27th March 2007

Man convicted under hunting act

A man has been convicted of using his dogs to kill a fox in the first case under the Hunting Act to be brought to court by the RSPCA. Paul McMullen, of Bootle, Merseyside, was arrested after a woman reported a group of men with dogs digging into a badger set in the Cheshire countryside.

He had denied hunting a wild mammal with a dog but was found guilty by magistrates in Chester. McMullen, 36, was fined £750 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs

23rd March 2007

HUNTING BAN IS A FARCE!

A former Home Office Minister last night claimed the hunting ban was being "blatantly and deliberately" broken because police and prosecutors were failing to enforce the law.

There have been just three known convictions since the controversial hunting ban was introduced, MPs were told last night. And only one of those was for hunting with a pack of hounds according to Tory MP Ann Widdecombe.

The other two cases involved individuals with two dogs, the fervent anti-hunting campaigner revealed. The convictions were all from 2005. Figures for last year are not available until the autumn

16th March 2007

Stag hunts suspended for remainder of season

Stag hunts have been halted for the remainder of the season. A few weeks ago, there was fury after a stag was chased through a schoolyard in Kildalkey, Co Meath. The Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports is welcoming the stopping of the stag hunts, saying the development is a milestone to getting them banned completely

16th March 2007

SNH UNDER ATTACK OVER 'ECOLOGICAL VANDALISM' DEER CULL

Scottish Natural Heritage's plans for an extensive cull of the red deer herd on Rum was attacked as an act of ecological vandalism last night.

MSPs from the major political parties said there was no need to slaughter the herd and animals had become household names thanks to the BBC's Autumn Watch programme with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble.

Deputy Environment Minister Sarah Boyack caused a storm when she claimed the latest information was that Scottish Natural Heritage would only carry out a "maintenance" cull this year.

Last month SNH revealed the regular annual cull would take place, but a more extensive cull would be necessary in future to protect important habitats

15th March 2007

'OAP THREATENED' AFTER COMPLAINT ABOUT HUNT DOGS

A Woman from Brasted Chart has been left terrified after receiving a threatening phone call she believes was from hunt supporters.

The 68-year-old, who was too frightened to be named, said she was verbally attacked after complaining about "frenzied, screaming hounds" bursting into her garden in pursuit of a fox. Shaken from the incident, she contacted Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill now owned by the National Trust, whose land the Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt was using.

Later that day she received the abusive phone call

13th March 2007

BADGER GROUPS HIT OUT AT NEW CULL BID

Farmers' plans to cull sick badgers to try to arrest spread of TB would be a "grotesque slaughter", animal campaigners have warned.And, they say, remarks made by Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw merely underline the fact that it would be impossible to organise.

Following Ministerial announcements made at the NFU conference a fortnight ago, South West farmers are expecting the Government to clear the way for localised culling of diseased badgers to start this summer.

They plan to target known infected setts, clear the animals out and leave them empty to attract badgers weakened by disease that will have been driven out of other social groups.

These animals will in turn be killed, so that TB can be eradicated from a specific area, according to farmers, within 18 months to two years.

But the Badger Trust says remarks made by Ben Bradshaw show that the Government still believes a cull of sick badgers is impossible

13th March 2007

Two-legged runner out foxes hunt

HORSEBACK huntsmen have a new target in their sights – runners!

The Vale of Lune Hunt in Wyre is now chasing a two-legged "victim" – 48-year-old cross-country runner Richard Davies. Brave Richard, a civil servant, is given a 10-minute head start before 50 huntsmen – and their army of bloodhounds – set off in pursuit

Amazingly, Richard ran more than seven miles across farmland near Peagrams Farm in Out Rawcliffe before he was hunted down by the pack. But instead of the fox's grizzly fate, the Kirkham man was met with friendly wagging tails

Please note: This hunt is a harrier pack and is also registered with the bloodhounds association, this means they used to hunt hares and not foxes, and are also already trained to hunt a human scent

12th March 2007

Hunt master apologises to upset villagers

Hunt hounds tore through a village causing havoc and terrorising ponies, according to residents. A letter was sent to the Warwickshire Hunt registering Milcombe Parish councils disapproval and disgust at the behaviour of hunt riders and hounds at a meet in the village last month.

Villages claimed the hounds were totally out of control, panicking ponies in Low Field which become entangled in fencing, fortunately not electrified at the time. They say the dogs then crossed over the wall into the churchyard and out on to the main road, causing an extremely hazardous situation for drivers and pedestrians

10th March 2007

HOLDERNESS HUNT LEADER QUITS

Professional huntsman Robert Howarth says he has been forced to quit his job and become a lorry driver after the introduction of the ban on hunting foxes.

