30th January 2009

Man shot in hunting accident

A 50-YEAR-OLD man has been shot in a hunting accident. Police said he was shot in the back from "relatively close range" during an organised pheasant shoot. He suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital in Birmingham by air ambulance.

The accident happened at 2.45pm yesterday at Catton near Swadlincote, South Derbyshire. The person who shot the man has been voluntarily questioned by police and has not been arrested. The Health and Safety Executive has been informed about the incident.

A spokesman for the police said at this stage it was not a criminal investigation and he would not say exactly where the incident took place. He said: "At the moment we are treating this as an accident."

29th January 2009

Six guilty of hare offences

SIX men have pleaded guilty to charges of harecoursing after being arrested in Littlebury in November.

Alfred Harris, 21, George Stevens, 20, Danny Harris, 21, Robert Harris, 22, Sam Harris, 20, all from South East London, and Shaun Clark, 37, from Basildon, appeared at Harlow Magistrates' Court.

Magistrates ordered five of the men to pay a £275 fine, £100 in costs and £15 victim surcharge payment and the sixth, Clark, received a £350 fine, £100 costs and £15 victim surcharge. At the time of the incident they were in possession of a Subaru Legacy car which will be crushed by police.

28th January 2009

Horror of cat caught in gin trap

Animal cruelty experts are warning against the use of gin traps, after a pet cat had to chew off part of its front legs to escape one.

Black cat Sam managed to drag himself back to his Sheringham home despite having parts of two front legs missing.

The five-year-old pet had to be put to sleep by a vet because he was so badly hurt.

And the RSPCA is issued a stern warning about setting illegal traps which can result in stiff fines or months in jail

28th January 2009

Chipping Campden man charged with robbery as part of Otis Ferry inquiry

A 55-year-old man arrested as part of an inquiry into alleged 'witness knobbling' by rock star Bryan Ferry's son Otis has been charged with robbery today (28). Three other people, including Otis Ferry's girlfriend Francesca Nimmo, aged 22, have today had their police bail extended until March 2 as enquiries continue.

Gloucestershire police say the man who has been charged with robbery is from Chipping Campden, Glos, and he will be appearing before Cheltenham Magistrates on Feb 12th. The robbery allegation against him is the same charge faced by Otis Ferry - of robbing a Hunt Monitor at a meeting of the Heythrop Hunt near Stow on the Wold, Glos more than a year ago.

22nd January 2009

Massive drop in illegal hare coursing activity

ILLICIT hare coursing is being driven out of the Peterborough countryside by a special police taskforce – with incidents down by 75 per cent in five years.

The pursuit, which involves powerful dogs being set upon hares which are killed for sport, has dramatically reduced since police's Rural Community Action Team (RCAT) was established in Cambridgeshire.

New figures show that in 2003, there were 173 incidents of illegal hare coursing – it is legal when carried out on land with the landowner's consent – as well as pheasant and deer poaching in Peterborough. But last year, this fell to just 39

22nd January 2009

Tough time for Merseyside hunters

MERSEYSIDE is leading the country in cracking down on illegal hunting, quashing claims that canny hunters can easily out-fox the ban on bloodsports. A staggering 40% of convictions under the much-criticised Hunting Act are in Merseyside, new figures reveal.

A total of 19 people were found guilty in 2007, of whom 17 were fined. Across the rest of England and Wales, there were just 29 convictions, with Humberside (8) the next highest figure

19th January 2009

Suspected hare coursers arrested

SUSPICION of hare coursing on private land at East Kirkby led to the arrest of three men on Saturday morning at around 11am.

The men - aged 23, 32 and 35 years old and all from the Alton area of Hampshire, were taken to Boston Police Station where they were interviewed and released on bail pending further enquiries. They are all due to answer bail on February 15.

Hunt hounds kill fox outside animal rescue charity

The League Against Cruel Sports is condemning a Shropshire hunt which lost control of its hounds resulting in a fox being chased and ripped to shreds in front of distressed onlookers. The attack happened outside an animal sanctuary near Shrewsbury.

