Yet another member of a hunt has been charged under the Hunting Act, and it is hunt saboteurs’ footage that has been key to him being prosecuted. Arun Squire is the huntsman for the Puckeridge Hunt, and will appear in court on 13 July.

Paul O’Shea, the East Essex Hunt terrier man who repeatedly stabbed a fox with a pitchfork, has pleaded guilty to two charges of animal cruelty. O’Shea was charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs, an offence under the Hunting Act, as well as causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, which is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act.

It is exciting news that Yorkshire Water is set to review whether it will allow grouse and partridge shooting to continue on moorland it owns. The company’s decision will affect land on Thornton Moor, near Halifax, when the lease ends later this year.

Chris Woodward, huntsman of Wynnstay Hunt, has been charged under the Hunting Act. It is the first time that a charge has been brought against a member of the Wynnstay since the Act came into force in 2005.

Two members of the East Essex Hunt will appear in court on 22nd June, charged with Hunting Act and animal cruelty offences. 49-year-old Paul O’Shea, who is a terrier man for the hunt, and his 16-year-old daughter, were covertly filmed by North London Hunt Sabs last year. The sabs’ footage, filmed on 4 December 2021, caught the two carrying out the most horrific animal cruelty, using both a dog and a pitchfork to murder a fox. 

Tanatside Hunt has folded, but it has only told a half-truth when announcing the reasons why. The welcome news comes after a line of disasters for hunting, which have seriously put the future of bloodsport in doubt.