More badger diggers in court

16 April 2012 THREE men have appeared before Selby magistrates charged with digging for badgers. The alleged offence is said to have taken place at High Eggborough Lane in Eggborough on January 8 this year, and ended with a terrier dog called Jake being injured. Before the court were Lee Whinfrey, 28, Nathan Whinfrey, 25, [...]

‘Twisted’ badger baiter Anthony Lee jailed

A man who urged his dog to attack and kill badgers and kept footage of the fights on his phone has been jailed. A magistrate wiped away tears while watching three videos of animal fights that Anthony Lee, 23, recorded. Lee, of Coronation Way, Keighley, West Yorkshire, admitted three counts of animal fighting and was [...]

Hunt terrier man fined over fox ‘in a barrel’

A LEADING member of Peterborough’s Fitzwilliam Hunt has been fined for a breach of anti-hunting laws. Gamekeeper John Bycroft (67), who is the terrier man to the Fitzwilliam Hunt, was found with another man using terriers to flush foxes from underground dens. But he fell foul of the law after putting a live pregnant vixen [...]

Badger baiting accused face court

Badger The men were charged as part of an investigation into badger baiting Three men have appeared in court over alleged badger baiting. The defendants are all accused of causing unnecessary suffering to a terrier dog and badger and interfering with a badger sett. At Newtownards Magistrates Court were Graham Arthur Officer, 40, from Rose [...]

Cumbria – Hunting trial guilty verdict

TWO Cumbrian men have been found guilty by a Sheriff of deliberately hunting foxes and badgers on farmland near Langholm. Ryan Lowe, 30, of Baird Road, Harraby, Carlisle, and 40-year-old Brian Sanderson, of West Lane, Shap, were also found guilty of being in possession of items capable of being used for an offence contrary to [...]

Police and animal welfare officers carry out searches in badger baiting probe

ANIMAL welfare officers have joined forces with the police to search several properties under warrants as part of a badger baiting investigation. A number of seriously injured dogs were removed for further examination during the raids. The Scottish SPCA carried out the searches with Strathclyde Police yesterday in Lanarkshire. The charity said its inquiries are [...]

Four men charged in connection with badger baiting.

Four men have been charged in connection with a police operation into badger baiting. The 42, 39, 21 and 19-year-olds will face counts of animal cruelty at Newtownards Magistrates’ Court on Monday 30 April. Police said it comes after a series of arrests were made on 26 March as part of Operation Meles, the investigation [...]

Rural gangs linked to drug operations

Poaching and hare coursing gangs often linked with major drugs operations are behind most crimes against wildlife. In Cumbria last year, 363 wildlife crimes were reported to the police and of those 211 involved poaching, hare coursing and lamping – hunting animals at night with high-powered lights. In one incident at Sandysyke near Longtown, three [...]

Welsh badger cull scrapped in favour of vaccination

Farmers and unions have described the decision not to cull as a betrayal The Welsh government has dropped plans to cull badgers as part of an attempt to wipe out bovine TB in cattle. Environment Minister John Griffiths said he had instead opted to vaccinate the animals after carefully considering the scientific evidence. A review [...]

Advisers warned government on badger cull

UK badger culling plans could kill tens of thousands of the animals, worsen the cattle tuberculosis problem, and put the country in breach of a European wildlife treaty, advisers have warned. The government is to allow culling in England to curb cattle TB, with a similar move possible in Wales. The Labour Party used Freedom [...]