28th February 2008

Ex-mayor denies law broken in fox mayhem

THE former mayor of an Amman Valley community who took part in what some Glanaman residents are claiming was an illegal fox hunt on Saturday morning has denied any laws were broken.

Angry residents of Llwyncelyn Road say they were "disgusted" after dogs from Amman Valley Fox Control pursued a fox into the street. But Glanaman town councillor Emyr Jenkins maintains members of the AVFC were innocently exercising their hounds on land they had been given permission to use when two of the animals broke away after picking up the scent of the fox

25th February 2008

Gangs with guns hunting in Merseyside parks

A KNOWSLEY councillor today told how he was beaten unconscious by a hunting gang. Mike Currie, 58, Lib Dem ward member for the St Gabriel’s area of Huyton, said he was attacked while walking through Stadt Moers

“I went out with my 11-year-old son to feed the foxes when I saw a lad who looked like he was up to no good.“I was very polite and said ‘I hope you’re not here to hunt foxes’.

“The next minute he’s telling me he’s got a knife and he’s going to stab me as my son is standing next to me.

“Then he made a call on his mobile phone and two other blokes came down and attacked me.

25th February 2008

Gangs with guns hunting in Merseyside parks

THE ECHO can today reveal the shocking extent of illegal hunting in Merseyside’s parks.

Gun-toting gangs are setting their dogs on defenceless wild animals and watching as they are ripped to shreds.

And anyone who challenges their sickening hobby is threatened with violence

22nd February 2008

Gamekeeper in court over poison charges

A GAMEKEEPER and a land agent are facing trial after a raid by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds investigators and North Yorkshire Police on a remote Yorkshire Dales farm uncovered lethal poisons.

Gamekeeper James Freeman, of Moor House Farm, Lofthouse, Nidderdale and agent Simon Clowes, of Lawkland Green House, Lawkland, Austwick, near Settle, appeared before magistrates at Harrogate on Monday to answer a total of 13 charges.

22nd February 2008

Hunting hawks putting walkers off their stride

GROUPS of foreign visitors on package falconry holidays to Sutherland are turning parts of Brora into no-go areas, a local dog walker claimed this week. Isabella Thomson, 10 Uppat Place, Brora, says the falconers are using birds of prey and ferrets on an almost daily basis to catch rabbits over popular recreational areas in the village. She claimed that their presence meant that the Back Shore in Lower Brora and "Gleneagles" golf course were now almost off limits to walkers.

She said: "I am in agreement with a rabbit cull, but what I am not in agreement with is the method. It is barbaric. You can hear the rabbits screaming. It is totally unacceptable."

22nd February 2008

‘Foxhunting continuing’

POLICE in Cockermouth and Keswick are investigating reports of illegal foxhunting taking place in the area. Inspector Martin Connolly said inquiries were taking place into “several reports” of illegal hunts.

He said complaints had been received recently from various sources and he had appointed hunt liaison officers to look into them.

Those officers will look at possible offences being committed under the Hunting Act 2004 – hunting a wild mammal with a dog, permitting a dog to be used for such an offence, or permitting land to be used for hunting a wild mammal with a dog. Landowners are being approached by the police to canvass opinion about hunt activity.

21st February 2008

Fox huntsman smashed saboteur's car window

A HUNTSMAN smashed the window of a hunt saboteur’s car.

Michael Gerald Nicholson, who works for Coniston Foxhounds, smashed the window of a Ford Escort with three saboteurs inside.

Nicholson, 40, pleaded guilty to criminal damage when he appeared before South Lakeland Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday

19th February 2008

Cameron to allow free vote on ending ‘idiotic’ hunting law

A TORY Government would give MPs a free vote on reversing the hunting ban, David Cameron said last night. The current law had been made to look “idiotic” due to the number of people breaking it, he suggested.

In an exclusive interview with the Western Mail, three years to the day since the ban become law, Mr Cameron said, “We have a very clear position on this, there will be a free vote, and if there is a vote to repeal the hunting ban there will be a government Bill in government time.“It’s quite clear it isn’t working, there are more people hunting than ever before. The law is being made to look an idiot, and that isn’t a good situation to be in.”

The Countryside Alliance, which last year failed in its attempts to have the ban overturned in the High Court, is planning to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights – although the case may not be heard for several years.

16th February 2008

Anti-foxhunting campaign is ban's real victim

When the hunting law was introduced, it was feared or feted as the end of a country sport. Now, three years later, it appears to have left the pursuit's opponents deeply wounded, while hunting goes from strength to strength.

The number of protesters has fallen by almost two-thirds despite claims that hunts are routinely breaking the law, and reports that more foxes are being killed now than before the Hunting Act was signed into law.

Figures released by the Countryside Alliance (CA) ahead of the Act's third anniversary tomorrow show that protester numbers have fallen to just 678 this season, with only three weekends still to run

15th February 2008

Hunt hounds ‘must have leads’

Hounds being used on hunts in Shrewsbury will have to be kept on leads when they are on public highways, councillors have confirmed.

The issue was raised by Labour group leader Danny Moore at last night’s full meeting of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council.

Councillor Moore had tabled a question raising the issue of dogs crossing main roads near Shrewsbury Livestock Market on the traditional Boxing Day hunt, to seek clarification over how the rules of the new dog control orders were being enforced.

Portfolio holder Councillor Judith Williams last night confirmed hounds were not exempt from the rules.

