Huntsman first to be found guilty of fox hunting in Lincolnshire

Neil Burton, 59, had submitted a plea of not-guilty to the charge relating to an incident on January 27 this year.

He is the Huntsman of the Burton Hunt which covers an area north of Lincoln spanning between Gainsborough and Baumber.

According to Lincolnshire Police, during the two-day trial at Lincoln Magistrate’s Court, Burton denied he was encouraging his hounds to hunt a fox, but must now pay a total of £1,460 in fines, costs and surcharges after this was rejected. He was charged under the Hunting Act of 2004 which controls the hunting of wild animals with dogs.

On Monday (October 28) Burton was fined £600 and must pay costs of £650 and a victim surcharge of £240.

Footage captured by not-for-profit organisation Lincolnshire Hunt Saboteurs was shown during the trial. In a statement after the hearing, Lincolnshire Police said the video showed Burton sitting on a white horse in the middle of Riseholme Lane, near Lincoln as a small, dark animal runs across the lane and into a wooded area behind him, followed by hounds. On the video the Hunt Saboteurs are heard saying, “Oh god did you see that fox cross the road just then. There’s a fox”.

As this happened Burton rode his horse through a hedgerow and alongside the covert towards the hounds shouting “go on, go on go on” and “hi hi hi hi”. He is heard using voice calls and his hunting horn. He was closely followed by the Hunt Saboteurs.

An expert witness, Wildlife and Countryside Management Consultant Stuart Scull, said in his opinion Burton heard his hounds ‘speaking’ and later going into ‘full cry’’, indicating they were on the scent of a fox. Mr Scull said he could hear three blows of a whistle on the video which may have been sounded by a whipper-in to indicate a fox has been seen. The defence disputed any whistling could be heard.

Lincolnshire Police said Mr Scull gave evidence of how a huntsman will have a good knowledge of how his hounds work and would be very aware if they are hunting a fresh or an old scent. He described how along with the voice calls a hunting horn can be heard on the video 'Blowing away' or 'Doubling the horn’, which are short pulsating notes, used to encourage hounds when a fox is roused. A longer note, referred to as a ‘disappointed’ sound is blown to discourage the hounds.

A second horn can be heard on the video blowing a longer note, the court heard this longer sound was made by a hunt saboteur who had also carried a horn to disrupt illegal hunting.

Denying the charge, Neil Burton is said to have claimed to have been aware of the presence of the hunt saboteurs and had been worried for the safety of his hounds on the road, blowing his horn to gather them all together and 'lift their heads'. He had realised something was happening when he heard his hounds 'speak'. This is a sound the hounds make when they probably had a rabbit in front of them, or something, he said. He claimed the hunt do not use whistles.

He told officers the hounds did not catch a fox that day.

The police statement says a member of the Lincolnshire Hunt Saboteurs told the court they are a group of people who monitor and observe hunts and use non-violent, direct-action techniques to intervene only when the hunts attempt to pursue live quarry. They used their voice and horn calls to mimic the hunt staff to safely call the hounds away from their intended quarry.

DC Aaron Flint, of Lincolnshire Police’s Rural Crime Action Team, said after the case: “We simply will not tolerate illegal fox hunting in Lincolnshire; it is a barbaric and savage activity. I hope this conviction sends a clear message that we will take anyone to court who, when the evidence allows, has taken part in such a cruel and primitive pursuit.

“The burden of proof for a court is beyond reasonable doubt and today they found that fox hunting had taken place.

“We will continue to monitor hunts closely and take robust and positive action against those who break the law.

“I would like to thank the witnesses who came forward and gave me the footage, this allowed me to carry out my investigation and I hope provides them with confidence that we will act when we can. I continue to appeal for any suspicious activity relating to foxhunting to be reported, this helps to identify where to focus our resources.”