THE NATIONAL TRUST WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS

24th December 2006

Supporter hunts for apology over hound

The Isle of Wight hunt at it again. Trousdale was one of the people who left a dead cow in Brighton 2 years ago during the Labour Party Conference

23rd December 2006

WE'LL GET ASBOS AGAINST HUNTS

The war over hunting will be fought in the court room rather than the field next year as the biggest group against the sport will seek Asbos in a bid to stop the hunters.

Faced with police forces which set hunting as a low priority and the difficulties of getting conclusive evidence, the League Against Cruel Sports is expected to work with irate neighbours to slap Asbos on hunts which trespass, block roads and intimidate locals who complain about them

9th December 2006

Sandringham gamekeeper fined after injury to bird

3rd December 2006

Bloody nightmare

A stag was torn to pieces by dogs in front of horrified householders.

The attack took place in Bromham on Wednesday afternoon when five dogs got away from the pack, which was draghunting nearby

Shown right: The blood-stained garage door in Brett Drive after the attack by the hounds. They were the same Oakley Hunt dogs that fatally savaged a llama near Luton last month.

Pair charged over deer killings

Two men have been charged in connection with the killing of four deer in Aberdeenshire.

Grampian Police said the animals, three roe deer and a red deer, were found at the edge of a wood near Cushnie on Wednesday, 15 November.

They had been shot numerous times using a .22 rifle.

Two men from the Alford area, aged 18 and 22 years, have been charged with offences under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 and the Firearms Act 1968.

Police said a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal in Aberdeen

27th November 2006

Lake District deer poaching fears

Police and wildlife groups have joined forces to tackle a rise in deer poaching in Cumbria.

It is thought the increase is being driven by demand for Christmas venison.

The North West British Deer Campaign Group claims the situation is putting the Lake District's deer population under increased pressure.

A group spokesman said despite poachers facing fines of up to £5,000 if they are caught and prosecuted, stag carcases are being sold for £150 each

Appeal For Witnesses To Fox Attack

Police in the Cotswolds are asking drivers who may have witnessed a fox being attacked by hunting hounds near Stow on the Wold to get in touch.

Reports received by police from members of the public indicate the animal was attacked by a group of hounds on the A429 between Moreton and Stow at around mid-day on Wednesday November 1.

Traffic in both directions is believed to have been halted as a result of the incident, which apparently came to an end when the fox ran away from the scene.

Anyone who witnessed this incident is asked to contact Cotswolds police on 0845 090 1234 quoting incident number 448 of November 1

24th November 2006

Royal gamekeeper fined over trap

One of the Queen's gamekeepers has been fined £500 for setting a rat trap that snared a tawny owl by mistake.

Dean Wright, who works on the Sandringham Estate, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, admitted committing the offence at Shernborne in December 2005.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - whose patron is the Queen - said it was "disappointing" the offence had been committed on a royal estate

23rd November 2006

Huntsman dies in the field

Huntsman Chris Bennett from Savernake near Marlborough has died following a fall while riding with the Vale of the White Horse Hunt in Gloucestershire.

Mr Bennett, 62, loved extreme sports including sky-diving and point to point racing

20th November 2006

Henry, Master of Fox Hounds in the West Country: 'We're killing as many foxes as ever'

During the autumn, we pretend we're on hound exercise; now the season's begun properly, we say it's drag hunting. But that's total rubbish. It's business as usual. We are killing almost as many foxes as ever.

I would say we are now bagging 25 brace in a season, all of them illegally. Someone always carries a duster and some oil in their pocket, so we say we're drag hunting but I haven't actually laid a trail for more than a year.

20th November 2006

Tally-ho! Hunt followers ride roughshod over failing law

The fox barely stood a chance. First, he was chased to ground by a pack of hounds; then a terrier was sent to flush him into the open. Finally, men with guns and shovels arrived, to administer the coup de grâce with a pump-action 12-bore.

This is rural Britain, 18 months after the Government passed legislation which was supposed to ban hunting with dogs. Like the fox's bloodied carcass, torn to pieces by waiting hounds, that law is a sorry mess.

Last week, The Independent was invited to follow a typical hunt in a remote corner of Wales. It killed nine foxes, almost all by illegal methods; the previous week's bag had been 13

18th November 2006

HUNTING SUPPORTERS HAVE SIGHTS ON ME

Police were last night investigating claims that a Somerset woman has been targeted by pro-hunt supporters because she is keeping tabs on local hunts.

Anne Heritage's car was damaged and allegedly had the brakes tampered with while it was parked on the Quantocks in what she and an anti-hunt organisation said was a deliberate attempt to intimidate her. When she returned home with the damaged car, Ms Heritage said someone had got into her porch and "sprayed chemicals" on the walls.

Last night detectives were investigating and forensic officers had examined the car

15th November 2006

HUNT FACING PROBE OVER FOX ATTACK

A top Cotswold hunt is being investigated by police after motorists claimed they were forced to stop on a main road as hounds attacked a fox in front of them.Leaders of the Heythrop Hunt, a favourite of Tory leader David Cameron, are to be quizzed by police following the alleged incident earlier this month on the A429 in Gloucestershire.

One woman driver told police she was flagged down by mounted huntsmen and then saw a fox being attacked by a group of hounds on the road just feet from her car.

Yesterday, Gloucestershire police issued an appeal for other witnesses to come forward - which anti-hunt campaigners hailed as being a sign detectives were taking the allegations seriously

15th November 2006

Hero huntsmen tell of riding accident in Cotswolds

A COTSWOLD huntsman was left fighting for his life following a freak riding accident at the weekend.

