25th May 2009

Gamekeeper at Balmoral on trial over badger traps

One of the Queen's gamekeepers at Balmoral is being prosecuted for wildlife offences after two badgers were killed by snares laid on the estate. Robbie Elliot is to appear at Stonehaven sheriff court next month. He has been accused under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of failing to properly check the snares, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of a £10,000 fine or 12 months in jail.

It is understood the badgers were found in May last year, trapped in snares in a forested area of the Highland estate near Birkhall, the Scottish summer holiday home of the Prince of Wales

22nd May 2009

Otis Ferry walks free thanks to puppy plea

The pro-hunting campaigner Otis Ferry walked free from court today after claiming that he had only got involved in a skirmish with hunt monitors because of the recent theft of his puppy by animal rights activists.

Ferry, 26, the son of the Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry, was given a one-year conditional discharge for causing “fear, stress and upset” to a woman who tried to film him riding with a hunt

11th May 2009

Animal cruelty brings big fines

A MORECAMBE man who illegally hunted a hare with dogs for pleasure has been ordered to pay nearly £3,000. Robert MacIntyre, of St Patrick's Walk in Heysham, pleaded guilty at Preston Magistrates' Court after he was spotted by a member of the public releasing two lurcher-type dogs to chase a hare on farmland on Bradshaw Lane, Eagland Hill, Preston on November 23 2008

MacIntyre, 22, was fined £350 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to forfeit all hunting-related materials in his possession. At the same hearing, a Lancaster man pleaded guilty to failing to meet the needs of a lurcher-type puppy

7th May 2009

Huntsman cautioned for chasing hare in first case of its kind under Hunting Act

Nigel Bell, 53, from the Wick and District Beagles, admitted the breach after he was filmed chasing the animal by anti-hunt monitors in February this year.

It is the first time anti-hunt campaigners have successfully brought a case against a hare hunt under the Act which was introduced in 2004, the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) claimed.

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed Bell was cautioned on April 29 at Thornbury police station in connection with the incident on land between Horton and Badminton, in South Gloucestershire

1st May 2009

Otis Ferry cleared of "witness nobbling"

GLOUCESTER Crown Court saw rock star Bryan Ferry's huntsman son, Otis Ferry, cleared of a "witness nobbling" charge that kept him jailed for four months.

Ferry, 26, of Eaton Mascott, Shropshire, faced two charges of perverting the course of justice after being accused of telling his former groom, David Hodgkiss, not to give evidence against him when he was due to stand trial at the court, on robbery and assault charges, last September.

He and fellow fox hunter John Deutsch, 55, of Chipping Campden, had been due to stand trial after being charged with robbing hunt monitor Helen Ghalmi of a camera and assaulting her during a Heythrop Hunt meeting, near Stow, in November 2007.

They also face alternative charges of affray

1st May 2009

Huntsman admits to illegal hare hunting

Nigel Bell from the Wick and District Beagles was interviewed by police yesterday where he admitted breaching the Hunting Act in February this year.a

Although a caution may seem like he has been let off, it is actually a very helpful step forward in our fight against illegal hunters. What this demonstrates is that the Hunting Act is clear and enforceable and, furthermore, hunters know this to be the case.  It is also apparent that the police are aware of what the law entails. 

This latest victory has been the result of the dedication and commitment of League monitors, and under caution it will be very difficult for Mr Bell to get off lightly on any further breaches of the Act.

In light of the fact that there currently exists more than 100 beagle packs, the incident involving Mr Bell will compel huntsmen next season to adhere to the law.