31st July 2007

Storm over first hunt fine

RURAL campaigners yesterday reignited the hunting debate after Wales’ first prosecution under the Hunting Act saw charges dropped against one defendant and another fined £200. A pro-hunting group said the case against 69-year-old William Francis Armstrong showed the hunting laws were ill-conceived and had triggered confusion across the nation.

Armstrong, former terrierman with Flint & Denbigh Hunt was ordered to pay £60 costs in addition to a £200 fine at the 2004 Act’s first Welsh test at a hearing at Prestatyn Magistrates’ Court.

30th July 2007

Charges after badger sett inquiry

Two men have been charged after an investigation into the disruption of a badger sett in Northumberland. The men were originally arrested in March as part of a joint operation between Northumbria Police, the RSPCA and the Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

Robert McCarthy, 32, of, Cannongate, Alnwick,(huntsman for the Percy Hunt, shown right) and Stephen McCarthy, 60, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, (regular supporter of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt) are charged with interference with a badger sett. Both have been bailed to appear before magistrates on 7 August

Please note: Robert McCarthy is the huntsman for the Percy Hunt and his father Stephen is a regular supporter of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt

29th July 2007

HSBC insures foxhunters against cost of court action

BRITAIN's biggest bank is insuring dozens of hunts against the costs of a court case if they are prosecuted for illegally hunting foxes.

The unusual arrangement means HSBC will pay legal fees associated with hunt employees taken to court for breaking the law, even if they are found guilty.

According to figures collected by the League Against Cruel Sports, the bank is insuring as many as 125 hunts, an arrangement the league claims gives those taking part confidence that they can break the law without suffering excessive financial hardship.

Under the hunting ban introduced in February 2005, prosecutions can be brought either against hunts as organisations or against individuals such as hunt masters and employees, riders who take part in illegal hunts or landowners who allow them

25th July 2007

Dead birds stunt disgusts sanctuary

Officials at a Norfolk animal sanctuary spoke of their “disgust” after 50 dead pheasants were dumped at their main gate at the weekend.

Two feed bags full of dead young birds were left at the entrance of the People for Animal Care Trust (PACT) centre at Woodrising, near Hingham, sometime before midday on Saturday

Workers at the charitable animal sanctuary were left fuming to find a note attached to the grisly discovery saying: “This is what a dear little fox has done this morning, so perhaps you could nurse them back to health for me. This is why we want rid of foxes and vermin.”

17th July 2007

Fifth hunt charged

A landowner and terrier man from the Flint and Denbigh hunt in Wales are to be prosecuted under the Hunting Act. Tenant farmer Peter Rowley Williams, 48, of Llangwyfan near Denbigh, was due to appear before Prestatyn Magistrates on Monday, 16 July, charged with permitting his land to be used for illegal hunting on 2 January 2007.

Terrierman William Francis Armstrong, 69, of Cefn, was also due to appear in court on Monday, charged with hunting a wild animal with dogs on the same date. But the case was adjourned to a later date

17th July 2007

ANTI-HUNT CAMPAIGN PUTS TRUST IN YOUTUBE

Video footage which claims to show a West hunt breaking the foxhunting ban is to be posted on the website You- Tube by anti-hunt campaigners desperate to mount a prosecution.The League Against Cruel Sports says it needs the huntsmen featured in the video footage to be independently identified before it can mount another private prosecution, or hand their files over to the police.

LACS launched a campaign yesterday for help to secure a conviction against two men it claims are acting with 'blatant illegality'. But the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance slammed the LACS for wasting police time and now the public's time, and behaving like a 'vigilante squad'.

The video footage was shot by LACS anti-hunt monitors on January 20 this year on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall (view it here)

12th July 2007

Game shooting laws to be relaxed

Restrictions dating back to the 1830s on shooting and selling game will end in England and Wales from August. Game licences will no longer be needed and pheasants, grouse and other game will be able to be sold all year round.

But moves to end the ban on shooting game on Sundays and Christmas Day have been abandoned, after much opposition

11th July 2007

WHATEVER YOUR VIEWS ON THE FOX POPULATION, THIS IS SICK BEHAVIOUR

The RSPCA last night said the person responsible for shooting four fox cubs in a pen was "despicable".These shocking images were released by the Society yesterday as the war between the two sides of the animal welfare argument took a dark turn in deepest Somerset.

The RSPCA, one of the main groups behind the ban on foxhunting, had rescued six orphan fox cubs and were rehabilitating them ready to be released back into the wild.

The cubs were being kept in a pen on farmland at Wellisford, near Wellington in Somerset with the consent of the farmer, who took on the job of feeding them. 

But days before they were due to be released into the wild, the cubs' carer discovered that an armed trespasser had shot four of the foxes. Three were dead and the other was so badly wounded it had to be put down

10th July 2007

Two accused of breaking hunt ban law

TWO men are due to appear in court accused of breaching the 2004 Hunting Act – in the first action of its kind in Wales.

Prominent landowner Peter Rowley Williams, of Glyn Arthur, Llangwyfan, near Denbigh, will appear before Prestatyn magistrates next week. He is charged with permitting his land, on the slopes of Clwydian hills, to be used for hunting on January 2

6th July 2007

Police probe slaughter of badgers

POLICE are investigating one of the worst cases of badger slaughter in Hampshire after the horrific discovery of carcasses in woodland. At least six badgers - a protected species - have died after becoming tangled in snares set on an estate between Stockbridge and Winchester.

League Against Cruel Sports investigators also found a number of snares and traps set on the Heath House estate near Stockbridge Downs, a National Trust beauty spot which is popular with walkers. The organisation was alerted to the area by a walker whose dog was caught in a snare

5th July 2007

Hare coursing 'taking place on Trust land'

WILTSHIRE police and the National Trust have reacted with surprise and anger at reports that illegal hare coursing has been taking place on Trust land around Stonehenge.

The practice, which was outlawed in 2004 with the passing of the Hunting Act, involves the use of dogs to chase down and catch a single hare, with spectators often betting on which dog will be first to catch the hare.

However, there have been reports of the practice continuing to take place across the country - including here in south Wiltshire

5th July 2007

Simon Upton sent to prison
This story dates back to 5th October 2006

A FARMER and hunt master who kicked his ex-wife and hit her with a tool from his stables has been jailed for ten weeks

Essex Union Hunt master Simon Upton was sentenced less than a year after a previous court appearance saw him fined for assaulting an anti-hunt protester.

4th July 2007

Hunter fined for hare coursing

THE first person to be successfully prosecuted under the Hunting Act for hare coursing in Britain has been fined by magistrates in Northampton.

James Rooney appeared for trial yesterday after denying illegally hunting hares in the county, but changed his plea to guilty moments before the hearing, at Northampton Magistrates Court.

Keith Taylor, prosecuting, said local farmer Douglas Ward saw two Range Rovers being driven around fields between Denton and Horton last November and alerted police

2nd July 2007

Four men deny hunting with dogs

Four men from the Isle of Wight have pleaded not guilty to illegally hunting with dogs in a private prosecution brought by an animal welfare group.

Stuart Trousdale, of Gatcombe, Jamie Butcher, of Ryde, and Liam Thom, of Rookley, are charged with hunting a fox with dogs

Malcolm Purcell, of Blackwater, is charged with hunting with dogs.

They are expected to argue they were using an eagle owl, in the case brought by the League Against Cruel Sports.