But fellow riders have applauded two quick-thinking members of the hunt who stayed calm in the crisis and used their army training to adminster emergency first aid.

Chris Bennett, from Wiltshire, is recovering in intensive care at Great Western Hospital in Swindon

14th November 2006

Three arrested under hunting act

Three hunters are the first to be arrested in Northamptonshire under the 2004 Hunting Act.

The three, aged 17, 23 and 35, were arrested after police received reports of people hunting with dogs in a field between Horton and Brayfield on Sunday

13th November 2006

4X4's SNAPPED AT GOWER BEAUTY SPOT

Two 4x4s have been snapped making a mess of one of Gower's beauty spots.The two off-roaders were driving apparently illegally on land at Cefn Bryn.

They were there at the same time as Banwen Miners' Hunt, pictured in the foreground.

Hunt bosses have said they were nothing to do with them.

Conservation groups have roundly condemned the drivers' antics

11th November 2006

Vixen killers are guilty

THE RSPCA claimed another victory in its first ever fox hunting court case when a third defendant pleaded guilty.

In the first prosecution of its kind under the Hunting Act 2004, Mark Walsh, 18, of Netherton, and Terence Williams, 15, of Maghull, pleaded guilty on October 16 to hunting on foot with dogs in Great Barrow.

Now Paul Kelly, 21, of Norris Green, Liverpool has been sentenced for his part in the illegal hunt

10th November 2006

Hunters' anger over huge police presence

FOLLOWERS of the Cheshire hunt are furious after a police helicopter was sent to observe their activities even though they were acting within the law.

Police dispatched a squad car and diverted a chopper to the scene after a member of the public reported fox hunting with hounds taking place at Aldford in contravention of the Hunting Act

8th November 2006

My sick horse upset by hunt

DEBBIE Coffey says the Vale of White Horse Hunt terrorised her sick horse and ignored her pleas to keep the hounds away.

The mum-of-two, of Green Hill, near Lydiard Millicent, claims her 11-year-old cobb Dolly was traumatised when the hunt's hounds entered her field.

The 40-year-old said: "We understand living in a village that there will be hunting but this was not on.

"The VWH hunt has no respect for local animal owners. They were galloping up and down outside my stables even though we had said Dolly was ill

2nd November 2006

FOOTAGE THAT SHOWS LAW ON HUNTING WITH HOUNDS IS IN DISARRAY

This video shows the law against hunting with dogs is in disarray - more than a year after a ban came into force.

Watch video

2nd November 2006

Hunt horror on Hallowe'en

SHOCKED parents watched in horror as hunt dogs, one dripping with blood, rampaged through Hester-combe Gardens near Taunton during a children's Hallowe'en event on Tuesday.

The dogs stormed through the gardens shortly after a terrified fox dashed through, just as children - all in fancy dress - were taking part in a Hallowe'en trail.

One Taunton mother, who was with her one-year-old and four-year-old children, told the County Gazette: "We were walking towards the witches house when this fox ran across the path about 20 yards behind us

27th October 2006

Hare Hunters Could Face Jail

Dyfed Powys Police, farmers and the National Park are combining resources in an attempt to halt a recent spate of illegal hare hunting in north Pembrokeshire.

For about a month individuals with dogs, lamps and firearms have been trespassing on privately owned farmland near Newport and Moylegrove after dark.

It is believed they are primarily in pursuit of hares, which although are not a protected species are very rare in Pembrokeshire

CHARGE NO.3 IN HUNT PROBE

Police have charged a third huntsman with breaking the ban on hunting with dogs, on the eve of a showdown meeting between police and the hunting community on Exmoor. Hundreds of hunt supporters are expected to pack into Exford Memorial Hall this morning to discuss policing priorities in the wake of the arrest of Devon and Somerset Staghounds hunt master Maurice Scott, and his second whipper- in Peter Heard.

But tensions are certain to have been raised after police revealed yesterday they had charged a third man in relation to the same incident, which occurred in late April while the hunt was out on Exmoor.

Donald Summersgill, the DSSH's huntsman, will face two charges alongside Scott and Heard. He will join them in the dock at Taunton Magistrates' Court next week, police said.

Taken from the western press

26th October 2006

Stately home owner jailed

Please note this man has hosted a number of North Norfolk Harriers hunt meets over the years

A Norfolk stately home owner was put behind bars for four months today for a string of offences relating to endangered birds of prey and birds eggs.

Michael Barclay, 68, of Hanworth Hall, near Cromer, was found guilty by a jury at Norwich Crown Court of eight charges of illegally purchasing prohibited specimens of birds between June 1997 and May 2004 from John Metcalf, a former museum worker.

Metcalf, 66, of Billesden, Leicestershire, was found guilty of eight counts of selling prohibited species between the same dates and was given a two-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months

23rd October 2006

Farmer sentenced for hunt attack

A man who attacked a hunt monitor who was filming a hunt has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Livestock farmer Christopher Marles, 45, was convicted of actual bodily harm at Exeter Crown Court.

He punched Kevin Hill from Dorset, a monitor with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, at a Devon & Somerset Staghounds hunt on Exmoor.

Marles, of Farringdon, was ordered to pay £2,500 compensation and jailed for nine months, suspended for two years

22nd October 2006

'Harmless' hunt kills farmer's llamas

Hunting hounds savaged a flock of alpacas, resulting in the death of one of the animals.

Dogs belonging to the Oakley Hunt were drag-hunting when they got in to a field attached to Horsehill Farm, near Harlington.

