TWO FINED FOR HUNTING DEER WITH HOUNDS

Adam Wilshaw
Western Morning News

Two huntsmen have been found guilty of illegally hunting deer with hounds on Exmoor.Huntsman Richard Down, 44, and whipper-in Adrian Pillivant, 36, of the Quantock Staghounds were convicted at Bristol Magistrates Court after only the second prosecution of its kind under the 2004 Hunting Act.

Anti-hunt campaigners filmed two hounds from the hunt as they chased a herd of deer a year after the controversial Hunting Act made hunting with hounds illegal.

The law allows the use of dogs to flush out wild animals so they can be shot.

But the League Against Cruel Sports launched the prosecution because it said the deer had been chased for more than hour and no attempt had been made to shoot them humanely or call off the hounds.

The men, who had argued throughout the trial that they had been hunting the deer within the law, are considering an appeal.

The league's chief executive, Douglas Batchelor, said: "We are delighted but not surprised by the result. Justice has prevailed today in what was a clear-cut case of blatant law-breaking by hunters who believe themselves to be above the law.

"Today's result will send out a stark message to those extremists who insist on flouting the law that their behaviour will not be tolerated.

"The hunting fraternity must grasp what the British public have understood ever since the ban was introduced - chasing and slaughtering stags for pleasure is totally unacceptable in a civilised society."

Anti-hunt monitors from the league filmed Pillivant and Down hunting 20 deer with hounds on February 16, 2006 at Longstone Hill, a remote rural location near Watchet, in North Somerset. The hunt met with four dogs, 17 members on horseback, and a number of other followers in vehicles.

Landowner Anthony Trollope- Bellow had asked the hunt to cull deer and move a wild herd, in an attempt to stop them causing damage to crops intended for livestock. The hunt set off at about 11.45am and had killed six deer by 3pm.

Counsel for the defence argued that the hunting was allowed under an exemption in the law.

The 2004 Hunting Act allows the use of hounds to flush out wild animals so they can be shot, if the deer are flushed from cover, if the hunting is done to prevent deer causing damage to crops or livestock, if only two dogs are used, and if those dogs are above ground at all times. The judge agreed the defendants had met these criteria.

But the men failed to meet the fifth criterion - that they take "reasonable" steps to shoot dead the deer "as soon as possible" after they are flushed out.

In his summing-up, Judge David Parsons said: "Neither defendant has established on the balance of probability that he reasonably believed the hunting was exempt."

The defendants were hunting for sport and recreation to continue their way of life and are disingenuous in attempting to deceive me into believing that they were exempt from hunting."

Down, from West Bagborough, a village between Taunton and Watchet, and Pillivant, from Willand, Devon, denied breaking the law. They were each fined £500 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

After the verdict, Richard Furlong, prosecuting, asked for four hounds and three guns to be confiscated and the defendants to be banned from driving. But the judge said that would be "disproportionate" punishment. He also noted the men were of previous good character.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart said the Quantock Staghounds had consulted lawyers and the police before hunting, in an attempt to avoid breaking the law.

He said: "On the day in question, they hunted with two hounds, as stipulated by the Act, and ensured that there were experienced guns in place to shoot the deer they flush as soon as possible. They shot six deer. If this is not flushing to guns, I don't know what is."

There is one simple solution to this mess which will end all the confusion, and the waste of police and court resources. The Hunting Act is a bad law and needs to be got rid of."

Tim Bonner, from the Countryside Alliance, said: "It is a slightly extraordinary judgment. I disagree with huge parts of it. It adds confusion to the whole picture. We may consider appealing as we don't believe this judgment is correct."

Robbie Marsland, UK director of the International Fund Against Animal Cruelty (IFAW), welcomed the decision. He said: "This is the second time that the league has taken and won a private prosecution and IFAW congratulates them for that."

In the light of this ruling it is very difficult to see how anyone could go out stag hunting in the belief that they are acting lawfully."

The Hunting Act is showing its teeth. There have been a number of prosecutions under the Act and more are in the pipeline."

Last August, Exmoor Foxhounds huntsman Tony Wright became the first huntsman to be found guilty of breaking the new law. He has appealed against that verdict and his case will be heard in July. There have been nine successful prosecutions since the Act came into force.