5th February 2025
Watch the video here (BEWARE HORRIBLE FOOTAGE)
A photographer hoping to capture images of local wildlife has been left deeply upset after witnessing an ‘horrific’ incident when a pack of beagles ripped apart a hare on Boughton Estate land near Kettering.
A video shared on social media, which has been viewed thousands of times, triggered the estate to suspend the group, registered as a ‘sports’ company, from ‘legal exercise’ on the land that belongs to the Duke of Buccleuch, owner of Boughton House near Geddington.
“There were two people with whips who could have easily stopped them (the dogs). They were on the hare and four times the man encouraged it. The people did nothing to intervene, it wasn’t an accident, it was a deliberate act of killing a beautiful hare. It was horrific and barbaric.
“I can’t understand the psyche of people going to deliberately do this, walking around thinking this is acceptable.
Using the public footpaths and rights of way, the photographer uses a long lens to record the local wildlife including foxes, deer and barn owls.
A spokesman for Boughton Estate said: “Buccleuch are aware of an incident which took place while the Pipewell Foot Beagles were undertaking legal exercise on the Boughton Estate, and have been in touch with organisers for the Pipewell Foot Beagles and the local police to understand what happened and any next steps.
“Until the matter is resolved, exercise by the Pipewell Foot Beagles has been suspended on the estate.”
Northants Police has taken a statement from the witness.
A spokesman for Northants Police said: “At 2.40pm on January 25, the force received a report regarding dogs causing the death of a hare on land near Warkton.
“An investigation into the incident is underway.”
Immediately after the members of the Pipewell Foot Beagles left the area, the photographer went over to check on the hare.
The photographer said: “The group scuttled off after they saw me. As I approached the hare, I could clearly see it was dead – parts of its rear end were missing. The hare was warm to the touch. It was absolutely heartbreaking.”
Pipewell Foot Beagles have been contacted by this newspaper for a statement.
In broad terms the act creates five offences:
– Hunting a wild mammal with a dog section 1
– Permitting land to be used for hunting a wild mammal with a dog section 3(1)
– Permitting a dog to be used for hunting a wild mammal with a dog section 3(2)
All the offences under the act are summary-only and the maximum penalty for these offences is a level 5 fine section 6 of the act. There can be no attempted offences. The offences are subject to the normal six months limitation of time for the commencement of such prosecutions.
A person found guilty of an offence under the act is liable on conviction in a magistrates’ court to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, currently £5,000.
I can’t watch it, I’ve not even clicked from the blog feed onto the blog, because what these nasty pieces of shit do to such sentient beings disgust and horrify me. I wish to thank all who put them away behind bars, for these cruel ones are who should be there. Schools need to teach kindness, compassion and how to be ethical, not algebra or Latin or the like. It saddens me how the world is, but also seeing a free animal in nature brightens my day back to hope.