Horrific footage of fox being torn apart by hounds led to conviction of Warwickshire Hunt whipper-in, Benjamin Halsall, 24, from Shipston

Horrific footage of a fox being cruelly torn apart by a pack of hounds led to the conviction of a member of the Warwickshire Hunt this week.

Coventry Magistrates’ Court was shown graphic video of an incident from 9th October 2023 at Idlicote Hill, near Shipston.

It also shows Warwickshire Hunt’s whipper-in, Benjamin Halsall, 24, from Shipston, looking on as hounds flush out a fox and chase it across open ground before it is surrounded and killed.

As whipper-in, Mr Halsall’s job was meant to be the “eyes and ears” of the hunt, the court heard, including ensuring the hounds did not give chase if a wild animal broke cover.

The video was taken by Rebecca Forrester from Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs. It records her trying to get between the fox and the hounds, and shouting at the dogs, but to no avail, the kill is swift and inevitable.

Afterwards, Ms Forrester attempts to get to the fox’s body, but she is warned away by a member of the hunt, before Halsall dismounts and stoops to retrieve the bloodied carcass without acknowledging her.

On Monday (17th March), following a two-day trial, District Judge David Murray found Halsall guilty of hunting a wild mammal with dogs contrary to the 2004 Hunting Act.

Halsall was ordered to pay £2,000 – which comprises a £1,000 fine and £1,000 in costs.

Warwickshire Hunt had faced the same charges as Halsall but was acquitted.

The hunt has been caught on camera by saboteurs being involved in a number of other fox kills in recent years, but it maintains these were accidents which occurred while it was trail hunting.

Although saboteurs welcomed the conviction, they claimed the hunt was largely getting away with flouting the law – allegations the hunt denies.

A saboteur spokesperson commented: “The Warwickshire Hunt blatantly and deliberately hunted this fox which ended with them being ripped apart by the hounds.

“This confirms what we have been saying for a long time – the Warwickshire Hunt are illegally hunting and killing foxes. It’s clear that foxes are still being hunted and killed 20 years after the Hunting Act was originally brought in.

“A £2,000 fine is clearly not enough of a deterrent. The government needs to fulfil its promise to strengthen the Hunting Act.”

No other prosecutions have been brought by Warwickshire Police for fox hunting in recent years, despite other kills being filmed.

The force was heavily criticised last year when it agreed to a “secret protocol” after it attempted to take the hunt to court on anti-social behaviour charges over riders and hounds interfering with traffic on busy roads. After being covered extensively by the Herald, the story was picked up nationally, with Channel 4 broadcasting a damning investigation.

In a PR-offensive this week, Warwickshire Police posted online a video interview with assistant chief constable Claire Armes welcoming Halsall’s conviction. She said: “We’re incredibly pleased with today’s result. It comes after tireless effort from our rural crime team. Since the investigation started they have been dedicated to bringing the strongest case possible.

“When the footage [of the fox kill] began circulating on social media it rightly caused huge upset, including in Warwickshire and across the country. As a county with many rural communities we are very much on the frontline of policing any hunting activity. And for that reason our communities, politicians and press across the country look to what we’re doing.

“We do understand that this is a really emotive issue. And we hope that this demonstrates that where we see criminal behaviour, or when it’s reported to us, we will investigate, and we will do everything we can to seek prosecution.”

National animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports said it too welcomed the conviction, however the charity took the opportunity to call for stronger fox hunting laws and jail sentences for those convicted of fox hunting.

Chief executive Emma Slawinski said: “We welcome this conviction of the Warwickshire Hunt whipper-in which resulted from footage showing the brutally chasing and killing of 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.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson from the Warwickshire Hunt said: “The hunt has been lawfully trail hunting in accordance with the Hunting Act for 20 years so it is pleased to have been acquitted but an appeal is being considered in relation to the disappointing conviction of one of its volunteers.

“Following this incident in October 2023 the hunt conducted a review of its procedures to ensure that it remains clear that the hunt is operating legitimately.”