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| 22nd August 2009 |
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Essex man fined for tampering with badger's sett
A BADGER protection group has called for landowners to contact them if they need advice about whether setts are still being used by the animals.
The request comes after a Halstead man was fined £1,500 at Colchester Magistrates' Court after he admitted interfering with a badger sett.
Richard Michael Butler, of Gosfield, near Halstead, admitted obstructing a badger sett entrance and was fined £1,500
| 20th August 2009 |
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Police clarify public photography policy
| 19th August 2009 |
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BADGER TRAPPER IS FINED £3,500
THE Scottish SPCA yesterday welcomed the decision to hand a record £3,500 to a farm manager and gamekeeper who snared and shot dead four badgers.
Anthony Rogers, 59, of Moffat, Dumfriesshire, claimed he had shot the animals humanely after they were accidentally trapped and injured in a wood on his farm.
But at Dumfries Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff Kenneth Ross told him yesterday that he had shown wilful blindness to the consequences of setting the snares near a badger sett
| 13th August 2009 |
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'Illegal' hunt case collapses
A CASE against an Alnwick man accused of illegal hunting has collapsed after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
Robert McCarthy, 35, of The Kennels, Cannongate, had denied the charge of hunting a wild animal with a dog, contrary to the Hunting Act 2004.
Mr McCarthy, a huntsman with the Percy Hunt, was alleged to have been chasing a fox with a pack of dogs while on horseback at Bradford Kairns, near Belford, on November 12 last year.
But on day two of the three-day trial, at South East Northumberland Magistrates Court in Bedlington, District Judge Stephen Earl said the prosecution had failed to put forward sufficient evidence to convict Mr McCarthy.
| 13th August 2009 |
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Man in group fined for hunting hares with dogs
JAMES O’Brien, 38, of Saltbox Hill, Biggin Hill, has pleaded guilty to hunting wild animals with dogs after being caught hare-coursing on the South Downs at Angmering Park, between Worthing and Arundel, in February.
O’Brien appeared at Worthing Magistrates Court on Wednesday last week (July 29), along with Thomas Joseph Connors, 31, from Wallington, Surrey, Edward Mark Connors, 40, from Horley, Surrey, and James Robb, 24, from Stanmore, Middlesex.
All four were each fined £200 and must pay costs of £250 and victim surcharges of £15. They were told to give up the dogs.
| 12th August 2009 |
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Foxhunters face fines and bans from new disciplinary body
Foxhunters throughout the country face a ban and fines of up
to £5,000 for misconduct even if a future Conservative
government decides to repeal the laws that prohibit hunting
with dogs.
Senior hunting figures are in favour of creating a body funded
by the sport with the power to levy fines and impose bans, as
in horse racing.
Hunts found guilty of cruelty to wildlife could face
indefinite bans and masters of the hunt would be held liable
for the behaviour of individual members. As well as looking
into welfare issues, the authority would investigate
allegations of trespass or nuisance to neighbourhoods, and
ensure that hunts and their followers obeyed the law. Every hunt, chasing foxes, hares or deer, would fund the new
body, which is expected to be headed by a senior judicial
figure such as a former law lord.
| 12th August 2009 |
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Percy Huntsman denies illegal hunt
 AN Alnwick man has appeared in court today charged with illegal hunting. Robert McCarthy, 35, of The Kennels, Cannongate, was accused of hunting a wild animal with a dog, contrary to the Hunting Act 2004.
McCarthy, Huntsman with the Percy Hunt, denied the charge.
The alleged incident took place on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, at Bradford Kaims, near Belford.
The trial at South East Northumberland Magistrates Court, in Bedlington, was due to last three days.
| 5th August 2009 |
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Arrests in hare coursing probe
POLICE have arrested three men at Claughton on suspicion of illegal hare coursing.
The three, understood to be from the Chorley area, were arrested at Lydiate Lane, Claughton, following reports that people had been seen hunting hares with dogs in a wooded area.
Their vehicle, dogs and mobile phones were seized by police following the early morning tip-off and a dead hare was taken as forensic evidence.
The suspects have been released on police bail until September 29
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