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Four members of the Dorset-based Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt are due to appear at Poole Magistrates Court on Friday 28th June on Hunting Act charges.
The charges follow drone footage captured by North Dorset Hunt Sabs at Buckhorn Weston near Gillingham on Monday 4th December 2023. The footage appears to show the protracted hunting of a fox through a complex of farm buildings. The poor animal is eventually cornered in a field and torn to pieces as members of the hunt look on.
The pitiless pursuit of this fox caused uproar when it was beamed into millions of homes as the centrepiece of a Channel 4 News report titled ‘Exclusive footage shows how foxes are being illegally hunted by hounds.’
Earlier on the same day, North Dorset sabs’ cameras captured the BSV hounds hunting a fox through a water-logged field. Fortunately, they were on hand to intervene and force the huntsman to call off the pack.
The charges follow the April 2024 conviction of BSV hunt member Charlie Mayo for causing Actual Bodily Harm to a member of North Dorset Hunt Sabs. Mayo caused permanent injury by striking the sab with the bone-handled end of his whip.
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