Two Scottish Borders men cleared of fox hunting charges

Two Border Huntsmen have been cleared of illegally hunting foxes after a five day trial.

Buccleuch Hunt members Timothy Allen, 41, and Shaun Anderson, 28, were charged with deliberately hunting a fox with a pack of dogs, and were alleged to have breached the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002.

Both were found not guilty of an offence alleged to have happened near Morebattle, on the 20th December last year.

The trial took place at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, where the jury was shown secretly filmed footage from the League Against Cruel Sports.

Following legal submissions, Sheriff Peter Paterson found there was no case against huntmaster Allen because there was no fox shown in the part of the video he featured in.

Subsequently the trial of Anderson continued and during his evidence he said he made every attempt to control the dogs when a fox emerged.

Sheriff Paterson ruled that he too was not guilty.

In the 16 years since the Act was introduced in Scotland, there has only been one successful prosecution for mounted fox hunting.