HUNT SEASON STARTS WITH WARNING OF MORE PROSECUTIONS

League Against Cruel Sports

Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, has warned hunters that they face a ‘spate of prosecutions’ if they breach the ban on hunting.

The hunting season begins on Saturday October 28th with several huntsmen due to appear in court to face a charge of illegal hunting. The most recent prosecution has been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service following an investigation by the Avon and Somerset police.

In August Tony Wright, huntsman with the Exmoor fox hounds, became the first hunter to be convicted of breaching the hunting ban. Following his conviction the League has held top-level meetings with senior police officers and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Batchelor said:

“At these meetings the Police made it clear to us that they would not tolerate breaches of the hunting ban. I was left in little doubt that any hunters caught defying the law would find themselves in court”.

In recent weeks the courts have also cracked down on hunt supporters who have assaulted members of the public monitoring their hunts.

Mr Batchelor added:

“Hunt apologists said the Act could not be enforced. The criminal conviction of Tony Wright put an end to that claim. We all hope that those hunts going out today do no more than ride across the countryside. If that’s all they do we have no complaints. But any hotheads who think they can behave as they did in the past should be aware that they are being monitored and will find themselves in court if they break the law”.

Read more here