Mike Clayden, who is a volunteer at the Grinshill animal rescue charity was horrified by what was happening, he said: 'It died in my blood soaked hands. It was particularly upsetting to see a wild animal killed in such a barbaric way. I believe in many cases the hunting ban is being totally ignored by hunts'

The League's hunting campaigner Matt Fox said: 'Incidents like this are unfortunately all too common with hunts regularly losing control of their hounds resulting in horrific consequences.'

15th January 2009

Hunt hounds savage pet cat

A DEVASTATED cat owner is in shock today after a pack of hunting hounds savaged her Persian cat.

Judy and Brian Dawson's nine-year-old cat Edwina, known as Dween, was mauled by the dogs which burst into their garden while on a hunt in Witnesham yesterday.

Today, Rob Haag, joint master of the Easton Harriers hunt whose dogs were involved apologised for the attack which he said was an extremely rare thing to happen.

And police have confirmed that no further action would be taken against the hunt whose dogs killed Dween because the Dawson family had chosen not to file a complaint

15th January 2009

Otis Ferry to be released from prison

Otis Ferry will be freed on bail today after spending almost four months behind bars. The 26-year-old, of Eaton Mascott near Shrewsbury, was awarded conditional bail at Gloucester Crown Court ahead of his trial to face multiple charges set for later this year.

It is alleged keen huntsman Ferry, the son of rock star Bryan, told his former groomsman not to give evidence at his trial for robbery and assault in Cirencester last September, which Ferry denies.

He also denies assaulting hunt monitor Helen Ghalmi and taking her camera in Stow-on-the-Wold during a meeting of the Heythrop Hunt in November 2007. Four other people have also been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and will answer police bail on January 28

15th January 2009

Otis Ferry released on bail

Rock star's son Otis Ferry spoke of his ''delight'' today after he was freed from custody. The countryside campaigner was imprisoned four months ago over allegations he 'nobbled' a key witness during his trial for robbery and assault.

Ferry, 25, was arrested on September 17 on suspicion of perverting the course of justice after allegedly interfering with witness David Hodgkiss

14th January 2009

Hunt hounds savage cat

A WOMAN watched in horror as a pack of hounds on a fox hunt savaged a pet cat in the garden of her home in Kilmore this week. Breda Whelan of Rickardstown, Kilmore said the Killinick Harriers Hunt is no longer welcome on her land following the brutal incident on Monday afternoon.

The family cat was torn to pieces by the hounds which crossed the main Wexford/Kilmore Road following the scent of a fox

9th January 2009

Prince Edward cleared of animal cruelty

The Earl of Wessex has been cleared by the RSPCA of animal cruelty over photographs that appeared to show him lashing out at two gundogs with a stick during a pheasant shoot.

The RSPCA, whose patron is the Queen, launched an investigation into the claims that the Earl may have struck a gun dog at Sandringham over the Christmas break.

An RSPCA inspector took statements from two witnesses and studied copies of photographs taken by a local agency. They showed the Queen's son reacting violently when two black labradors appeared to grab a dead pheasant during a shoot on her Norfolk estate. The inspector also examined the two dogs and found no evidence of ill-treatment

5th January 2009

Cat injured by illegal gin trap

A cat has lost part of its foot in an illegal trap.

The terrified animal was found in a gin trap on land at Higher Quoit near St Columb in Cornwall. The RSPCA went to release the female tortoiseshell but found it had pulled its paw free, leaving several claws caught in the jaws of the trap.

Gin traps, illegal in the UK since 1958, are designed to catch animals by their legs, using spring-operated jaws with teeth or a serrated edge. The cat is recovering at an RSPCA centre.

The charity is appealing for information in an effort to find whoever set the trap.

4th January 2009

Fourth arrest in alleged hunt assault case

Police investigating allegations of witness interference relating to a trial faced by huntsman Otis Ferry have made a fourth arrest.

A man aged 29, from Caynham, near Ludlow, Shropshire is now on police bail after he was held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. He will answer bail later this month.

Ferry, son of Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry, spent Christmas on remand in prison, facing charges of assault, robbery and perverting the course of justice