Hunters under investigation

An East Anglian hunt is being investigated after evidence was supplied by an anti-hunting group apparently showing its members failing to call off its hounds as they chased hares.

Huntwatch claims that its video - taken on Boxing Day - shows members of the Waveney Harriers chasing the hares on countryside near Bungay, in defiance of the new Hunting Act.

Last night, Suffolk police confirmed they had handed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will review the evidence against and decide whether to bring a prosecution.

But the Waveney Harriers insisted that its members always kept within the law, and no-one had so far been arrested or charged.

It is the first time since the law came into effect that police in East Anglia have passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to assess whether it has been breached.

Nationally, there has been one prosecution under the Hunting Act since it came into force in February, but that case, in Merseyside, related to poaching rather than hunting.

A CPS Suffolk spokesman confirmed that police had sent it the file on the Waveney Harriers' Boxing Day Hunt, which began with its traditional ride-out from Bungay town centre.

“The case will be considered in accordance with the guidelines for crown prosecutors,” he said.

A spokesman for the CPS nationally said that it was the first case of its type in East Anglia that the CPS had been officially asked to look at, although prosecutors sometimes give informal guidance to police. The case was one of a handful being considered across the country at the moment, he added.

John Ibbott, master of the Waveney Harriers, said Suffolk police had told him they had been sent a video film of the hunt, but he had not heard anything further.

“We were hunting within the law. Huntwatch obviously take a different view, but none of the local constabulary who were there had a problem on the day,” he said.

“If hounds are chasing a hare then you have to stop them, which is what we do. We are very happy to continue hunting within the law.”

Tizzie Craggs, joint secretary of the Waveney Harriers, said there was an incident involving a hare during the Boxing Day hunt, but stressed: “A hare did get up under the hooves of the huntsman's horse. He shouted at the hounds to stop.”

Andrea Hill, a Huntwatch spokesman who was at the Boxing Day hunt, said that Waveney Harriers was filmed chasing three hares at Ilketshall St John, near Bungay.

She said: “We have passed the video on to the police and CPS, and we are waiting to hear.”

One of the hunt monitors whose film has been passed to police said it was upsetting to look on as hares were chased.

“It was very distressing to see an animal running for its life,” said the hunt monitor, who wished to remain anonymous. “Now it is illegal it is frustrating that all you can do is watch on video.

“I believe they were breaking the law. I haven't seen anything being killed, but I believe the only reason we haven't is because we were there with video cameras.”

The news comes two days before a private prosecution by the League Against Cruel Sports against Exmoor Foxhounds huntsman Tony Wright under the Hunting Act. The case also relies on video evidence, and he has pleaded not guilty.

The Hunting Act has been criticised for being unworkable and open to interpretation. It is legal to flush out an animal with no more than two dogs. Hunting a hare that has been shot is also legal, as is hunting rabbits.