Farmers James and Elizabeth Smith keep 26 alpacas, llama-like herbivorous animals from South America prized for their wool

21st October 2006

ROCK STAR'S SON OTIS CALLS FOR A DELAY TO HIS DRINK-DRIVE HEARING

Otis Ferry has had his sentencing for drink-driving put back so he can be judged by familiar faces.The son of rock star Bryan Ferry, famed for storming the House of Commons in a pro-hunt protest, was due to be sentenced at Gloucester Magistrates' Court after he pleaded guilty to driving a Volkswagen Golf while over the limit in Somerford Road, Cirencester.

But Ferry, 23, of Shrewsbury, wanted the hearing delayed until at least two of the three magistrates who heard the first part of the case in August are available

20th October 2006

Youths caught hunting with dogs

Teenagers hunting with dogs were filmed from the Cheshire Constabulary plane. The film was used in evidence against two Liverpool youths who appeared in court for the RSPCA's first prosecution in the country under the new Hunting Act

19th October 2006

Two in court on hunting charges

Two men have appeared in court charged with illegally hunting with dogs.

Maurice Scott, 63, Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, and Peter Heard, 23, a hunt servant, are both accused of breaching the Hunting Act.

Mr Scott is charged with two counts of hunting a wild mammal with dogs and Mr Heard is charged with one count of hunting a wild mammal with dogs

18th October 2006

UK wildlife crime centre launched

A new unit to tackle wildlife crime across the UK has been launched.

The unit, based in North Berwick, will tackle the illegal trade in endangered species and will try to prevent the persecution of rare birds and animals.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which was inaugurated in Edinburgh, is being led by the police but will link up with customs officers and wildlife experts

Hunt Supporter Convicted of Assaulting Anti hunt Campaigner

Frazor Sibley a hunt supporter of Bignor Park Road Nursery, Bignor Park Road, Bignor, West Sussex was found guilty at Chichester Magistrates Court of assaulting an anti hunt protester during a meet of the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt on 17th February 05

Sibley was given a two year Conditional Discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs.  On Aug 25, 06,  Lewes Crown Court fined hunt supporter Wayne Spencer £400 with £700 costs for an assault during the same incident

Footage shown to the court that was taken by a cameraman for ITN news, showed Sibley punching  the anti hunt protester six times in the back of the head.  Sibley argued he was defending a hunt rider, when in fact the hunt rider was deliberately riding into the protester to stop him videoing an attack by Wayne Spencer

View a video of the incident here (6Mb)

16th October 2006

Two charged with breach of the Hunting Act

Avon and Somerset police today (October 16 2006) charged two men with offences under the Hunting Act.

Maurice Ray Scott, 63, of Watchet, Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, was charged with two counts of hunting a wild mammal with dogs

14th October 2006

Hunt crisis blamed on in-fighting

A "clash of personalities" and internal arguments are being blamed for a membership crisis that could bring about the end of a 150-year-old hunt.

The committee and remaining members of the Carmarthenshire Hunt will meet on Friday night to discuss its future.

It says membership has fallen to single figures with some people leaving to join other rides

13th October 2006

SCOTLAND HUNT BAN CHALLENGE

A Huntsman started an unusual legal challenge yesterday that the hunt ban in Scotland damaged his human rights.

Retired Navy pilot Brian Friend handed in 139 legal documents to the House of Lords claiming the Scottish Wild Mammals Act, which outlawed hunting with dogs in Scotland two years before England followed suit, had breached his human and civil rights.

7th October 2006

HUNT MONITORS FEAR ATTACKS

The Countryside Alliance was accused of irresponsibly raising the stakes in the hostile relations between hunt followers and anti-hunt monitors yesterday, after publishing advice to its members. In a handbook entitled Hunting Without Harassment, launched to coincide with the start of the new hunting season, alliance chiefs tell hunts and supporters they should physically escort hunt monitors and saboteurs off private land and, if necessary, make a citizen's arrest

Download a copy of Hunting Without Harassment here

5th October 2006

Shoot leader fined after assault

A pub landlord and country sports enthusiast has been fined after being convicted of threatening a cameraman at one of the UK leading partridge shoots.

Richard Clarke, 48, fired a volley of abuse at Michael Huskisson who was filming the event at Six Mile Bottom, on the Cambs/Suffolk border

4th October 2006

Cameron Warned to Steer Clear of Hunting

David Cameron is under pressure to drop his pledge to scrap the hunting ban - as advisers warn that a future Tory Government could not risk getting "bogged down" on an issue that bedevilled Labour for years, writes Jason Groves.

During his campaign to become party leader last year Mr Cameron gave a clear commitment to provide Government time to allow MPs to repeal the controversial Hunting Act.

Although the issue was technically placed under review earlier this year as part of a wide-ranging rethink of Tory Party policy, most observers expected it to emerge unscathed

28th September 2006

Hunt's vow as pack kills pet

Hunt leaders have vowed to stop exercising their hounds in Peak villages after a family's cat was savaged and killed by their pack of dogs.

Members of the High Peak Hunt had been riding through Sheldon near Bakewell when the pack of around 40 hounds attacked the animal after spotting it by the side of the road.

Bob Graham, joint master of the hunt, said some of the younger hounds ran to the cat before the other dogs followed - eventually killing the pet - during the early morning ride through the village

26th September 2006

Huntsman guilty of monitor attack

A Devon huntsman has been found guilty of attacking a campaigner who was filming a hunting event.

