description was located and stopped. The vehicle was seized for no insurance.

The police helicopter also identified a second vehicle, a 4x4, believed to be travelling in convoy with the white van. The 4x4 was found later unoccupied and on examination of the fuel it was discovered to be running on what is believed to be red diesel, which is illegal, and subsequently seized

13th August 2008

Hare coursing pair avoid prison

Two men caught hare coursing on farmland near Stirling have been spared a prison sentence. Robert Clements, 44, and David Scott, 40, both from Lanarkshire, were found guilty of using three lurchers to hunt a juvenile hare.

The pair told Stirling Sheriff Court they had been targeting rabbits. Sheriff Andrew Cubie had considered jailing them, but instead sentenced them to 80 hours of community service each

8th August 2008

Hare coursing

HARE-COURSING charges against a woman and a man from West Norfolk were adjourned for a month by Lynn magistrates on Wednesday.

Mary Birkbeck, of Little Massingham House, is accused of permitting land at Little Massingham to be used for hare coursing on November 12, 2007, and January 8, 2008, two offences of knowingly facilitating hare coursing and two of attending a hare coursing event.

Les Anderson, of 14 East Hall Road Bungalows, Lodge Road, Feltwell, faces two charges of attending a hare-coursing event and three of knowingly facilitating such an event. Another man, Robert Fryer, of Tring, Hertfordshire, is accused of two offences of participating in and two of attending a hare-coursing event. The case was adjourned until September 23.

4th August 2008

Huntsman denies charges of hunting with dogs

The first professional huntsman to be prosecuted by police for hunting a fox has today denied all the charges against him. Julian Barnfield, of the Heythrop hunt, which rides in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, is accused of hunting a wild mammal with dogs.

The 44-year-old, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, was charged with three offences under the Hunting Act 2004. Barnfield did not appear at Cheltenham magistrates court today, but had not guilty pleas to all charges entered on his behalf.