HUNT SABOTEURS WELCOME FIRST PUBLIC PROSECUTION

Hunt Saboteurs welcome first public prosecution of Hunters, Arkangel for Animal Liberation

The Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) of the UK has welcomed the news that, for the first time since the Hunting Act became law, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), together with Avon and Somerset Police, will bring the first public prosecution against two hunt staff. Maurice Scott, Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, and Peter Heard, a member of hunt staff, will both appear before Taunton Deane Magistrates charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs.
The charge relates to an incident back in April 2006, and is the first publicly brought case under the Act, as two previous cases have been brought privately by the League Against Cruel Sports.

Dawn Preston, spokesperson for the HSA, stated "At last we see the police taking action, and not a minute too soon. One full season has already gone by without any public cases being brought, and this could have been seen to send a very worrying message out to the hunts that continue to hunt illegally. This case should hopefully start to hammer the message home that hunting was banned because the majority of the population do not want to see bloodsports practised."

Ms. Preston continued 'The Countryside Alliance continue to provide 'guidance' on hunting within the law, but we can see here, as with the two cases brought by the League Against Cruel Sports, that the only way you can hunt safely within the law is to leave the wild animal out of the equation. That was the point of the law in the first place, but it seems to be a point that the hunting fraternity have so far failed to grasp.

One report of the charging of the Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds lamented the fact that he had spent 2 and a half hours in a police cell prior to being charged. We fail to see what could possibly be surprising about that - it is alleged that Maurice Scott broke the law, and as such he should be treated like a criminal."

On the 4th August this year Tony Wright, a huntsman with the Exmoor Foxhounds, was found guilty of breaching the Hunting Act of 2004 after the League Against Cruel Sports brought a private prosecution against him. League monitors had filmed Mr. Wright hunting foxes. Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports said at the time: "The message from this case is absolutely clear: it is a crime to chase a fox with hounds. People who hunt do so because they wish to torment a fox. The Hunting Act has taken away their playtime. "I would now expect the police to be visiting their local hunts to make it clear that they are not allowed to pursue foxes. If we become aware of other hunts acting illegally we will have no hesitation in passing on the information to the appropriate authorities."

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HUNTSMAN CHARGED

Donald Summersgill, huntsman of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, has this week been charged under the Hunting Act in relation to the same incident for which Maurice Scott and Peter Heard already face allegations (reported in last week's grass e-route). The case against the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, the private prosecution of the Quantock Staghounds, and Tony Wright’s appeal against his conviction are all likely to be heard in the New Year.

TWO IN COURT IN HUNTING CASE FIRST

Press Association, Guardian Unlimited

Two men appeared before magistrates today charged with illegally hunting with dogs, in the first case of its kind under the new anti-hunting laws to be brought to court by the police.
Maurice Scott, 63, master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, and Peter Heard, 23, a hunt servant, are both accused of breaching the hunting act. The alleged breaches are said to have taken place at Higher Broford, near Dulverton, Exmoor, on April 25.

Previous prosecutions under the act have been brought by the League Against Cruel Sports, but this is the first case brought by the police. The league praised Avon and Somerset Police for bringing the prosecution The two men spoke only to confirm their names and addresses during the short hearing at Taunton Deane magistrates court.

The case was adjourned to the same court on November 2. The men, who are both on bail, were told they didn't need to attend the next hearing.

Speaking after today's hearing, the Countryside Alliance said the case was "a waste of resources".

Alison Hawes, south-west regional spokesman said: "Mr Scott and Mr Heard understand that this is a political case. People on Exmoor are very angry that rural policing is concerning itself with things like this.

"Mr Scott is a well known and well respected member of the community and the hunting community which is why there has been so much uproar on Exmoor about this."

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TWO FACE COURT ACCUSED OF BREAKING HUNTING BAN

Steven Morris, The Guardian

The master of a stag hunt and a hunt servant have become the first to be charged by the police with breaking the ban on hunting with dogs, it was revealed yesterday. Maurice Scott, a master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, and Peter Heard, who works for the hunt, will appear before magistrates tomorrow.
Anti-hunt campaigners see the case as an indication that police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service are prepared to take action against hunts and hope more will follow. There has been one successful prosecution against a huntsman but it was brought privately by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) after police decided the evidence was not strong enough.

Hunt supporters, however, said yesterday that if a string of prosecutions are taken the resentment against the police and the government which surfaced in the build up to the hunting ban would intensify. Mr Scott is said to have been held in a cell for 2½ hours after being asked by officers to attend Minehead police station.

Mr Scott, 63, of Watchet in Somerset, is charged with two counts of hunting a wild mammal with dogs. Mr Heard, 23, of Exford in Somerset, faces one count. Both charges relate to incidents on April 25 on Exmoor. A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said: "This is the first criminal prosecution in the country under the hunting act by a police force."

A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports said yesterday: "At long last we are delighted to see the police fulfilling their responsibilities."

Exmoor is seen by many as England's "hunting playground". Tim Bonner, spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said there was anger on Exmoor at the prosecution of Mr Scott, a stalwart of the farming community on the moor, and Mr Heard.

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HUNTING CHARGES

The Times - News in Brief

Two men have become the first in England to be charged under the Hunting Act for allegedly hunting an animal with dogs on Exmoor on April 25. Maurice Scott, 63, of Watchet, Somerset, the master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, faces two counts and Peter Heard, 23, of Exford, a hunt servant, one.

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