Christopher Marles, 44, of Farringdon, near Exeter, repeatedly punched Kevin Hill, a hunt monitor with the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

He denied assault at a Devon and Somerset Staghounds hunt last October

23rd September 2006

Queen's gamekeeper for trial over bird trap

One of the Queen's gamekeepers is to stand trial on charges of setting an illegal trap to catch birds of prey on the Sandringham estate.

Dean Wright, 26, appeared before magistrates yesterday to deny three wildlife cruelty charges while working on the Queen's estate in Norfolk.

He spoke only to confirm his name, age and address, at Keeper's Cottage, in Amner, on the Sandringham estate

21st September 2006

I'M THE ONE BEING HUNTED...

Shocked hunt opponent Helen Weeks told yesterday how a group of masked men threw a firework at her car as she monitored a hunt in a quiet Somerset lane. She fears that the incident, which she captured on film, is the beginning of a new phase in the long and bitter contest between those in favour and against the sport.

It comes only weeks after Simon Hart, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, criticised monitors for harassing hunts and called for an immediate review of hunting's "gentlemanly" attitude towards them

15th September 2006

Sorry old boy, but I must beg to bicker

INTERNAL bickering at an 150-year-old Welsh hunt has led to it holding crisis talks tonight.

Carmarthenshire Hunt has seen membership plummet, with its acting chair Bill Wade this week telling reporters it could fold.

Ironically it is internal bickering rather than the Government's hunting ban which is to blame for the hunt's current predicament

15th September 2006

Horror at brutal killing of goat

A SCARBOROUGH woman is devastated after her pet goat was brutally killed by a dog.
Rachel Phillips, of Newby, owned the elderly white goat which was killed on Saturday morning.

The animal was found with a large deep slit through its throat and there was blood and white hair all over the yard in Seamer Road where it was kept.

The RSPCA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are investigating the death and are convinced a dog was responsible due to the type of wounds left on the goat

7th September 2006

LEAGUE TO SUE STAGHOUNDS

Campaigners against bloodsports have launched a second private prosecution over alleged breaking of the hunt ban.

The summons has been issued against huntsman Richard Downs and whipper-in Adrian Pullivant of the Quantock Staghounds.

Hunt chairman Nick Gibbons said last night it had come as a "bit of a shock".

5th September 2006

Anger as ex-officer breaks hunting ban

Animal rights activists have hit out at a retired detective inspector who admitted deliberately breaking the hunting ban.

The Journal revealed yesterday that George Morrison, a former Northumbria Police detective inspector, had twice confessed to former colleagues in a bid to highlight flaws in the law

Hunt supporter assaulted saboteur

A hunt supporter has been convicted of attacking a saboteur in clashes on the last day before hunting with dogs was banned in February last year.

Farmer Wayne Spencer, 39, of Oakhurst Lane, Billingshurst, West Sussex was found guilty of assaulting Simon Clear but cleared of actual bodily harm.

The incident happened after the final meet of Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt at Petworth Park. A judge fined Spencer £400 with £700 costs at Lewes Crown Court on Friday. He was also cleared of unlawfully wounding another protester, Carol Tibbetts

View a video of the incident here (6Mb) Read more about Spencer and the day in question here

27th August 2006

Video shows 'barbaric' hunting of deer with whip, say campaigners

Police are to investigate video footage allegedly showing "barbaric" and "inhumane" treatment of a stag by huntsmen on National Trust land.

The incident, captured on camera by animal rights campaigners, shows the creature being chased for more than two hours by dogs and a rider, who is seen cracking his whip at the animal which is clearly frightened and exhausted.

The League Against Cruel Sports alleges the Devon and Somerset Staghounds acted illegally in chasing the stag, which was eventually shot, over a long distance at Dunkery Beacon in Somerset on 14 August. It also says these "barbaric" actions show the hunt is not fit to dispatch stags and was contravening National Trust guidelines. These allow a hunt on to Trust land only to dispatch stags which are sick or injured, and state categorically that animals must not be chased

23rd August 2006

'Hush money' offer after staghounds kill terrier

A dog owner has criticised a stag hunt for trying to buy her silence after her terrier was ripped apart by two of its hounds outside her home.

Catherine Hodgson, a magistrate who is chairman of the North Devon bench, tried to beat the hounds and used her body as a human shield in a vain attempt to protect her pet, Pippa.

But the 14-year-old Jack Russell border cross was left "horribly wounded" and had to be put down, she said.

12th August 2006

Otis Ferry pleads guilty at drink driving trial

The pro-hunting campaigner Otis Ferry has admitted drink driving in a change of plea during a magistrates court trial.

The 23-year-old son of the rock star Bryan Ferry had 55mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood when stopped by police in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in October last year.

5th August 2006

POLICE FORCE IGNORED ADVICE OF CPS

Avon and Somerset Police ignored the advice of legal experts when Tony Wright's breach of the hunting ban first came to light, it has emerged.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had advised Avon and Somerset Police of specific evidence it would require if a prosecution was to go ahead.

The CPS also told the force that evidence needed to be submitted within six months

4th August 2006

Man found guilty of illegal fox hunting

The first huntsman to be prosecuted for breaking the ban on hunting with dogs was today found guilty and fined £500. Exmoor Foxhounds huntsman Tony Wright was convicted of illegally hunting foxes on Exmoor, Devon, following a week-long hearing at Barnstaple magistrates court.

District Judge Paul Palmer fined him £500 and ordered him to pay £250 costs after a week-long hearing.

Wright, a 52-year-old of Exmoor Kennels, Simonsbath, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of hunting a fox on April 29 last year contrary to the Hunting Act 2004. The maximum penalty for convictions under the legislation is a £5,000 fine

4th August 2006

Police put a stop to illegal hare coursing
(Maybe they will put in as much effort to clamp down on illegally hunting now)

HARE coursing illegally in the rural areas surrounding Peterborough has been almost wiped out.

