Men found guilty of hunting offences after fox 'pulled to pieces' in Norfolk family's garden
ITV News Anglia's Andy Ward reports from Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court. Viewers may find this video distressing.
Two men have been found guilty of hunting offences after a fox was "pulled to pieces" in a family's back garden.
The hunt happened in Hingham, Norfolk, on 20 February last year, as a pack of 38 hounds got into the garden of the home and killed the fox - all captured on the family's CCTV.
The footage also showed a man jumping over a fence to remove the animal’s remains as riders on horseback waited by the road outside.
On Friday, two of four men on trial over the incident were found guilty of hunting offences at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court.
Huntsman Edward Bell, 31, from Necton in Norfolk, and “whipper in” assistant Adam Egginton, 23, from Aston in Worcester, were found guilty of hunting a wild mammal with dogs.
District Judge Matthew Bone said he did not accept the pair were "just trail hunting" - a legal method in which dogs and riders follow an artificial scent along an agreed route.
He said: "It was proved beyond reasonable doubt that Bell and Eggington knew the dogs were chasing the fox and took the opportunity to engage in unlawful fox hunting."
A victim impact statement from the family who owned the garden said: “Emotionally it is extremely distressing that we had to clean up the aftermath of the hounds ripping apart a poor lonesome fox on our patio.
“The hunters kindly left us the pleasure of removing the intestines, kidneys, fox fur, and blood from our blood-stained patio.
“I had to explain this to my three year old. Why should she be exposed to this in her home?”
Another hunt took place on 8 February 2023 at Tittleshall, with footage showing dogs on the trail of a live fox.
Addressing Bell directly, the judge said: "You should have known better.
"You hunted twice and on the second occasion an animal, that has been protected by law since 2005, was killed.
"This has been the law for almost 20 years, and yet on both occasions, you took the opportunity to act unlawfully."
The pair were found not guilty of charges of criminal damage and owning a dog dangerously out of control, with the latter charge not proven to a criminal standard.
The charge of criminal damage was not proven, as the judge said the pair could not have forseen the damage as they "did not know where the hounds were".
The other two men on trial - Andrew Kendall, 67, of Hulver Road, Beccles, and Robert Gurney, 55, of Bawdeswell Hall, Dereham - were found not guilty of all charges.
Bell and Egginton were ordered to pay fines of £1,700 each within 28 days, broken down to a £1,000 fine, a £400 surcharge and £300 of court costs.
Fox hunting has been illegal in England since the introduction of the Hunting Act in 2004.
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