A Warwickshire Hunt whipper-in has been convicted of unlawful hunting, after he stood by and watched a pack of hounds rip a fox to pieces.
Benjamin Halsall, 24, from Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, denied an offence of non-exempt hunting of a wild mammal with dogs, but was convicted following a trial at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Monday, 17th March 2025.
Non-exempt hunting of a wild mammal with a dog is an offence under section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004. It has a maximum sentence of an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
Warwickshire Hunt Limited, the company behind the Warwickshire Hunt, was cleared of the same offence.
The court heard that the offence took place on Monday, 9th October 2023, when the Warwickshire Hunt was active in the Idicote area.
Distressing video footage obtained by members of the Three Counties Hunt Sabateurs show the fox being chased down and mauled to death by the hounds, as Halsall watched on and failed to intervene.
Having considered the evidence, District Judge David Murray was sure that Halsall was guilty of the offence.
Halsall was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £400 surcharge and £600 towards prosecution costs.
Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes, of Warwickshire Police, said: "Last year communities across Warwickshire and the country were deeply saddened when they saw a video on social media showing illegal fox hunting.
"Officers from our Rural Crime Team worked incredibly hard to gather evidence to build up a robust case to put to the courts.
"And in Coventry Magistrates' Court today all that hard work came to fruition when Benjamin Halsall, was convicted."
Emma Slawinski, of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We welcome this conviction of the Warwickshire Hunt whipper-in which resulted from footage showing them brutally chasing and killing a fox despite the ban.
"This conviction highlights how the so-called trail hunting excuse being used by hunts is a smokescreen being used to conceal old fashioned barbaric hunting from the public, police, and courts.
"The time for change is now and the government should announce a timetable for when it will ban trail hunting, remove the exemptions in the Hunting Act being exploited by hunts, and introduce custodial sentences to act as a deterrent for those that would break the law."
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