From a peak of more than 1,200 incidents during the 2003-2004 season, the crime had been slashed to just a handful of cases by the end of the 2005-2006 season.

And with the new season just weeks away, Cambridgeshire police say they are confident that the problem has been flushed out from farmland and countryside close to the city

4th August 2006

Kennel huntsman banned for drink-driving

THE KENNEL huntsman for the Cumberland Foxhounds has been banned from driving for 16 months after being convicted of driving while more than twice the legal alcohol limit.

Thomas Hudson, 50, of Croft Court, Wigton, was stopped by police at 4pm on July 25 because one of the rear lights on his car was broken.

He was breath tested after the officer smelt alcohol and was found to have 89 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35

4th August 2006

A Devon huntsman has been found guilty of breaking the hunting ban by signalling foxhounds to pursue foxes. Tony Wright (below), 52, denied breaching the Hunting Act when he led the Exmoor Foxhounds on 29 April last year. But he was found guilty at Barnstaple Magistrates' Court in a case brought by the League Against Cruel Sports.

He was the first huntsman to be summoned to court for defying the law which came into force last year in England and Wales.

1st August 2006

Campaigners accuse huntsman of chasing foxes in breach of law

The first case to test the government's controversial ban on hunting began yesterday when a professional huntsman went on trial accused of letting his hounds chase and allegedly kill a fox following a pursuit across open moorland.

The prosecution of Tony Wright, which is being heard amid tight security by a district judge at Barnstaple in north Devon, is being watched closely by pro-hunt supporters and animal rights groups. If it succeeds other cases may follow and hunts may have to re-examine their practices.

Since the ban on hunting with dogs in England and Wales came into force last year, hunts have continued, and in some cases become even more popular, often using exemptions which are specified in the legislation

24th July 2006

New 'pirate' hunt not what we need, say hunt groups

The first wholly new mounted hunt to be established for a quarter of a century has been set up by a nephew of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.

Roddy Fleming, a financier, is undeterred by the ban on the sport imposed by the Hunting Act that came into force in February last year and is building his own kennels in Oxfordshire.

The Private Pack, as the hunt is to be called, will hunt both foxes and hares - or more accurately trails laid to simulate the hunting of foxes and hares as the Act now requires.

Its livery will be Royal Blue and it will have no subscribing members - membership will be by invitation only

16th July 2006

Killing field of the dog racing industry

Another day, another death: this man slaughters greyhounds on an industrial scale

DAVID SMITH met the owners of the two greyhounds at his garden gate and pocketed £10 from each as he took hold of the makeshift leads.

With his chained-up rottweilers looking on, the bearded and bespectacled Smith led the lithe racing dogs ‹ one a fawn- coloured brindle and the other black with white markings ‹ across his plot and into a breeze-block shed.

The animals appeared sprightly and alert as if they hoped they might soon be allowed off the lead for a run. But seconds later two sharp reports rang out. They had been killed

13th July 2006

Fine for buzzards' death

A WOMAN farmer from Wramplingham whose gamekeeper used a rat poison that killed two birds of prey was fined on Tuesday - securing the first-ever prosecution for "secondary poisoning".

Magistrates expressed concern that the poison, Difenacoum, was freely available to the public at garden centres without guidance on how to use it safely.

Central Norfolk magistrates at Swaffham heard that the build-up of poison in the two dead buzzards - found last year in woodland on a farm at Carbrooke, near Watton - was among the highest recorded in a bird of prey in England

Rosalyn Vincent (pictured) is the wife of Stephen Vincent, the Chairman of the Dunston Harriers Hunt

Deer fights back

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpKG6kKL0aw&search=animal%20fight

3rd July 2006

T-shirt boss slams police

A clothing company boss fined £80 for displaying an "offensive" anti-Tony Blair slogan at the Royal Norfolk Show last night accused police of overreacting.

Toby Rhodes, director of Splash Clothing, said the firm had sold the garments at dozens of countryside events across the country and it was the first time they had received such a punishment

23rd June 2006

Court rejects latest hunting ban challenge

The court of appeal has today rejected yet another challenge to the fox hunting ban, which claimed it breaches human rights and European law.

It was the latest of several attempts to overturn the Hunting Act 2004, which prohibits hunting a wild mammal with a dog, since it came into force in February last year.

The Countryside Alliance and other pro-hunting groups had argued that the ban infringed several of their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and also their right to freedom of movement under the European Community treaty.

18th June 2006

Crawley and Horsham hunt supporter pleads guilty to driving without due care and attention, having no insurance and failing to report an accident

Raising the profile of Wildlife Crime

In August this year, Naturewatch sent a survey to Police Wildlife Crime Officers in the 51 geographical police forces of Great Britain. Over the following two months, they received returns from 47 forces (a response rate over 90%). The survey reveals major concerns and strong feelings among police officers on key issues such as the illegal destruction of habitat, whether severe wildlife crime should be notifible, and the role of the Home Office.

For the full Naturewatch Wildlife Crime Report and ask your MP to sign the Early Day Motion on Wildlife Crime 1990 click here

1st June 2006

Hunting ban will not be lifted

NATIONAL Trust bosses have moved swiftly to scotch claims that exempt stag hunting could be allowed on the Holnicote Estate.

Trust managers held emergency meetings yesterday (Wednesday) after reports suggested a partial lifting of the ban it imposed six years ago was being seriously' considered by the trust

1st June 2006

Hunting law 'full of loopholes'

The SSPCA has described the law banning hunting with dogs as full of loopholes and difficult to implement.

