Today, Sam Staniland, the former huntsman of the Essex & Suffolk Hunt, appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court facing six charges related to animal cruelty, including allowing dogs to fight with badgers and foxes. The case was brought by the RSPCA and Suffolk Police Rural Crime Team, following evidence discovered when police seized Staniland’s phone during an investigation into a separate fox hunting incident.
In November 2024, the Beaufort Hunt were hunting foxes at Widley’s Gorse, located on farmland owned by the Duke of Beauforts’ Badminton Estate, when the pack of hounds attacked a fox which was seeking refuge in a badger sett. Wiltshire Hunt Sabs were present and monitoring the hunt with a drone, which captured footage of the hounds attacking the badger sett. After the attack, aware that sabs had likely filmed the attack, the huntsman led the hounds to nearby Commonwood Farm, a regular hunt safe-haven, while the sab drone continued to track their movements overhead. Unbeknown to sabs, the hunt had a countermeasure prepared.
