No prosecution for Cheshire Hunt

A decision has been made not to charge anyone involved in a hunt that spilled onto Penningtons Lane in Gawsworth.

Police probed reports of the hunt in February where hounds were alleged to have killed a fox.

Resident Julie Clarke, 47, who witnessed the hunt from her home in Penningtons Lane said it was “horrific” and the “dogs were out of control”, leaving some locals “traumatised… scared and outraged”.

A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokeswoman said police referred two files to them relating to Cheshire Forest Hunt, one on 25 February and the other on 2 January.

“In both cases our prosecutor decided there was not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of a conviction”, she said.

A spokesman for Cheshire Forest Hunt said at the time they had “apologised” for what had happened.

LesleyMartin, from the anti-hunting campaign group which monitors hunting groups in Cheshire, said the law is inadequate in its current form. She said the law “really needs to be strengthened… plus we need to have stronger sentencing so it sends a really good message to have these people brought to account”.

Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg said: “I think the problem with the hunting act is that it wasn’t very well drafted and it’s really quite difficult to bring prosecutions”.

“I think those who thought it was going to stop hunting as a sport have been disappointed”.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs said they could not comment on individual cases, but whether an offence under the Hunting Act 2004 is taken to court would depend on whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.

He said: “The government’s manifesto includes a free vote on the Hunting Act. There are no plans for a vote in this session, as with the EU negotiations beginning, this is clearly not a top priority for the first session.”

Fox hunting: What is the law?

• In 2004, it was made a criminal offence in England and Wales to hunt down and kill a wild mammal with dogs.
• In order to prosecute, a person must be shown to be intentionally hunting the animal – the offence cannot be committed by accident.
• Pursuit of live animals has been replaced by trail hunting, which sees hounds and riders follow a pre-laid scent along an agreed route, but foxes and other animals have been known to get caught up in the hunt.