The bastards

Young fox killed by the York & Ainsty South Hunt

Sabs from Sheffield Saboteurs, West Yorkshire Sabs and Grampian Hunt Sabs paid a visit to the York & Ainsty South Hunt on Saturday 21st Feb.

They had some bother with a landowner at first but he soon gave up after realising we were not going to take orders from him. The hunt spent the next hour just criss crossing roads with not much hunting happening. Sabs then spotted the huntsman putting hounds into a wood so we called them out and offered them strokes instead.

Now here comes the sad part which i have struggled to write. Huntsman and hounds had headed into a wood, closely followed by sabs. The hounds seemed interested in large bit of undergrowth but sabs quickly moved them on. We were just coming to the end of the wood and hounds immediately went into cry. We used voice calls and cracked whips to discourage them from following. Hounds quickly went out of cry but one sab spotted a small fox running along the edge of the wood.

Sabs immediately headed to the spot the fox had been seen but once they arrived around 8 hounds and the whipper-in were seen huddled together. The whipper-in had dismounted from her horse and seemed to be trying to take the body away. Once she saw sabs she immediately ran off and took the hounds with her.

The Fox lay lifeless on the grass. There was nothing sabs could do. We believe she had died from shock (an autopsy will be carried out so we will know the exact cause soon). Hunts say the hounds kill foxes with a quick nip to the back of the head but as you can see from the photos this was not the case!

The hunt carried on and sabs had to follow as the hounds were now rioting after a number of deer. We managed to successfully call the hounds off all of them.

The hunt decided it was best to call it a day and started the long walk back to the meet. At this point two police cars arrived. We told them what we had witnessed and even showed them the evidence. Their response? “Well i didn’t see it” They then headed to the meet chat with the hunt and make sure they were all ok.

As usual the police take the hunter’s side and we seriously doubt that anyone from the hunt will be prosecuted for this horrendous crime!

Three thugs admit killing badger in Unstone – Derbyshire Times

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Three heartless thugs are due to be sentenced after they killed a badger in woods near Unstone.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard on February 18 how Antonio Miguel Alonso-Brown and Liam and Nathan Swift were caught by police near a badger sett north of Hanger Wood off St John’s Road, Unstone.

Prosecuting solicitor John Sutcliffe, representing the RSPCA, said: “A member of the public telephoned police to say men were interfering with a badger sett and police noticed a blue Subaru car registered to Liam Swift.

“Police were told the men had been at the sett for an hour and shouts and yells had been heard, dogs had been seen and the men had possibly been carrying rifles or spades.

“The men were seen as they then ran out from the area concerned.”

Police discovered spades and the body of a freshly killed and buried badger.

DNA evidence taken from a stained t-shirt which had been carried by one of the defendants, according to Mr Sutcliffe, matched DNA from the body of the badger.

Mr Sutcliffe explained that a spade also had one of the badger’s hairs.

Alonso-Brown, 22, of Shelley Drive, Herringthorpe, Rotherham, and Liam, 22, and Nathan Swift, 20, both of Hague Avenue, Rawmarsh, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to jointly killing a badger after the incident in June, last year.

Magistrates adjourned the case to consider probation reports before sentencing on Thursday, February 26.

The Swifts were released on bail. Alonso-Brown remains in custody as a serving prisoner. A further defendant Connor Podmore, 20, of Park Vale Drive, Thrybergh, Rotherham, pleaded not guilty to killing a badger, interfering with a badger sett and hunting a wild animal. His case was adjourned for a trial on May 13. Podmore was released on bail.

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/crime/three-thugs-admit-killing-badger-in-unstone-1-7124842
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Countering the hunt propaganda machine

From West Midlands Sabs

"We are posting this footage in response to posts about us, that are currently appearing on pro-hunt facebook pages. These posts wrongfully allege that members of West Midlands Sabs assaulted a young person riding with the Atherstone Hunt on Saturday 21/2/15.

As you can see on this footage, the supposed victim of the assault is constantly riding at and assaulting the sabs. He shows repeated violent and aggressive behaviour. He even admits assaulting a sab and further threatens to get off his horse and attack another sab. We ask you is this the behaviour of a poor victimised individual, or the behaviour of a misbehaving young individual? If you listen to the audio on this footage, you will only hear one person being aggressive, during the time he alleges the assault happened, and it’s not the sabs.

On this day, the police even had to speak to him, to tell him to calm down and to watch his behaviour. This is just some of the footage of his bad behaviour that day. We actually have far too much footage to post at this time, as he is constantly acting in this way! It seems to be a tactic of the Atherstone Hunt to set a young person on to us, to aggressively try and provoke a reaction from us, so they can portray him as a victim. We think it is pretty low to use a young person in this way, but that is the Atherstone for you!
Also on this footage a fox is reported to have broken from cover, by another sab who is elsewhere. Not only does this young person’s aggressive behaviour get worse at this point, but other hunters come and also act aggressively, to stop the sabs from helping the fox.

