Not So Kean Now: Another Cottesmore Hunt Thug Convicted

A hunt thug left Leicester Magistrates Court yesterday with a two year restraining order, following a prolonged campaign of violence and intimidation against hunt sabs.

Andrew Kean, was facing two charges of assault by beating, and one charge of common assault, while his sidekick, Barrington Nurse-Phillips, was facing two charges of common assault.

The charges related to incidents at the opening meet of the Cottesmore Hunt at Knossington, Leicestershire, in October 2024, while both men were acting as so-called ‘hunt stewards.’

On the day, hunt sabs were assaulted while intervening to help a fleeing fox. Both men were arrested, after threats of serious physical harm were made and a female sab was hit in the chest, and another sab was twice shoved into a fence.

The defendants had maintained ‘not guilty’ pleas up until the morning of the trial, with Kean attempting to change his plea in an effort to secure lesser consequences. However, the victim of this organised hunt violence firmly rejected the deal and held their nerve and dignity in court, leaving Kean to try and save his own neck and tattered reputation.

This he was clearly unable to do, instead agreeing to a two-year restraining order and a ban from attending any Cottesmore Hunt meets. He also must not approach any of the victims on any public footpath or public space anywhere.

Barrington Nurse-Phillips also left court with a criminal conviction after being recruited by Andrew Kean to threaten violence against sabs.

The Cottesmore Hunt have hired thugs to attack and threaten sabs for years, with many incidents of violence recorded, arrests made and stories making it into the national press.

In December, the police issued an arrest warrant for another hired Cottesmore Hunt thug who skipped sentencing, following his conviction for yet more violence against sabs.

Despite this, Northants Hunt Sabs have continued to lead a determined campaign against the hunt, with them every step of the way throughout the hunting season, exposing their illegal fox hunting and violence, and keeping up the pressure at their fundraising events.#

Speaking of the convictions, Northants Hunt Sabs said:

“The Cottesmore fox hunt have for a long time used paid thugs to attack and threaten sabs. Andrew Kean has also prided himself on being the one that everyone should fear. However, when push came to shove, he exhibited the same cowardly and self-serving attitude common to all those in the hunting world. When faced with the reality of justice they shrink like the fading ghosts of the bloody past they truly are.”

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