- Buckingham hunter guilty of hare kill
- Shropshire hunters guilty of assault
- Cheshire hunter guilty of dangerous driving
- Leicester hunt supporter fined
- Nottinghamshire hunter and terrierman, 4 charges
- Gloucestershire hunt kill fox – no charges
- Same Gloucestershire hunt charged with illegal hunting (earlier fox kill)
- Cambridgeshire huntsman’s case – second adjournment
- Dorset huntsman convicted for hare kill
- Information sought after animal cruelty charges
TOP STORIES
GUILTY
On 04/06/26, Phillip Kennedy, huntsman with the Stowe Beagles, pleaded guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court to the illegal hunting of a wild mammal with dogs, namely a hare. The offence took place on 13/11/25 and drone footage recorded the incident. He was fined £258, with a victim surcharge of £103 and CPS costs of £585.
On 18/06/26, Charlie Ford, huntsman from the Dorset and Somerset Bassets (and only 20yrs old) was convicted of hare hunting at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court. He received financial penalties amounting to £1557.
The Shropshire Wildlife Monitors report that Paul Larby, huntsman with the Albrighton Hunt, has been found guilty of common assault. Phillipa Ward, a whip with the Albrighton Hunt, had previously pleaded guilty to common assault. The financial penalty for Paul Larby was £2067 and for Phillipa Ward, £1001. Both now have a criminal conviction on their records.
The assault took place in August 2024.
George Moss from the Cheshire Hounds collected a fine and three points on his licence for driving his quad bike directly at an anti-hunt activist on 25/02/26.
The Hunt was hunting on the Grosvenor Estate at Cholmondeley, and quads were moving around on a public road when Moss committed this dangerous driving offence.
In February, a hunt monitor spotted a tractor following the Belvoir Hunt in a tractor. The monitor reported the driver for having no registration plates, no lights and a load wobbling about dangerously in the back. The hunt was on land belonging to the driver. Leicester Police identified the driver and fined him £250.
CHARGES
On the closing day of the Government’s Consultation on banning trail hunting, the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs were pleased to report that three members of the Beaufort Hunt had been charged with illegal hunting after killing a fox on 20/12/25. Huntsman Will Bryer, whipper-in Mitch Prosser, and terrierman Anthony Tuck will appear in court on a date yet to be announced.
This report from the Hunt Saboteurs Association contains some harrowing material.
Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs also thanked the Avon and Somerset Rural Crime Team for progressing the case.
Huntsman Jacob Whalley and terrierman Ste Reynolds from the Grove and Rufford Hunt have now been charged with four counts of interfering with a badger sett. Both men have entered not guilty pleas and the trial is due to take place on the 26th November.
COURT CASE ADJOURNED
For the second time, the case against Fitzwilliam Huntsman Shaun Parish, charged under Section 1 of the Hunting Act, has been adjourned.
Relating to an incident in November ‘24, the first adjournment was for new evidence: a delay so that defence could engage an “expert witness”. This latest adjournment was due to their expert witness being unwell. Referencing of evidence also needs clarity, and the case will move from a Magistrates’ hearing to a District Judge, and will be heard on 1-2 December. The Peterborough Hunt Saboteurs are encouraged by this move.
(Then whipper-in with the Fitzwilliam, Jacob Whalley already pleaded guilty to this same incident.)
FOX KILL – NO CHARGES
Despite the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs’ video recording of the Beaufort Hunt killing a fox on 6th March, 2026 and disposing of the remains into a black bin bag, the Wiltshire Police and CPS are not proceeding with a prosecution, presumably citing insufficient evidence.
OTHER NEWS
On 21/05/26, Rhys Ebenezer was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to 3 Patterdale terriers. He received an 18 week prison sentence suspended for two years, plus £6410 costs. South Wales Hunt Saboteurs suspect that this man is involved with his local hunt and are hoping to receive information regarding this.
