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General Equestrian News

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Devon and Somerset hunt case collapses

Monday 23 March 2009

The prosecution of three members of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds for illegal hunting has been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service. Master Maurice Scott, Huntsman Donald Summersgill and Whipper-in Peter Heard have been cleared of all charges.

The three were charged with illegal hunting in 2006, and pleaded not guilty on the basis that their hunting was ‘exempt’ and therefore legal. The case was adjourned when the Devon and Somerset Staghounds launched a Judicial Review of the judge’s ruling that the burden of evidence was on the defendants to prove that they had been hunting legally. In February the High Court found for the hunt in a landmark judgment. Two senior judges ruled that it was for the prosecution to prove that hunting had not been legal. The Crown Prosecution Service has now confirmed that it will therefore not be continuing with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds prosecution.

Maurice Scott, joint-Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds said: “This is a huge relief, not just for myself and the others facing charges, but for hunting as a whole. We were always convinced that what we were doing was legal and, whilst we all hope that the Hunting Act does not last much longer, the Devon and Somerset Staghounds will be able to continue some form of hunting and deer management until it is repealed.”

Simon Hart, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance said: “This is the second high profile Hunting Act case to be dropped by the CPS as a result of the High Court judgment. There have only been three successful prosecutions of hunts involving five people since the Act came into force in February 2005. The decision to drop this case suggests that prosecutions under the Hunting Act will now be even rarer. It could not now be more obvious that this Act has failed and all it now promotes is confusion, cost and conflict. There are no reasonable arguments left for retaining the Hunting Act, and its repeal cannot come soon enough.”

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