LETTERS: Hunting Act 'still alive' despite High Court ruling

Dear Editor - Contrary to what the Countryside Alliance would like us to believe, today’s judgment on the Hunting Act from the High Court is in fact a very positive step forward in ensuring illegal hunters are brought to justice.
Instead of being a ‘new blow to the Hunting Act’, this will clarify the law and clear up any confusion around what is legal hunting and what is illegal hunting.
There is absolutely no suggestion anywhere in the judgment that the Act is unenforceable.
More importantly, this will clear the way for a backlog of cases to pass through the courts which will no doubt see the number of prosecutions rise even further.
The League has always believed the law to be sound and effective and with any law the problem is with enforcement not with the law itself.
Testament to this is the fact nearly 100 MPs have signed a new Early Day Motion calling for better enforcement of the Hunting Act.
Seventy five per cent of the people in the UK do not want to see a return to cruelty when killing wild animals for fun was legal.
It is time the Countryside Alliance et al accepted this and stopped complaining about a law which prevents them enjoying their so-called sport.

Douglas Batchelor
Chief Executive
League Against Cruel Sports
New Sparling House
Holloway Hill

Godalming

'Nail in coffin' of hunting ban as foxhunter wins High Court ruling

TONY Wright, the first huntsman to be prosecuted under the Hunting Act, today won a High Court ruling which was immediately hailed as a new blow to the Labour Government’s anti-hunting legislation.
The two judges found in favour of Mr Wright (pictured) and rejected an appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), meaning the prosecution of many Hunting Act offences will now be more difficult.
The League Against Cruel Sports brought a private prosecution against Mr Wright after he led out the Exmoor Foxhounds in April, 2005, just a few weeks after the Act came into force.
He was alleged to have signalled the hounds to pursue two foxes at Drybridge, on the Devon side of the county boundary, twice allowing them a ‘prolonged period of pursuit’.
Under the law, only flushing out foxes to be shot is still legal.
Mr Wright, now aged 54, of Simonsbath, was convicted in Barnstaple Magistrates Court in August, 2006, and was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 costs.
However, the conviction was overturned by in Exeter Crown Court in November, 2007.
Now, a CPS appeal against his acquittal has been lost in the High Court.
The CPS argued it should have been for Mr Wright to prove that he had been hunting legally, and that ‘hunting a mammal’ includes ‘searching’ for it.
After the case, Mr Wright said he was relieved it was now all over and he hoped the case had put one of the final nails in the coffin of the Hunting Act.
He said: “This prosecution has now dragged on for over three years and during that time I have been living under the threat of a criminal conviction.
“If this judgment, though, makes it less likely that other people will face the sort of vindictive prosecution that I have been through, then it has all been worth it.”
Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart said: “Even before today’s judgment only five people connected to hunts have been convicted of any offence since the Act came into force.
“The CPS argued in court that if it lost this appeal ‘prosecutions under the 2004 Act would rarely be viable’, so there should now be even fewer prosecutions.
“The Hunting Act is an increasingly pointless piece of legislation that offered little and has achieved less.
“Politicians of all parties are coming to realise that it has failed and it is now a question of when, not if, the Hunting Act is repealed.”
The ruling means those accused of breaching the hunt ban will be innocent until proven guilty, with the burden of proof lying with those bringing a prosecution.
Legal expert Tim Hayden, chairman of Taunton law firm Clarke Willmott, said: “This decision will reduce the risk of people being convicted where they are unable to recall or to prove the events that may have happened many months earlier.
“I would expect a reduction in the number of such cases being brought before the courts.”

Anti-hunt group creating Neighbourhood Watch-style 'eyes and ears' network of residents

RESIDENTS of West Somerset are being urged to be ‘eyes and ears of the countryside’ to protect fox cubs from illegal hunting.
The anti-hunting organisation International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has launched a Neighbourhood Watch-style advertising campaign to help prevent illegal fox cub hunting.
It wants local residents to report to the police if they see any suspicious activity which resembles cub hunting.
Cub hunting is the practice of training young dogs to kill fox cubs so they develop a taste for blood, and traditionally formed part of the hunting calendar.
The Hunting Act 2004 outlawed the practice, but animal welfare groups remain concerned that some people could be continuing the early morning activity, in an attempt to keep the sport alive.
IFAW hunt monitor Kevin Hill said: “Cub hunting is a particularly barbaric activity.
“Dogs would not naturally hunt foxes, they have to be trained from a young age by taking them to a fox habitat and letting them loose with older, more experienced dogs.
“Hunters surround the woods and block any escape routes for the fleeing foxes.
“Many people will be shocked to learn about this aspect of hunting and we encourage locals to be the eyes and ears of the countryside to help stop this cruelty.”
The newspaper advert features a photograph of a young fox and reads: “He’s only a few months old, but already they could be baying for his blood.
“Over the coming weeks, the International Fund for Animal Welfare believes that a cruel and illegal activity could be taking place in your area.
“Some people may be training their hounds by setting them upon fox cubs, an archaic practice that was banned under the Hunting Act.
“If you see any suspicious behaviour please contact the police. For information on what to look for, visit www.ifaw.org.”
IFAW and the League Against Cruel Sports have written to every police force in England and Wales asking them to be especially vigilant in looking out for cub hunting from August until November, and to take action where appropriate to prevent this illegal activity.