Summary of latest investigations, prosecutions, convictions and bans. If you have anything to add please email Pip on info@actionagainststaghunting-org.stackstaging.com.
Last update 12th May 2023
investigations, Prosecutions and appeals – ongoing
22 hunt members, from 11 different hunts are either being investigated or waiting to be tried in court.
The Cotswold Hunt appear to have buried a lactating vixen alive, in an artifical earth. They were probably intending to release her in front of hounds later on. Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch rescued the fox from her underground prison. The British Hound Sports Association has now suspended the Cotswold Hunt and Gloucester Police are investigating. The estate on which this animal abuse occurred, Miserden Estate, has now banned the Cotswold Hunt from its land. An investigation is being carried out by Gloucestershire Police.
Three men are due to appear in court in connection with an allegation of illegal fox hunting in North Dorset. It follows an investigation by Dorset Police Rural Crime Team into an incident involving the Portman Hunt on Thursday 15 September 2022. Tom Lyle, Marcus Boundy and Mark Pearson, all from the Blandford area, must appear in Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 7 June 2023 for an offence of hunting a wild mammal with dogs.
Norfolk Police have arrested three men after CCTV video emerged of Norfolk Foxhounds invading a private garden and killing a fox on 20 February 2023. We believe the men in custody are Huntsman Mikey Bell, Whipper-in Adam Egginton, and Hunt Master Andrew Kendall. They have been released on bail. All three men are also under investigation for assault and robbery of a female sabs in October 2022.
Two members of the Wynnstay Hunt are under investigation by North Wales Police after being caught on video filling in a badger sett in preparation for a fox hunt. The incident happened on 3rd February 2023.
George Pullen, Master of the Mendip Farmers Hunt was filmed beating a dog with a whip on 24th February 2023. The RSPCA are investigating.
Five people were arrested after a video showing members of the Avon Vale Hunt digging out a fox and throwing it to hounds. Two other foxes were also hunted. On 10th Feb 2023, Stuart Radbourne and Aaron Fookes were arrested along with another person from the hunt. Two further individuals were arrested later.
On 14th Feb, Sam Jones from the Cottesmore Hunt was arrested for trampling a sab with his horse on 11th Feb.
John Holliday (54), previously of the Belvoir Hunt, has been charged with hunting a wild mammal with a dog on 15th January 22. He appeared in Leicester Magistrates Court on Friday 15th July 2022 and pleaded not guilty. Trial date is set for 27 March 2023.
William Hanson, huntsman, Fernie Hunt, is charged with hunting a wild mammal with a dog on 18/01/22. He entered a plea of not guilty in Leicester Magistrates Court on Wednesday 13th July 2022. Trial has been adjourned until 28 March 2023.
Click here for more details
Arun Squires, Huntsman from the Puckeridge Hunt appeared in Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on Wed 13/07/22 for a Hunting Act offence committed 27/12/21. The trial has been adjourned until May 2023.
Convictions and outcomeS – Records began July 2022
29 prosecutions – 24 successful.
29 hunt members guilty
24 guilty hunts
On Friday 05/05/23 at Norwich Magistrates’ Court, Jack Taylor of the West Norfolk Fox Hounds pleaded guilty to criminal damage committed in November 2022. He had jumped off his quad, slashed the tyres of a family car, in full view of saboteurs, hunt staff and field riders. When the police attended, the hunters denied any knowledge of any wrongdoing and carried on hunting. Police identified Taylor by the video provided by saboteurs. Sentence is yet to be determined. In their report the Norfolk/Suffolk HS go out of their way to thank officers of the Norfolk Rule Crime Team.
Chris Woodward from the Wynnstay Hunt pled guilty to a section 4 Public Order Offence. He rode his horse at a sab while uttering (well, more like screeching) ‘I’ll kill you’. Sentencing should occur in June.
