26th June 2007

TWO BANNED OVER HARE COURSING

Two men found guilty of illegal hare coursing have been banned from entering Lincolnshire with dogs for three years.

Gary Cregan (49), from Manchester, and Stephen Taylor (45), from Rochdale, were each given three-year anti-social behaviour orders at Lincoln Magistrates' Court yesterday

26th June 2007

LEAGUE VOWS TO 'STEP UP' ILLEGAL HUNT PROSECUTIONS

The League Against Cruel Sports has vowed that it will step up prosecutions against illegal hunts, after the conviction of two men.The organisation claims that the prosecution of Adrian Pillivant and Richard Down, of the Quantock Staghounds, has shown that the law which banned hunting is "sound and robust".

It has pledged to increase its monitoring, and take action to prosecute hunts which are believed to be behaving in a manner deemed unsuitable and in breach of the Hunting Act

24th June 2007

Countryside Alliance issues call for new members

The Countryside Alliance (CA) reported a loss of £232,000 in 2006 at its AGM in London last week, and called for an urgent increase in membership.

At the same time it urged the hunting community to be more vigilant, following a second successful prosecution by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS)

22nd June 2007

Gamekeeper protests innocence after claim of using dog to hunt

ONE of the North-East's leading gamekeepers has protested his innocence after he was accused of breaking the law by using a dog to hunt and catch stoats.

Lindsay Waddell has been cited by the League Against Cruel Sports for using his dog, Bully, for hunting on the moors of Upper Teesdale, County Durham, where he is head gamekeeper for Lord Barnard.

The league's complaint to Durham Police claims that Mr Waddell, who is chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, "should clearly know that this activity is illegal"

21st June 2007

Horror injury as cat caught in snare

A Bognor Regis girl's cat was recovering from horrific injuries this week after he was caught in a snare.

Abbey-Louise Latter’s Ozzy suffered badly damaged nerves and muscles on his front right foot because of the vicious trap

He was lucky to escape even more serious injuries but is likely to need several months of treatment before he makes a full recovery

21st June 2007

PRIVATE CASE AGAINST HUNT FOUR

THE League Against Cruel Sports has taken out a private prosecution against four members of the IW Hunt.

In May, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with a prosecution of the same four men, who were arrested at their homes in dawn raids and held in the cells for 15 hours before being released without charge

18th June 2007

Hunting unveils new disciplinary system

A new system of self-regulation for hunting was announced at the AGM of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) last Tuesday (5 June, '07).

Stephen Lambert, MFHA chairman, said hunting's political allies in Westminster had stated that each of Britain's diverse hunting associations must have an open and effective system of self-regulation, underpinned by proper training of masters and staff, thus ensuring their competency.  

Under the new system — which should be in place before the next general election — all the associations, including the MFHA, would remain responsible for their own rules and codes of conduct, and for enforcing them in a more systematic manner than at present

15th June 2007

Dogfighting Ring Smashed By RSPCA

Five men involved in an organised dogfighting enterprise have been given prison sentences following a major RSPCA undercover operation.

The men received prison terms of between four and five months whilst others were handed suspended sentences, bans on possession of dogs and community service. Charges ranged from managing premises for dogfighting to possession of pitbull-type dogs, which are illegal under the Dangerous Dogs Act (see notes for full details of charges/sentences)

12th June 2007

Police happy with hare coursing crackdown

THERE WERE 40 incidents of hare coursing reported to Tayside Police last year—a third less than the season before. The force’s wildlife liaison officer Alan Stewart said he was pleased the crackdown on the blood sport was getting results.

Hare coursing involves using dogs to chase and catch hares and occurs in both Angus and Perth and Kinross. If the hare is caught by the dogs then it is torn apart. "Sometimes people are hare coursing for sport, others will bet on it, but it is a pretty horrible death for the hare,” said Mr Stewart

9th June 2007

Farmer guilty of hunting hares without a licence as coursing club is fined €300

A FARMER and chairman of a well-known hare-coursing club has been found guilty of trapping endangered hares without a licence. Brendan Farrelly, who holds hare coursing meetings on his land, was found guilty yesterday of hunting 18 hares without a Department of Environment licence.

Farrelly's club, the Westmeath United Coursing Club, was convicted and fined for the same offence at Killucan District Court, Co Westmeath. Farrelly (58) and the coursing club were acquitted of a separate charge of injuring a young hare that was captured without a licence

8th June 2007

Two fined for hunting deer with hounds

Two men were found guilty yesterday of illegally hunting deer with hounds in the second case brought against a hunt since the ban was imposed two years ago

The verdicts against huntsman Richard Down, 44, and whipper-in Adrian Pillivant, 36, of the Quantock Staghounds in Somerset were hailed as a victory by the League Against Cruel Sports, which brought the private prosecution

8th June 2007

Hunting ban job losses 'about 20'

The number of job losses following the hunting ban has been a fraction of those originally predicted by the Countryside Alliance. It said before the ban 16,000 people could lose their jobs nationally. The government said it would be 4,000. So far, about 20 jobs have been lost in the South West, the Alliance said.

Spokesperson Alison Hawes said it was not a gross over-estimate, and that hunt supporters believe that the ban will be repealed

7th June 2007

Hare coursing threats to farmers

Reports of illegal hare coursing are the "tip of the iceberg", Tayside Police have said. The force has had more than 40 reports of hare coursing activity since it began a crackdown last September.

Some farmers who have approached gangs participating in the blood sport claim they have been threatened. Hare coursing involves chasing and catching hares with dogs, and was banned by the Scottish Parliament in February 2002

4th June 2007

HUNTING DOGS KILL POODLE

A WOMAN fled into the sea with her terrier as hunting dogs savaged her other pet to death. Joyce Crass was up to her neck in freezing waves as she tried to escape.

The secretary was walking 14-year-old poodle Nina and border terrier Skip when they were attacked by seven lurchers.

The owner, who had been hunting rabbits, told Joyce to grab her pets and run. As she dashed into the water with Skip, they attacked Nina

4th June 2007

Gamekeeper punished for poisoning

A Borders gamekeeper who admitted using live pigeons as bait and lacing pheasant carcasses with poison has been given 220 hours of community service. George Aitken, 56, from Lauder, admitted a total of eight charges.

He turned up for sentence at Selkirk Sheriff Court wearing a black full-face ski-mask and a combat jacket.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) investigating officer Bob Elliott described the case as the worst it had seen in at least 20 years. He believed Aitken was using the toxic substance to try to kill off birds of prey in the area.

3rd June 2007

Miliband will allow badger culling again

MINISTERS are poised to lift a 10-year ban on badger culling and allow large-scale kills across the countryside.

David Miliband, the environment secretary, will endorse an independent study to be published next week that concludes large-scale culling would help stem the spread of tuberculosis in cattle.

A moratorium on cull licences has been in place since 1998, but ministers and government advisers feel that they can no longer ignore the rapid spread of the disease along the “cattle belt”, which runs from Cornwall, up the west of the country, to Cheshire. There were almost 800 suspected outbreaks in the first two months of this year

2nd June 2007

Hounds kill 'an accident'

A POLICE investigation into the death of a fox killed by hunting hounds has found no evidence of a criminal offence.

Police were called after a woman witnessed an incident involving the Puckeridge Hunt in February, when a fox was killed by a pack of dogs.

The hunt confirmed 25 hounds had chased the animal down, but insisted it was an accident which took place when the dogs picked up the scent of a fox as they took part in a trail hunt