This is also not the first time that this young person has attacked someone and then alleged that he was in fact the victim of the assault. His mother complained to the police about one incident over the Christmas period. We can prove that this allegation was also a lie, as we have footage of the supposed incident, which clearly shows that what he claimed happened was totally untrue! We did not post it at the time, as we felt that the whole thing was just a non-event, but we could post it now, if the lies about us continue to be posted.

This incident is just another blatant attempt to portray hunt saboteurs as violent aggressors. This footage clearly shows the allegations made about West Midland sabs to be untrue. We wonder if the pro- hunt pages will share this, or just continue to peddle their obvious and discredited propaganda?

Also please remember that he is only 15 so we ask you not to leave any personal comments about him"

Watch the video here – https://vimeo.com/120345668

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Men who travelled to west Norfolk for hare coursing fined and lose car

Friday, February 20, 2015

Four men were fined nearly £1900 and the car they used was also seized after they admitted to participating in a hare coursing event in Terrington St Clement, near King’s Lynn.

Kenny Beal, 34, Bernard Jardine, 40, Mark Tong, 42, and Shaun Vickers, 49, pleaded guilty at King’s Lynn magistrates’ court yesterday.

The court was told police were called by a witness who could hear men’s voices commanding dogs from Racecourse Road in Terrington St Clement at 10am on Sunday, February 1.

Officers stopped the defendants in Rhoon Road and found five dogs inside their car. Also discovered was a Camcorder and memory cards stuffed in socks.

Prosecutor Susanna Chowdhury said: “The footage shows hare coursing taking place by the arrested males and footage from another location.”

Representing themselves in court, Beal, of William Street, Bishop Auckland and Jardine, of St Phillips Park, Bishop Auckland, both pleaded to keep their driving licences. Also representing himself, Tong, of Benbow Walk, Bishop Auckland, said: “If they lose their licence then I’m out of a job as well.”

And Vickers, of Blythe Avenue in Bishop Auckland, added: “All I can do is apologise unreservedly.”

Beal, Jardine and Tong were fined £525 each. Vickers was fined £305.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/men_who_travelled_to_west_norfolk_for_hare_coursing_fined_and_lose_car_1_3963767
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Nearly another ‘accident’

19 February 2015 at 5:54pm

Rare video shows fox chase ten years after hunting ban

A decade since the ban on fox hunting was introduced, the chairman of a hunt in Warwickshire has told ITV News the law has not prevented animal cruelty.

Animal welfare groups disagree and said the Act has been successful. It is using the anniversary to campaign to get the law tightened further. The League Against Cruel Sports said on average, one person every week is prosecuted under the Hunting Act’s provisions. Of these, over two-thirds are found guilty.

Organisers of the Warwickshire Hunt said they were operating within the law and the fox we filmed got away unharmed. But ten years on from the ban, the fox hunting debate continues.

Watch the video here - http://www.itv.com/news/central/2015-02-19/rare-video-shows-fox-chase-ten-years-after-hunting-ban/

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Dogs (Belonging to Cheshire Hunt) left to wander across busy A51 cause traffic chaos

18 February 2015
By Carmella de Lucia

Woman ‘shocked’ at lack of supervision as traffic backed up for half an hour

Unsupervised dogs were left to roam the busy A51, narrowly missing speeding cars and causing traffic chaos.

A concerned passer-by was so shocked at the sight of at least 20 hounds weaving in and out of moving vehicles on the Clotton road last Tuesday that she contacted The Chronicle to express her shock.

The woman, who does not wish to be named, said cars were delayed for at least half an hour as the animals dashed around the road, and it was a ‘miracle’ none of them were killed.

She said: “These hounds were running all over a field next to the main road with their noses to the ground. The traffic was going quickly, cars and buses were going very fast.

“I crossed the road in the field running around with their noses to the ground, shooting across the road. There were big lorries slamming on brakes and the dogs were running between them, God knows how any of them weren’t killed, I think it was only because the drivers were being vigilant. It was a horrible sight to witness.”

The woman added: “The traffic was delayed for at least 30 minutes but while all this was going on, a few riders just stood at the sides looking bewildered.

“In the meantime it delayed many trying to carry out their working day activities. I was just so concerned about the safety of them and wondered why they were not under control – it was extremely dangerous.”

A Cheshire police spokesperson said: “We can confirm that at approximately 15.35 on Tuesday, February 10, Cheshire police received a call in relation to traffic disruption on the A51 in Clotton caused by dogs.