The claim followed a decision on Tuesday to drop a case against Trevor Adams from the Duke of Buccleuch foxhounds.

Mr Adams had earlier been acquitted in another case under the protection of wild mammals bill.

Mike Flynn from the SSPCA said although he supported the law, it was proving difficult to prosecute

1st June 2006

Hunting with dogs charge dropped

A second attempt to prosecute a Borders huntsman on a charge of hunting with dogs has been dropped.

Trevor Adams, 47, was acquitted in the first Scottish trial of its kind in 2004 but charged again a year later

24th May 2006

Farmer admits threatening monitor

A farmer has admitted threatening a hunt monitor during an angry confrontation at a meet in Devon.

John Poole, 66, was bound over by Exeter magistrates after the incident at the Eggesford Hunt

22nd May 2006

First deer hunting law conviction

A Borders teenager is the first person in Scotland to be convicted of hunting deer under the 2002 anti-hunting laws.

Andrew Barron, 17, of Fraser Avenue, Hawick, was found guilty of deliberately hunting the deer with a dog near his home town last year

Take a look at this hilarious video

http://www.animalaid.org.uk/pheasants/huntgen.htm

15th May 2006

Hunt master fined for spitting blood at policeman

A hunt master who spat in the face of policeman and hit two hunt protesters with a whip has been spared jail, after his barrister argued that he "is precisely not the type of person that should go to prison."

Douglas Hill, 63, a farmer from Essex, was instead sentenced to 220 hours of community work and ordered to pay a £250 fine.

Hill, who is joint master of the Essex Farmers' and Union Hunt, was convicted of assault, criminal damage and harassment in March

12th May 2006

Outrage as badger nailed to tree

Wildlife campaigners have condemned an attack on a badger that was found nailed to a tree.

It is thought the young female was set upon by dogs before being hung up by her paws in a woodland near Doncaster.

A spokesman for the South Yorkshire Badger Group, who made the grim discovery, said attacks on the animals were increasing in the area.

7th May 2006

NATIONAL TRUST IN HUNTING ROW

A Bitter clash is looming as the National Trust revealed it may once again allow stag- hunting on its land.

Chiefs at the conservation charity say they may approve a partial lifting of the ban it brought in six years ago after huge internal turmoil. They argue it would only be a minor change - huntsmen would be allowed on to their land to deal swiftly with "sick and injured" deer.

HUNTER'S ATTACK

A 22-year-old has been fined £80 for attacking a property on an estate owned by the League Against Cruel Sports in Somerset.

Robert Chiplin, of West Bagborough, who has long-standing involvement with hunting, received the fixed penalty notice for criminal damage at the LACS sanctuary near Dulverton on Exmoor, on Saturday morning. He was also charged with failing to provide a blood specimen following an unrelated allegation of drink driving

22nd April 2006

HUNTS 'WILL NEVER GET COMPENSATION'

The determination of Westcountry hunts to continue in the wake of the controversial Hunting Act means they will never qualify for government compensation, Farming Minister Lord Bach has warned.

Lord Bach said that "dire" predictions about the likely impact of the ban on the rural economy had failed to materialise since it came into force, with virtually all hunts continuing to operate in one form or another

19th April 2006

Snare campaigner's anger

A badger was trapped in a snare for up to 24 hours at a narrow strip of woods in a Weardale forest.

The snare was anchored to a loose branch at woodland near Intake Lane, Frosterley, and the animal was found entangled in undergrowth with its stomach and hind legs caught.

It was found by anti-snare campaigner John Gill, from Castleside, Consett, on Easter Friday evening and freed with the help of the RSPCA

18th April 2006

HUNT FOLLOWERS CAUSE COUNTRY LANE CHAOS

Whatever your views on hunting, there is no disputing the problems caused by over-excited hunt followers, who often drive dangerously fast along country lanes and seem to feel free to obstruct the roads at will.

Tiverton Staghounds joint master John Lucas should be commended for having the honesty to admit there is a problem, and to say hunt followers "need to use their common sense as it seems to be lost in the hunt".

11th April 2006

Hunt master convicted of assaults

A 63-year-old hunt master has been warned he could go to prison after being convicted of assaulting a policeman and two anti-hunt protesters.

Farmer Douglas Hill, of West Hanningfield, Essex, was also convicted of damaging property and harassment at a hunt meeting in March 2005.

31st March 2006

Farmer attacked groom in his tack room

A prominent Dorset farmer pulled the hair of a woman groom during a row in his tack room after she resigned from her job, a court heard.

Richard Fry, 55, a senior member of the Cattistock Hunt, was fined £1,100 after magistrates found him guilty of common assault on Melanie Rich, 43. Fry, who provided a character reference from the High Sheriff of Dorset, Charlotte Townshend, was also ordered to pay court costs of £946 and compensation of £500 to Mrs Rich

29th March 2006

Hunt supporter fined for protest

A HUNT supporter was fined yesterday for his part in a violent protest outside a Labour Party dinner.

Glazier Simon Evans was one of 250 protesting against the Government's hunting ban outside Cardiff's Holland House Hotel.

The 40-year-old was one of three men arrested at the protest in which two officers were knocked to the ground and injured

27th March 2006

Woods row huntsmen get Asbo warning

Three huntsmen have been issued with a warning notice under anti-social behaviour legislation following a complaint that hounds had trespassed on private land.