Duncan and Verity Drewett from the Vale of White Horse Hunt were charged Section 1 & 3 Hunting Act. Also a Vale of White Horse master is charged Section 1 Hunting Act. The offences took place in January 2021. These are the first charges to ever be brought using Section 3 of the Act, permitting land to be used for hunting. The evidence was collected by the Hunt Investigation Team. On 20/03/23, the case was dismissed by a magistrate because a key witness had a stroke, and the magistrate refused the CPS’s request for an adjournment.
Three men from the Dunston Harriers were charged with hunting a hare on 20 January 2022. Geoffrey Block, Lewis Ryland and Josh Worthington-Hayes were all found not guilty at Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court on 23 March 2023.
On 05/09/20 Chris Mardles, the whipper-in with the Pytchley with Woodland Hunt, rode down a sab leaving them with a collapsed lung, broken ribs, broken collarbone and a shattered shoulder blade. Mr Mardles was charged with section 18, Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). He denied any guilt until his court case this morning (Tuesday 14/03/23) when he changed his plea to guilty. Sentencing will occur on 25/04/23.
______
Sarah Bliss, huntswoman with the Cotswold Hunt, pleaded guilty to boarding dogs at her home address without a licence and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. A dog was neglected and subsequently died from heat stroke. She was fined £2000.
_______
Stewart Masters, a member of the South Dorset Hunt, attended court on 15th March 2023 where he was found guilty of careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident. Sentencing will be carried out next month. On 12th Feb 2022, he deliberately ran into a sab from Weymouth Animal Rights with his vehicle.
Georgina Price, from the Royal Artillery Hunt was charged with Section 4 of the Public Order Act for her actions on 5 November 2022. She tried to run down two sabs with her horse. She accepted a caution.
Mark Harris, terrier man for the Spooners and West Dartford Hunt, has been found guilty of an offence under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992). He caused a terrier to enter a protected sett. He said he was instructed to flush and kill the fox by the huntsman Guy Morlock. Mr Harris was ordered to pay a fine of £1000, a victim surcharge of £100 and Crown costs of £900.
Andrew Pope, a long time follower of the Weston & Banwell Hunt, admitted guilt to the police and was given a conditional caution. On 21 Dec 21, he tailgated a sab vehicle, and used a thick heavy stick to hit the vehicle windows. The windows stayed intact, but Pope forced his way into the back of the vehicle and started to attack the sabs with the stick. One sab from WAR sustained heavy bruising to their knee and side of their body. This aggressive outburst was witnessed by Pope’s young child. Pope agreed to write a letter of apology to the injured sab. If he repeats this behaviour, he will go straight to court.
Hartley Crouch, Whipper-in for the Pytchley Hunt ( has been successfully prosecuted by Northamptonshire police. He stole a (hunt member’s) pet sheep, killed it, skinned it, and fed it to the Hounds. The charge was theft. He was sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £775 in costs £150 in compensation and a surcharge of £22. Mr Crouch was sacked by the Pytchley and then was going to go to the Beauvoir Hunt. They dropped him, but he is now a whipper-in with the Cottesmore Hunt.
Gamekeeper Paul Scott Allen admitted guilt in Weymouth Magistrates Court. Sentencing is due on 16/02/23. The offences occurred over a period of time. Allen pleaded guilty to seven charges – two of possession of six dead buzzards, and the remains of three more; three charges of keeping banned pesticides and two charges of failing to comply with conditions of shotgun and firearms certificates.
22/12/22 West Midlands Hunt Sabs report that Gavin Field, a core member of the Warwickshire Hunt, accepted a caution under section 4A of the Public Order Act for causing fear, alarm or distress after he was filmed stealing the keys from a sab vehicle and running off with them. He then threw them over the hedge shouting “here’s your f***g keys“.
Matt Ramsden (huntsman) and Rhys Matcham (whipper in) from the Beaufort Hunt pleaded “not guilty” on 25th May in Swindon Magistrates Court to breaches of the Hunting Act. The offence took place on 13/09/21. Trial was due to take place 8th and 9th December 2022, but at the very last minute the case was dropped. This is King Charles’ and Lord Mancroft’s Hunt.