14th February 2008

Hare coursing ban is being flouted at Altcar

THE hunting ban is being openly flouted in West Lancashire, it is claimed. Local farmers allege that illegal coursers are still targeting the hare population in and around Altcar. This is despite a law banning such activities being passed three years ago this month.

The ban meant the demise of the Waterloo Cup harecoursing event, which brought thousands to West Lancs each year.

13th February 2008

Hunt 'chased fox into empty village house'

Hounds chased a fox into an empty house in a Northamptonshire village before cornering and killing the animal in the bathroom.

Villagers said dogs from the Grafton Hunt gained access to the house in Chapel Lane, Maidford, near Towcester, through an open backdoor before pursuing the fox inside and then killing it, leaving behind what one called a "bit of a bloodbath".

The owners of the Wesley Cottage no longer live in the property, which is up for sale.

Village resident, Ian Smith, who saw the hounds run into the property, said: "The hound chased a fox into a house, which was empty."

11th February 2008

Ferry cleared over car key snatch

The son of Bryan Ferry has been cleared of criminal damage after snatching car keys from two photographers he claimed were hounding actress Sienna Miller. Otis Ferry was leaving a London nightclub after last year's Bafta awards with the actress and his brother, the court heard.

Ms Miller feared photographers wanted to follow her to her new home, West London Magistrates' Court was told. Mr Ferry, 25, from Shrewsbury, had denied two charges of criminal damage

9th February 2008

Three gamekeepers admit trying to trap birds of prey

Three gamekeepers yesterday admitted using baited traps to catch protected birds of prey that might attack grouse and partridges on an estate in North Yorkshire. Scarborough magistrates heard that RSPB inspectors had found five traps baited with live pigeons on the Snilesworth estate near Osmotherley.

The traps can be used legally only to catch birds such as magpies and crows, and only members of the crow family can be used as bait. James Shuttlewood, 40, head keeper of the Snilesworth estate, pleaded guilty to five charges of permitting the use of traps and was fined £250 on each.

Charles Woof, 23, a beat keeper, of Swainby, North Yorkshire, admitted one charge of using a trap and was fined £100. David Cook, 18, an under-keeper, of Ingleby, North Yorkshire, admitted two charges of using traps and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. The three were also ordered to pay costs of £43 each. All the charges were brought under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981)

7th February 2008

Hunters set their dogs on badgers and foxes

A JUDGE condemned four men for the “wicked” act of illegally hunting badgers and foxes with dogs. Sentencing them at Liverpool magistrates’ court, district judge Michael Abelson said the men took “cruel enjoyment” from their dogs attacking the wild animals.

The court heard how four men and a 17-year-old were stopped by police in their Land Rover in Islington last August on their way back from a hunting expedition. They had dogs, nets and other equipment used for illegal hunting

7th February 2008

Hare coursing horror at Formby

GREYHOUNDS are being let loose in fields around Formby to illegally course hares. A local wildlife enthusiast, who did not wish to be named for fear of reprisals, was disgusted when he saw a group of seven men pile out of a van with a dog each – and a child.

The group let the dogs free in the field to course hares. They were seen lifting them above their heads before discarding the carcasses into a ditch

Does anyone know this man’s name?

He is the terrierman for the Mid Devon Foxhounds. The RSPCA are very keen to speak to him concerning the conditions of his two terriers.

When the RSPCA spoke to Mid Devon hunt members at the kennels, they claim they do not know him, Hunt Watch finds this very strange

2nd February 2008

COMING FACE TO FACE WITH THE OTHER SIDE

This was the moment a hunt supporter lost his temper with anti-hunt monitors and ended up with a police caution in the latest in a series of confrontations between the two sides in the bitter countryside war.The incident, captured on the video camera of a hunt monitor, happened earlier this season.

Hunt supporter Paul Martin's spat with anti-hunt monitors Helen Weeks and Graham Forsyth led to police giving Mr Martin a formal caution for threatening behaviour, after they judged that the strained relationship between the two sides out in the field had reached breaking point

The police action has highlighted the increasingly tense atmosphere between the two sides; both last night claimed they were the victims of harassment and intimidation

1st February 2008

Slow, agonising death for fox in illegal trap

A fox that became ensnared in an illegal trap has been found dead in Waterford. Resident Dan Ballam, of High Road, was out with his dog when he discovered the creature, whose leg had been servered by a gin trap.

He said; "My dog picked up a scent and went a bit crazy. Then i saw the fox, dead lying with the trap on its front leg. "It wasn't nice to see it lying there or think about how it had died. It was obviously a slow, agonising death."

1st February 2008

DEAD BUZZARD CAUGHT IN ILLEGAL TRAP

A buzzard was killed after landing on a poacher's illegal pole trap in a field near Lincoln.

The buzzard was found on Wednesday by a member of the public in the field at the side of the A57, between Lincoln and Saxilby.

One of the bird's legs had been sliced off and the other leg had "horrendous" injuries. It died shortly after was discovered.

Wildlife crime officer PC Nick Willey said the incident was pretty sickening

1st February 2008

MEN ADMIT ILLEGAL HUNTING

Two owners of lurcher dogs have admitted hunting hares on a farm in the Isle of Axholme.

Debbie Sanders, prosecuting at North Lincolnshire Magistrates' Court, said police were called to a farmer's field at about 9.45am on December 8. There were two four wheel drive vehicles present but they drove off before the arrival of the officers.