“Officers attended the scene but on arrival there were no dogs visible at the scene by then.”

http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/dogs-left-wander-across-busy-8673041
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cdr chs 180215hounds01

cdr chs 180215hounds03

Trial date for Shropshire gamekeeper accused of trapping wild birds

February 14, 2015 05:59

A gamekeeper from Shropshire who has denied using a trap to take or kill a wild bird will go on trial.

Neil Gordon Wainwright has denied possessing and using a Larsen trap, which is made of wood and wire and uses a live animal to attract another into the cage.

He was accused of attempting to trap wild birds in Birch Hill Wood, in Gatten, Stiperstones. Wainwright, 54, of Norbury, near Bishop’s Castle, appeared at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court.

He denied failing to ensure the welfare of two white quail.

He pleaded guilty to three further charges relating to the storage of firearms, ammunition and poison for gassing moles, rabbits and rats.

Wainwright admitted failing to comply with a condition of his firearms licence by not keeping his ammunition in a secured cabinet at his home in Norbury on August 5.

He also admitted failing to store the substance Phostoxin in a suitable way to ensure it did not come into contact with people or the environment on August 5. Phostoxin contains aluminium phosphide, a highly toxic substance which reacts with moisture to create phosphine gas which is lethal to animals at low concentrations in the air in nests, warrens and burrows.

The case was adjourned until May 8 for a trial before a district judge at Telford Magistrates Court.

http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2015/02/14/trial-date-for-shropshire-gamekeeper-accused-of-trapping-wild-birds/
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Secret photos of dozens of pheasants dumped into a pit expose ‘myths’ of hunting industry

Cahal Milmo Friday 13 February 2015

Amid the festering remains of dead deer and game birds, some 40 freshly culled pheasants are slid from containers by an estate worker into a pit to join a slowly decomposing open-air mulch of meat.

The mass of rotting flesh, feather and bone is a disturbing sight in the heart of the English countryside, a literal “stink pit” where some of the discards of Britain’s £2bn shooting industry are left to putrefy.

Images taken from hidden cameras and passed to The Independent show dozens of pheasants being heaved into a hole on a private Berkshire shooting estate once frequented by royalty and former senior Conservative politicians and now owned through companies based in the Channel Islands and Switzerland.

According to animal rights campaigners, the decomposing remains show not only a gritty side to rural life but also challenge the claim that birds shot for sport are overwhelmingly used as food and sold to supermarkets or butchers.

Dr Toni Shephard, head of policy and research at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The dumping of pheasants unfortunately comes as no surprise. The ‘one for the pot’ argument often spouted by the shooting industry is a myth.”

The industry, which produces more than 30 million pheasants a year, has long been dogged by suggestions that it raises excessive numbers of birds and creates a surplus which has to be disposed of – a charge strongly denied by its representatives.

According to industry guidelines, all game shot in the countryside must be treated as food and “should be treated as such from the moment it is shot until it reaches the table”.

The managers of the photographed site, operated by Polesdon Estates Ltd, told The Independent that all birds shot on its land were either given to participants in shoots or sold to a registered game dealer. They said the only birds disposed of were those which were not fit for sale.

With the advocacy of celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, sales of game have rocketed and it is claimed that up to 97 per cent of all edible quarry killed in Britain is now eaten.

At least 35 million pheasants are reared for shooting in Britain each year, part of an industry that supports 47,000 jobs and spends £250m a year on conservation.

But anti-blood sports campaigners claim that behind such success lie grisly sights such as that found on the Polesdon Estate whereby freshly-shot birds – which estate managers insist are unfit for consumption – are dumped rather than passed into the food chain.

WARNING: This video contains footage that some may find upsetting

While the pheasants attract lucrative custom when alive in the shape of shooters, they are not much of a moneyspinner once dead. They are sold by supermarkets and butchers for about £6 a time, but estates and farmers receive just 25p per bird.

Using concealed cameras, activists recorded activity on the estate, previously known for its select shooting events attended by the great and the good, over three months from December. On three occasions a worker was seen arriving in a motorised pick-up at a pit in a small area of woodland and emptying large metal containers of pheasants down into the ditch. Many of the pheasants were tied into a “brace” of two birds with string, a common practice when birds are shot.

The pit appeared to be filled with the detritus of other shooting expeditions, including the skulls or carcasses of up to four deer which were rotting at the site. It is not illegal to dump animals without burial as long as they have died in the immediate vicinity.

Dr Shephard added: “Around 500 birds can be killed in one day’s shooting. This is far too many birds for a shooting party to eat or give to friends. Many are routinely dumped in mass pits as waste products following the day’s shooting.”

The resulting so-called “stink pit” – sometimes used by game estates to lure predators such as foxes – is in stark contrast to the gilded clientele previously associated with the estate’s shoots, which were operated at least until 2002 by Sir Jocelyn Stevens, a former chairman of English Heritage.