The huntsman, who is a familiar figure in rural East Yorkshire, can no longer live with the frustration of not being able to do his job -- hunting foxes. Mr Howarth, 43, is retiring from the 250-year-old Holderness Hunt, based at kennels in Etton, near Beverley, after being its huntsman for 11 years

9th March 2007

‘Illegal snare’ gives Bubbles horror gash

CAT lovers were put on alert last night after a Felix lookalike was badly injured in an illegal snare.

Meiriona Hunt, owner of the four-year-old black and white cat, said she was horrified when she spotted a deep, two inch gash across Bubbles’ stomach

5th March 2007

Claim that hounds tore animal apart

ANTI-hunt activists have called for police action after clashes at an outing of the Old Berkshire Hunt at Uffington.

Members of the group Protect Our Wild Animals (Powa) monitoring an all-day meeting of the hunt on Saturday, February 24, claimed the hounds invaded a fenced nature reserve near the village and were filmed "tearing an animal apart".

The reserve, Uffington Gorse, is owned by the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, which said it might pursue the illegal invasion of its land.

The Powa supporters said the film was being forwarded to the police

5th March 2007

68% want hare coursing ban - survey

More than two-thirds of the Irish public would support a ban on hare coursing, according to a survey released today.

The opinion poll found 68 per cent in favour of a ban on the controversial sport, which sees wild hares trapped in a pen and pursued by muzzled greyhounds

Coursing enthusiasts complained the survey was commissioned by an anti-hunt group, but the League Against Cruel Sports said its research was carried out independently and polled nearly 1,000 people.

The lobby group said the Irish public clearly backed a ban on hare coursing, with 72 per cent also condemning it as cruel, although 12 per cent believed the sport was humane

4th March 2007

BADGER BAITING RING IS BUSTED

A FOXHUNTER has been accused of leading Scotland's biggest badger baiting ring after a series of raids.

Stephen Scott, 21, is to be charged with two othermen after police uncovered a makeshift vet's "surgery" in Hawick - packed with basic tools used to stitch up dogs injured by badgers.

Seventeen dogs seized from three houses in a series of dawn raids by police and cruelty experts needed emergency treatment for missing jaws and ears and gouges to their bodies

2nd March 2007

Vet who hit horse escapes censure

A vet who punched his horse in anger after losing a race to a group of teenagers has been cleared of disgraceful conduct.

Lodewijk De Smet repeatedly swore in front of horrified spectators before striking the defenceless animal, which made a nine-year-old girl cry, the Royal College of Veterinary surgeons heard.

The panel were also told that during the outburst he then yanked hard on the reins and galloped towards a crowd, forcing them to flee out of the way

Please note: The vet in question is a master of the Banwen Miners Hunt

2nd March 2007

Lambs slaughtered in dog attack

Killer dogs slaughtered five new-born lambs in an orgy of violence.

Landowner Clem Somerset, whose family has farmed the Castle Goring area, on the outskirts of Worthing, for generations, said it was the worst incident he had ever encountered.

Mr Somerset discovered the bloody corpses in a field to the east of Clapham Woods during a routine inspection of his livestock last night.

He said: "It was a horrible incident, the nastiest I have ever had. I have five dead so far, all lambs a maximum of two weeks old.

Note: Clem Somerset is a hunt Steward for the Crawley and Horsham Hunt

1st March 2007

Men fined for hunting rabbits with dogs

TWO Nelson men were arrested when they were found near a badger sett with three dogs, one with a blood-stained muzzle.
But Blackburn magistrates heard the men had been hunting rabbits, a fact accepted by the prosecution after items of clothing and equipment were sent for forensic examination.

Defence solicitor Granville Rueley said it should have been clear the men were not hunting badgers as two of the dogs they had with them were lurchers

1st March 2007

Rare breed birds panic as hunt hounds invade

NESTING birds at the Falconry Centre at Batsford scattered their eggs and were injured flying around cages in panic as hounds from the Heythrop Hunt tore through on Saturday.

Families with young children in pushchairs and toddlers screamed in terror as the pack of around 20 hounds bounded through the centre and neighbouring Arboretum Garden Centre.

Geoff Dalton, founder of the falconry centre, said staff were now anxiously monitoring birds and their eggs to see if the breeding programme for this year was ruined

1st March 2007

POLICE LAUNCH APPEAL AFTER HOUNDS ENTER GARDENS

Police in Sturminster Newton are appealing for witnesses and information into allegations that hounds chased a fox into the garden of a house and killed it. Officers are also following up complaints from residents that domestic rabbits and cats were attacked by the hounds after they entered gardens in Bath Road shortly after 4pm last Tuesday.

When police arrived they discovered the mutilated body of a fox in a garden.

The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt has confirmed members were hunting in the area that day, on the other side of the River Stour and that some hounds had crossed the river and were out of sight for several minute

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