The notice, believed to be the first of its kind against huntsmen, prevents the leaders of the Cotswold Hunt from taking hounds through 30 acres of private woodland on the edge of Elcombe, near Stroud, Glos

20th March 2006

POLICE PROBE HUNT THREATS ALLEGATIONS

Police are investigating allegations by two hunt monitors that they were held against their will and feared for their safety while observing a Devon meet. A 55-year-old woman from St Thomas, Exeter, and her 22-year-old daughter, neither of whom wanted to be named, claim they were blocked inside their car in a country lane by followers of the Silverton Hunt

17th March 2006

Hunt master 'spat blood and smeared it on Pc's uniform'

A master of hounds spat blood at a police officer and hit two hunt protesters with his riding crop, a court was told yesterday.

Douglas Hill, 63, who is the joint master of the Essex Farmers and Union Hunt, was involved in a clash with members of the North East London Saboteurs, at Maldon, Essex, last March, a month after the ban on hunting with dogs was introduced

11th March 2006

Dogs used to illegally hunt deer and hares in Lothians

PACKS of dogs are being used to illegally hunt wild deer and hares in growing numbers in the Lothians, police warned today.

The cruel sport has resulted in animal carcasses found ripped apart in at least eight incidents during recent months

7th March 2006

Villagers furious after 'invasion' by huntsmen

Furious families in a seaside village said last night claimed huntsmen broke rules to cross National Trust land.

Villagers said up to 10 members of the Percy Hunt gathered in Newton-by-the-Sea, near Embleton, Northumberland, last week, and stayed there all day although they were not licensed to be there

1st March 2006

WEST HUNT LET OFF THE HOOK

It was the closest a hunt has come yet to ending up in a dock, but a decision to drop a case against a West hunt has raised doubts about the likelihood of any being taken to court. Claims that the Cattistock Hunt in Dorset breached the hunt ban on two separate days were sent by police to the Crown Prosecution Service, the first time in England a possible prosecution had got that far.

But yesterday, the CPS revealed it was dropping the cases because prosecutors were not convinced a conviction was likely.

17th February 2006

Pet llama dies after hounds scare

A pet llama from south Devon has died after being frightened by hounds from the local hunt. The animal was in a field in the village of Aveton Gifford when the incident happened.

A vet was called after hounds from the Modbury Harriers frightened the llama which died later of a heart attack

15th February 2006

Fox 'suffered horribly' in snare

Animal protection officers have launched an investigation after a fox was found snared in Northumberland.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSCPA) reacted with anger after the animal was discovered caught by its neck near Cramlington

12th February 2006

Hunts admit they are flouting ban
Packs of dogs still catching foxes

DOZENS of illegal foxhunts are taking place each week in defiance of the government¹s ban on hunting with dogs, hunt supporters have admitted.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the Hunting Act, The Sunday Times was last week allowed to accompany a hunt that used a full pack of 18 dogs to chase down four foxes, which were then killed

11th February 2006

HUNTS FACING PROSECUTION

Two West hunts could face prosecution under the Hunting With Dogs Act, with another three still being investigated, the Western Daily Press can reveal

9th February 2006

Hunt kept to law, say police

Police say they found no evidence of illegal activity following a report by Corsham residents that the Avon Vale Hunt had cornered a fox in a field.

David Bowen-Jones and his neighbour called out the police at around 1pm on Tuesday, claiming the hunt surrounded a fox and sent the hounds in after it. He said hounds also entered their gardens

9th February 2006

Driver sees fox ripped apart by hounds

POLICE and the RSPCA are investigating the second complaint in 10 days about foxes being attacked by hunting hounds in separate incidents in the North Yorkshire countryside

8th February 2006

'Slap Asbos on hunts'

FED-UP Elcombe residents are calling for ASBOs to be issued against members of the Cotswold Hunt because they say its hounds continually cause havoc on their land.

In October, 10 angry householders wrote to the hunt asking it to keep hounds off their property.

But on Thursday residents say they saw hounds on their land again

3rd February 2006

Police probe after claim of hunting clash

A police investigation was under way today after an alleged clash between hunt members and anti-hunt activists in the Shropshire countryside during filming with video cameras.

Hunt Watch claimed its "monitors" were abused by the South Shropshire Hunt while filming them in Frodesley, near Dorrington

30th January 2006

Police check claims fox was killed by pack of hounds

A POLICE investigation has been launched following reports that a fox was killed by a pack of hounds in North Yorkshire.

Witnesses contacted police after spotting the fox being surrounded by the dogs at Winton Bank close to the A684 near Northallerton on Saturday shortly before 3pm. A motorist also contacted police after she had run over a fox in her car and told officers she saw the animal being set upon by hounds

28th January 2006

Dogs and car seized from hare coursers

TWO illegal hare coursers who led the police on a cross-county chase have had their dogs and vehicle confiscated.

Four men were charged with poaching after police were called to reports of hare coursing at Hale Fen, Littleport. The men fled the scene in a white Nissan Patrol 4x4 vehicle and were tracked by helicopter.

Two men were arrested on the B1160 between Southery and Wereham in Norfolk. A further two were arrested nearby with the assistance of Norfolk Constabulary and British Transport Police officers

26th January 2006

Hunters try to kill fox

MEMBERS of Essex Hunt have been condemned for allegedly trying to kill a cornered fox in Good Easter.

Monitors from East Anglia Hunt Watch reported the illegal activity during a 25-strong hunt on Saturday on the land of farmer Richard Matthews.

The joint master of Essex Hunt denied on Tuesday that the meet had deviated from legal trail hunting - where artificial scent is laid and followed.

