HUNT employees used “cynical subterfuge” to disguise the fact they were illegally hunting a fox, a judge has ruled.
Judge Michael Pert QC told Leicester Crown Court that Derek Hopkins and Kevin Allen, employees of the Great Bowden-based Fernie Hunt, had pretended they where following a trail scent to cover up the illegal pursuit of a fox.
Dismissing their appeal against convictions for breaching the ban on hunting, Judge Pert said: “It may be that they [hunt supporters] feel the day will come when this [Hunting] Act is repealed and they may be correct but the law is the law.
“Their conduct amounted to cynical subterfuge. They used a trail hunt as a cover.”
The five-day appeal, which concluded this afternoon (Friday), followed the convictions of Huntsman Hopkins and terrierman Allen at Harborough Magistrates’ Court earlier this year.
The charges were illegally hunting a mammal with a dog and interfering with a badger sett.
Both men will have to pay out thousands in additional court fees for bringing the case to appeal – £3,630 for Hopkins and £2,730 for Allen.
http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/news/crime/breaking_news_hunt_duo_lose_their_appeal_1_3155659