GUILTY! West Norfolk Foxhounds men lose court appeal
GUILTY! West Norfolk Foxhounds men lose court appeal
Edward “Mikey” Bell and whipper-in Andrew Egginton convicted under Hunting Act
Two West Norfolk Foxhounds men appeared in court again last week, this time to appeal hunting convictions. To their dismay, their attempt at overturning their guilty verdicts backfired. Their convictions were upheld on 18 October.
Back on 19 July 2024, a judge convicted huntsman Edward “Mikey” Bell and whipper-in Andrew Egginton on two counts each of offences under Section 1 of the Hunting Act. They were found guilty of two incidents in February 2023. One made national news after CCTV footage was aired, showing hounds running into a residential garden in Hingham, Norfolk, cornering a fox, then tearing up the poor creature on the patio.
The footage shows one of the hunt’s terriermen scaling a fence, trespassing in the family’s garden, retrieving the fox’s dead body, and then – clearly hoping not to be caught – rushing out of the garden gate. He then tries to conceal the fox under his jacket.
The home owner said at the time:
“They left our patio covered in blood and intestine and kidney from the fox, they took the fox body and discreetly took it away, he put it inside his coat and then walked to the end of the driveway with it and passed it off to the quad bike that had no plates that was driving on the road.”
The second incident took place in a field in Tittleshall, where sabs' footage showed hounds chasing a fox. During the initial trial, District Judge Bone stated that sab footage of hounds running in one direction, with Bell immediately turning the hounds around to run towards the fox, was “particularly clear” evidence of guilt.
And so the fact that the hunt saw fit to appeal their convictions, despite such incriminating footage, is incredible - and shows the sheer audacity that hunters have.
'Implications' for the hunting industry
The hunt staff did themselves no favours in court when they initially refused to disclose the identities of other men who were filmed at the scene, both in Tittleshall and in Hingham.
Norfolk/Suffolk Hunt Saboteurs attended court, and reported:
"The West Norfolk Foxhounds have just had their convictions upheld, they were found Guilty of four counts of illegally hunting foxes. Judge Andrew Shaw noted that “we do not think that Bell and Egginton are the only guilty people, they are the only two in court”."
The sabs continued:
"We believe the implications of this landmark trial now being tested in Crown Court has significant implications for fox hunting packs across the country. For that, we must express our gratitude to the arrogance of the West Norfolk Foxhounds providing that opportunity and hastening the demise of fox hunting."
Let's finish off hunting
The hunting industry's go-to barrister, Stephen Welford, is having a hard time lately, giving terrible advice and losing cases. He represented two men from the Portman Hunt last month - and they were found guilty under Section 1 of the Hunting Act. During that incident, Tom Lyle, who is huntsman and master, and Marcus Boundy, who is whipper-in, were filmed by North Dorset Sabs’ drone on 15 September 2022 as hounds chased a fox through barbed wire.
Welford said that the two men had been unaware of the fox. But magistrates said that it was
“inconceivable that Mr Boundy did not see or hear the hounds in pursuit”.
And before that, in August 2024, Welford represented notorious criminal hunter Ollie Finnegan, who was appealing two convictions from 2023, when he was huntsman for the Cheshire Hunt. He was found guilty of one conviction yet again in August 2024, and only escaped another charge due to a massive CPS error - not because of any miracles performed by Welford!
We are now seeing many more prosecutions and guilty convictions against hunters as some police forces begin to take the Hunting Act more seriously. But all too often, hunt staff walk away from court unscathed, mostly due to the fact that the CPS needs to prove that someone intended to hunt a wild animal.
That's why Protect the Wild is campaigning for the Labour government to scrap the Hunting Act completely, and replace it with a far more robust law. Our proposed Hunting of Mammals Bill would stop hunting in its tracks. It includes a 'reckless' clause ensuring that all hunters are convicted if their hounds chase or kill a wild mammal - whether the CPS can prove intention or not.