2nd September 2009

Wheelton man caught badger digging given suspended sentence

A LANCASHIRE man who was caught badger digging by an undercover RSPCA inspector has avoided jail.

Gerard Monk, 27, of Millbrook Close, Wheelton, near Chorley and Paul Billington, 37, of Llydir Lane, Rossett, Clywd, were filmed digging a badger sett in woodland at Sandford, near Whitchurch in Shropshire, in May last year.

Both men fled the scene when they realised they were being watched, but were later arrested and eventually found guilty of six charges after a two-day trial.

The pair were sentenced today at Shrewsbury Magistrates’ Court to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months

1st September 2009

Four men charged with hare-coursing

Four men have been charged in connection with a hare-coursing incident in Moray.
Three of the suspects, aged 49, 42, and 15, are from Aberdeen, while the fourth is a 43-year-old from Inverness.

Last night the chief superintendent of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Mike Flynn said it was an “abhorrent” activity

1st September 2009

TV chef admits hunting offences

Television chef Clarissa Dickson-Wright and racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott have both pleaded guilty to hunting offences in North Yorkshire. Dickson-Wright of Midlothian, Scotland, and Prescott, of Newmarket, Suffolk, admitted attending two hare coursing events near Malton in March 2007.

Neither appeared in person at Scarborough Magistrates' Court. The private prosecution was brought by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Dickson-Wright, a former barrister, rose to fame in the BBC cookery programme Two Fat Ladies.

Prescott is a prolific trainer of winners from his Newmarket yard. Hare coursing was outlawed at the same time as fox hunting with hounds.