On 6th Dec, Ollie Finnegan from the Quorn Hunt pleaded guilty to illegal foxhunting in Leicester Magistrates Court. He was fined £656. He had no choice really as Leicester Police had seized his phone and it was very clear from his texts and WhatsApps that he was illegally hunting not only at this time, but on many previous occasions too. For more details, click here:
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-12-06/man-admits-illegally-hunting-with-dogs-after-police-unearth-fox-hunting-texts
Daniel Cherriman, Master and huntsman, and Oliver Beasley, kennel man, South Shropshire Hunt pleaded not guilty to Hunting Act offences in Telford Magistrates Court 21/06/22. The offence occurred on 29/11/2021. This was the hunt that trespassed on the National Trust’s Long Mynd days after they were banned. The trial date was set for 15th December, but Cherriman decided to plead guilty on 16th November and was fined £600 for failing to call dogs away from disturbed fox.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/south-shropshire/church-stretton/2022/11/16/
Chris Woodward of the Wynnstay Hunt was been charged with two separate offences concerning hunting. One occurred near Malpas in November 2021 and the other near Wrexham in February 22. The CPS decided to withdraw key video evidence and he was deemed “not guilty”. The report by Cheshire Monitors gives more detail:
https://www.facebook.com/cheshiremonitors/posts/pfbid02ahbSnyiaWBBnMYRoGAePPWnkzgjxi2R94241qABTpioxWrhrmWbjqUssg5m4nHeYl
Huntsman David Thomas from Dwydryd Hunt, who pleaded guilty to running a badger baiting ring at the hunt kennels was initially imprisoned for 24 weeks. He appealed and the sentence was reduced to 13 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. Original sentencing was 7th November 2022
On 18 October 2022, Mark Pearson of the South Dorset Hunt was been found guilty of fox hunting. The penalty is, £6,000 fine, £190 victim surcharge, and £620 costs. His blatant lying in court is very disconcerting. He had killed one fox earlier in the day and the police deemed it an accident and allowed him to continue hunting. It was fortunate that the second kill was recorded by a monitors with cameras. The judge held that he should have had his hounds under control. The offence occurred on 13th December 2021. Mr Pearson’s appeal, however, was successful. The judge decided that Mr Pearson couldn’t manage to control the hounds as he ran out of “puff”.
A game keeper, Matthew Stroud, has admitted illegally shooting and poisoning birds of prey. He received (from Norwich Magistrates’ Court) a 12 month community order, was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and fined £692.
On September 21st in Yeovil Magistrates Court, a member of the Seavington Hunt pleaded guilty to offences under the Hunting Act. This was the person caught on video releasing a bagged fox. He was not, however, convicted for this appallingly cruel act, as the second charge “causing unnecessary suffering to an animal” was withdrawn. We think this was some sort of a deal. Admitting to using a bagged fox would be disastrous for the hunts, so they settled for breach of the Hunting Act instead. The fine was £180. The offence occurred on 5th March 2022.
_______
Ben Porter, terrierman for the Hereford and Clifton Hunt was found guilty in Worcester Crown Court on 21/09/22. These were the charges:
Failure to stop after an accident
Failure to report an accident
Driving with undue care and attention, causing injury
No insurance
Incorrect licence (too many passengers on quad bike)
No Mot
Driving an unregistered quad bike on a public road
This happened during a foxhunt on 5th March. Among other crimes, this man drove a quadbike at speed, hitting and injuring a sab.
_______
In October 2020 Sam Jamie Mepham, from the East Sussex and Romney Marsh Foxhunt, took it upon himself to drive his very large tractor into a sab vehicle, repeatedly. The incident was filmed and he pleaded guilty to an offence which resulted in a sentence of 12 months community service and a 12 month driving ban. He has previously been convicted of killing a wild animal with a crossbow and possession of ammunition without a certificate.
