'FIRST' CONVICTED HUNTSMAN LODGES APPEAL

Ian Morgan, 24dash.com

Tony Wright A man who became the first in the country to be convicted of hunting illegally has lodged his appeal against the decision.

Tony Wright, a huntsman with the Exmoor Foxhounds, was prosecuted after he was filmed chasing two foxes across Exmoor with two hounds.

The 52-year-old was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 costs by District Judge Paul Palmer at Barnstaple Magistrates' Court, Devon on August 4.

The private prosecution by the League Against Cruel Sports was the first in England against a fox or stag hunt under the Hunting Act.

After the case Wright, of Exmoor Kennels, Simonsbath, immediately announced his intention to appeal and his solicitors have now filed papers to Exeter Crown Court where a first hearing is expected within two months.

Wright claimed he was operating under an exemption in the act, with two dogs and a marksman.

The exemption stipulated the fox had to be shot as soon as possible after it was flushed, and the hounds had to be closely controlled to enable the shooting to take place.

But district judge Paul Palmer, who watched two League videos from April 29 when two foxes were seen to be followed, said what he saw was not exempt hunting and that reasonable steps were not taken to shoot the fox as soon as possible.

The League Against Cruel Sports have said they will defend the appeal, with the Crown Prosecution Service taking over the case.

A spokesman said: "We are very confident that the conviction will be upheld.

"We think that the breach in the law was very clear, and the judge was very clear in his agreement with that view."

Wright is being supported by the Countryside Alliance who criticised the act as a 'muddle'.

A spokesman said: "As we are looking towards the hunting season, the hunting community has every intention of complying with the Hunting Act, as Tony Wright believed he was doing.

"We have a good relationship with the law, and we will try to make the best of the muddle the Hunting Act has presented us with."

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