Two members of the Jed Forest Foxhounds have been found guilty of breaching Scotland’s Protection of Wild Mammals Act. The conviction was the first under the act since its passage in 2002.

Johnny Riley and his father John Clive Richardson, MFH were fined £400 and £250 respectively for deliberately hunting a fox with dogs near Jedburgh last year. Riley and Richardson had both entered not guilty pleas, and plan to appeal the decision.

The prosecution relied on video evidence taken from nearly a half mile away. The images purport to show a terrier man digging out a fox, after which Richardson and Riley pursued it on horseback in contravention of Scotland’s Protection of Wild Mammals Act of 2002. Defense lawyer David McKie told the court the men had worked within the terms of the legislation by using hounds to flush out a fox from cover to waiting guns.

Scotland’s League Against Cruel Sports Director Robbie Marshall said the guilty verdict confirms that Scottish hunts are breaking the law, and the League looks forward to helping to strengthen the law. The Countryside Alliance was disappointed by the conviction, and claimed the men had been subjected to “trial by television.”

Click to read the entire article published by the BBC.

Posted July 21, 2017