_______
John Bennett Wright was part of a group of hunt supporters that dragged a lone and disabled sab from his vehicle and assaulted him. John Bennett Wright, a thug associated with Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire (L and R) Fox Hounds was today sentenced to a 12 month supervision order and 180 hours unpaid community work and paying £500 to his victim.
Ryan Sinclair another supporter incurred a £400 fine. Previous to the attack on the disabled sab, he had been responsible for slashing two tyres and he was also part of the group that attacked the disabled sab.
_______
The huntsman of the Iveagh Hunt, a Northern Ireland hunt, Jack Harris, has been fined £500 after a pack of hounds killed a cat and bit a man during a fox hunt. He also had to pay £1200 court costs and £15 offender’s levy. Mr Harris did not appear in court as he was thought to have removed himself to England.
_______
J W, a terrier man from the Mendip Farmers Hunt has received a caution for criminal damage.
Click here for more details
Paul Martin (60), from the Western Hunt has been found guilty of assaulting a sab with his walking stick. The offence occurred on 16/10/21 and he has received a fine and required to pay compensation for breaking a phone.
Click here for more details
Paul O’Shea, a terrier man with the East Essex Hunt was convicted under Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 20065 and Section 1 of the Hunting Act. . He was videoing stabbing a live fox with a garden fork. He received a suspended sentence of 18 weeks, and community service.
Last year two terriermen for the Eggesford Hunt were convicted for interfering with an active badger sett. Seward Folland and Nathan Bowes were due to attend Exeter Crown Court, on 4th July 2022, to appeal their conviction but they made a last-minute decision to abandon their appeal.
Charles Carter of the Royal Artillery Hunt has had his court appearance adjourned once again. He was due to appear on 16/6 for a plea hearing, but the court ran out of time. Swindon Magistrates Court. UPDATE – the case has been dropped due to a “legal technicality”. Salisbury Plain Monitors have now released the video footage, details of the case and the reasons why it was dropped. This one is a serious miscarriage of justice. More details here: https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/royal-artillery-hunt-a-licence-to-kill/
Mark Hankinson’s appeal was successful. While he is no longer a convicted criminal, the fall out from the original conviction is still very much with us. Not only are his words “trail hunting is a smokescreen” still relevant but all the land bans (National Trust, Natural Resources Wales and the Lake District National Park) stayed. Damage was done and the hunts can’t go back and undo it.
Bans and other terrible news (for the hunts, that is)
Land Access
The Cotswold Hunt has been banned by the Miserden Estate after film emerged of a vixen buried alive by the hunt.
Late District National Park Authority has banned all Fox and Trail Hunting from the land it controls. Despite Mark Hankinson’s successful appeal, the National Trust is not lifting its ban. Forestry England have also not lifted theirs.
Natural Resources Wales have upheld their decision to ban trail hunting on their land. That keeps them in line with the National Trust and the Lake District National Park Authority.
The Herefordshire and Clifton Hunt will no longer be able to access Bromyard Downs thanks to a unanimous vote by the Commoners to ban hunting. Bromyard Downs consists of 242 acres of mainly open access common land east of Bromyard, as well as some farmland.
Country Show Bans
Hound Parade Cancelled at The Great Yorkshire Show
Pubs and other Businesses
The Jamaica Inn permanently banned the East Cornwall Hunt from meeting at the pub. The pub has been sold, but the new owners also won’t host them.
Point to Point
No more point to point at Barbury Castle. Uneconomical for the race course, apparently.
For more details, click here.
Finished Hunts
The Atherstone Hunt has gone into voluntary liquidation and their land is to be sold for development.
The Tanatside Hunt has folded, partly through lack of land available for hunting.
North Norfolk Harriers has folded.
The Herefordshire Hunt has merged with the Clifton-on-Teme Hunt, becoming the Hereford and Clifton Hunt. One hunt, instead of two.
The Tetcott Hunt has folded.
19 Jan 23 – Airedale Beagles are disbanding! This is a Yorkshire based hare-hunting pack.