A spokesman for the Polesdon Estate said: “A small proportion of birds shot, that are not in a suitable condition to be accepted by the game dealer, have to be disposed of.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/secret-photos-released-of-dozens-of-pheasants-dumped-into-a-pit-victims-of-uk-shooting-industry-10045528.html
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pheasants 2

v2 pheasants

Lamerton Hunt case adjourned until April 1st

2 February 2015

The case against six members of the Lamerton Hunt has been adjourned until 1st April 2015.

During the case management hearing on 14th January at Torquay Magistrates’ Court, the defence was directed by the district judge to serve documents setting out the areas of factual dispute with each eye witness statement and their expert report by the 13th March 2015.

Joint master George Moyse, Huntsman David Lewis, Whipper-in Steve Craddock and Terrier men, Gilmore Lewis, Stephen Mitchell and Wayne Bartlett all entered not guilty pleas for alleged offences under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004, when they appeared before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on November 21st November 2014.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

• Joint master George Moyse, Huntsman David Lewis, Whipper-in Steve Craddock and Terrier men, Gilmore Lewis, Stephen Mitchell and Wayne Bartlett all face offences under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004 in relation to an alleged incident which occurred on the 26th March 2014 when the Lamerton Hunt met at Holdstrong Bungalow, near Lydford in Devon

http://www.league.org.uk/news-and-opinion/press-releases/2015/feb-15/lamerton-hunt-case-adjourned-until-april-1st
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Northumberland Huntsman Ian McKie’s badger case dropped

10 February 2015
By Brian Daniel

A case of interfering with a badger sett against Northumberland huntsman Ian McKie has been dropped

A Northumberland huntsman accused of interfering with a badger sett has walked free from court after the case against him was dropped.

Ian McKie, joint master and huntsman with the College Valley and North Northumberland Hunt, was taken to court accused of damaging part of a badger sett close to the hunt’s kennels last year.

However, the charge was discontinued after prosecutors concluded the identity of the person responsible for the alleged offence could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr McKie has now told us of his surprise that the case had got as far as it had given a “complete lack of evidence” and at the “considerable” expense he had been put to.

He also voiced surprise that “a member of the community and countryside” had gone to police – sparking the prosecution – rather than come to him with concerns.

The 57-year-old, who lives at Lanton near Wooler, was due to appear before Berwick magistrates to face a charge of interfering with a badger sett by damaging a part of it with intent or being reckless as to whether his actions would have that consequence.

The alleged offence was said to have occurred at Downham Farm, Mindrum, on November 11 last year.

However, in court, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) asked that the case be discontinued.

The court ordered that Mr McKie’s costs be paid for out of central funds.

A CPS spokesperson told us: “As a result of initial police enquiries, the defendant was summonsed to appear at Berwick Magistrates’ Court for a first hearing on January 28 this year.

“During a formal review of the case on January 21 by a CPS prosecutor, it was assessed that the identification of those involved in the dig could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt and that a realistic prospect of conviction was therefore unlikely.

“In light of this, the crown took the decision to ask that the case be formally discontinued at the first hearing.”

Mr McKie told us he had not committed the offence.

“We were surprised that it had got so far. There was a complete lack of evidence.

“It took a conversation between the prosecutor and our solicitor to realise that it had gone too far and should be discontinued purely through lack of substantial evidence.

“There is costs involved and unnecessary costs at that and court costs as well as police time.

“There has been a considerable amount of work done on our behalf and a considerable amount of time taken up with the police authorities which has all been completely unnecessary. It has put a lot of people to a lot of trouble unnecessarily.”

He added: “We were surprised at the time particularly for a local member of the community and the countryside going to such lengths.

“If they have got a problem normally, people would come and talk to me about it.

“But they felt they wanted to go to the police, that is their prerogative.”

Mr McKie claimed the complainant had told police he had seen somebody interfering with the badger sett but had not specifically mentioned him.

The huntsman says police then asked him to help them with their enquiries before he was ultimately charged.

Mr McKie was one of three members of the College Valley hunt convicted of illegal hunting at the Berwick court last October.

The trio were secretly filmed by two League Against Cruel Sports investigators as they led a meet near Lowick last February.

They pleaded not guilty and were convicted following a trial.

The College Valley and North Northumberland Hunt came into existence in 1982, when The College Valley Hunt amalgamated with the North Northumberland.

The College Valley Hunt was founded in 1924 while the North Northumberland began in 1920, although its predecessor the Glendale predates World War One.

The Hon Freddie Lambton kept the Glendale going during the Great War while the North Northumberland hounds were the property of the Joicey family of Ford and Etal until the 1982 merger.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-huntsman-ian-mckies-badger-8615802
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