25th January 2006

Fears about badger baiting rise

The number of badger baiting incidents in south east Wales doubled in the last year, according to a wildlife group.

The Gwent Badger Group said that figures from 2005 showed that more than 20 incidents were reported to them compared with fewer than 10 in 2004.

25th January 2006

Hunt escapes charges

Waveney Harriers have escaped charges after prosecutors decided a video shot by anti-hunt protesters did not show huntsmen breaking the law.

Police handed the video of the Boxing Day hunt to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to decide if the hunters should face charges. Anti-hunt group Huntwatch said it showed hares being chased, in defiance of the new Hunting Act

21st January 2006

PROTESTER OTIS DENIES DRINK CASE

Pro-hunt campaigner Otis Ferry will be tried for drink driving charges by magistrates in Cirencester in June. The 23-year-old son of rock star Bryan Ferry is alleged to have been driving a Volkswagen Golf while over the limit in Somerford Road, Cirencester, on October 11

21st January 2006

VILLAGE SHOCK AT HUNT'S RAMPAGE

ANGRY villagers watched in horror as hounds tore through gardens and killed a fox while huntsmen struggled to catch up with their pack.

The Cattistock Hunt hounds ran free in Bradford Peverell for 20 minutes before a huntsman appeared on foot to try to call them away

20th January 2006

Kennels worker sentenced (And what a joke it is! )

A KENNELMAN convicted of cruelty to two hunting dogs has been sentenced to 180 hours community service.

Philip Simmonds, who runs The Kennels in Cambridge Road, Barton, was also ordered to pay £750 of £26,569 RSPCA costs in bringing the case.

See past news for more details (22nd December 2005)

19th January 2006

Family faced with shotguns at beauty spot

A GLOUCESTERSHIRE holidaymaker told this week how she and her family were left "frightened and distressed" after encountering shotgun-carrying members of a mid-Wales hunt at a beauty spot near Tregaron.

18th January 2006

THE SABOTEURS
Pro-hunt groups hijack vote to reveal best icons of Englishness

PRO-HUNT groups are trying to rig a vote to make fox hunting an official symbol of Englishness.
Supporters have swamped the Government's online poll to make sure it gets a place in the collection of cultural icons in April, alongside Stonehenge, the Spitfire and the humble cuppa

17th January 2006

Hunt closes kennels and blames urbanisation

Hunt Watch were informed about this some months ago, well at least that's one down!

The first hunt to disband since the hunting ban was introduced last year is letting go of its dogs and closing its kennels.

15th January 2006

Hounded by hunt

Furious residents on an estate dubbed Millionaires' Row, whose neighbours include football star Alan Shearer, have slammed hunt bosses after a pack of hounds chasing a fox rampaged through their gardens.

They say about 20 dogs ran amok on Runnymede Road and neighbouring Darras Road in posh Darras Hall, Northumberland, after bursting through hedges onto lawns before huntsmen rounded them up.

14th January 2006

Hunters under investigation

An East Anglian hunt is being investigated after evidence was supplied by an anti-hunting group apparently showing its members failing to call off its hounds as they chased hares.

Huntwatch claims that its video - taken on Boxing Day - shows members of the Waveney Harriers chasing the hares on countryside near Bungay, in defiance of the new Hunting Act.

13th January 2006

PAIR IN HARE COURSING OUTING ARE FINED

Two men who admitted being involved in hare coursing were fined at Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday.

Alec Reid, 17, and 23-year-old Stephen Stewart pleaded guilty to deliberately hunting hares with dogs in a field at Alves, near Forres, on May 1 last year.

13th January 2006

Hunt accused of chasing live foxes

THE Berkeley Hunt has this week been accused of illegally hunting foxes a year after a new law was passed banning the sport.

The illegal hunting took place last Wednesday near Slimbridge and although Berkeley Hunt members have admitted that at one point during the hunt they were chasing a live fox, they have stressed it was a one-off accident.

12th January 2006

Man not guilty of hunt assaults

A man has been cleared of assaulting a group of female anti-hunt protesters, but convicted of causing criminal damage.

Martin Eccleston, 53, of Coolham Road, Thakeham, West Sussex, clashed with them at a hunt meeting in January 2005.

He was convicted of causing criminal damage to the women's Land Rover, but cleared of charges of common assault and inflicting actual bodily harm.

11th January 2006

Former gamekeeper jailed for child sex abuse

The link between animal abuse and child abuse goes on.

A FORMER Dalmeny Estate gamekeeper who indecently assaulted three children over a decade has been jailed and placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely

8th January 2006

A Great Loss To The Animal Welfare Movement

Simply The Best Friend The Animals Ever Had In Parliament.
A tribute to Tony Banks

6th January 2006

Hunt supporter 'beat saboteur with a pole'

A member of the Countryside Alliance attacked a female hunt saboteur with a pole during a protest at one of the last meets before the ban on fox hunting, a court was told yesterday.

6th January 2006

HOUND DIED CHASING FOX OVER ROAD

Motorists travelling at 70mph were forced to dodge hunting hounds when they ran across a dual carriageway near Cirencester. A dog were knocked over and killed. The Cotswold Hunt was a mile away from the A417 at Daglingworth at 2.20pm on Tuesday when the hounds picked up the scent of a fox and went after it.

4th January 2006

Police hunt deer poaching gangs

Gangs of men are hunting wild deer for sport and may be selling the meat to people on Teesside.

Cleveland Police say there have been reports of gangs stalking roe deer with dogs such as lurchers and carcases have also been found.

It is believed guns are not used and the animals may suffer a painful death.

2007

2006 l 2005

Top