Avon Vale court case

[happyhunter123]

A private prosecution of five members of the Avon Vale hunt being brought by the RSPCA collapsed today in Chippenham Magistrates court.

The five men faced Hunting Act charges plus one additional Protection of Badgers Act charge each.

The case was unusual in that it did not involve evidence gathered by monitors. It related only to terrier work, and surrounded an incident that took place last season.

More details will follow later, I imagine.

 

[Alec Swan]

I wonder what the costs were, and if they were paid from the public purse. If the CPS have now withdrawn from such prosecutions, handing over the responsibilities to a bunch of clowns, but then reimbursing them from public coffers, there's something very wrong; that's "IF", if the rspca are having to fund such stupidity themselves, then they may be a little more circumspect.

Alec.

 

[happyhunter123]

I wonder what the costs were, and if they were paid from the public purse. If the CPS have now withdrawn from such prosecutions, handing over the responsibilities to a bunch of clowns, but then reimbursing them from public coffers, there's something very wrong; that's "IF", if the rspca are having to fund such stupidity themselves, then they may be a little more circumspect.

Alec.

It's cost the RSPCA £50,000.

Two of the men, current JM/huntsman Sturart Radbourne and Ben Pethers, pleaded guilty and were fined £300 (+£250 costs) each for two offences under the Protection of Badgers Act for digging a sett in order to rescue a terrier that had been trapped (it was trapped for two hours). The other two Badgers Act charges were dropped, as were all of the Hunting Act charges.

 

[shoeey]

The story is here on the CA website

http://www.countryside-alliance.org...-prosecution-of-avon-vale-thrown-out-of-court