Chris Amatt, Thurlow Huntsman – Guilty of Hunting a Wild Mammal with Dogs and Common Assault.
Archie Clifton-Brown – Guilty of Assault by Beating.
We are clearly delighted with the decision from the court today.
The level set for the burden of proof within the Hunting Act to gain a conviction, we believe, is excessively high. For too long hunts have been hunting wild mammals with impunity by using the “trail hunting” alibi, which is nothing more than a smokescreen for hunting much the same as it would have been prior to the ban in 2004. However that does not mean that convictions cannot be achieved and in this case we had the evidence, knowledge and courage in which to mount a case against the Thurlow for the crimes they committed on Boxing Day 2017.
The judge Nick Watson, in summing up commented that the sabs were honest and credible witnesses, whereas the defendants had fabricated a number of lies to cover for their crimes. At no point had the sabs present in the wood had anything to do with the death of the fox and indeed had not turned it into the hounds as the defence had claimed. The huntsman was clearly heard encouraging the hounds and had made no attempt to stop them. Archie Clifton-Brown only avoided the Hunting Act prosecution due to the doubt in the level of involvement he had in the proceedings and the judge noted he was probably a lot more involved than the defence claimed, although to what end we cannot be certain.
We would like to thank Suffolk Police for their robust investigation and the excellent Prosecutor Richard Kelly who so eloquently pointed out the flaws and fabrications in the defence argument. We would also like to thank North Cambs Hunt Sabs for standing with us in the fields and the court room.
We would also call for a strengthening of the Hunting Act to remove all the loopholes that are cynically exploited by the hunting community and will continue to work towards this end as well as our non-violent direct action in the fields. This is our second successful prosecution of a hunt and sends a clear message to those breaking the law and abusing our wildlife. We will not only sab you, but we will also bring you before the courts.
