'Cruel' huntsman filmed shaking hands after pack of dogs kill hare in Northamptonshire field
A private school's kennel huntsman, who encouraged his pack of dogs to chase and kill a "defenceless" hare, has been fined just under £300.
Phillip Kennedy, 48, was filmed shaking hands with other members of the hunting party after his beagles killed the European brown hare in November of last year.
Drone footage captured by a member of the public showed the dogs chasing the mammal across an open field on land belonging to Crockwell Farm in the west Northamptonshire village of Eydon near Banbury.
The hunt ended when the hare became trapped by a fence, where it was mauled by Kennedy's pack of hounds.
Footage shared by Northamptonshire Police shows the dogs chasing the hare across a field (Warning: Some viewers may find this footage distressing)
Instead of stepping in to help, Kennedy, of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, stood back and watched - congratulating other members of the party once it was clear that the hare was dead.
Following an investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, Kennedy was charged with one count of hunting a wild mammal with dogs, which carries a maximum sentence of £5,000.
After pleading guilty to the charge at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, he was fined £258 and ordered to pay £585 in court costs as well as a £103 victim surcharge.
Police said as the kennel huntsman of the Stowe Beagles - a pack of beagles owned by the private Stowe School - Kennedy would have known that "allowing his dogs to chase and kill a hare was cruel and illegal".
PC Chloe Gillies, of Northamptonshire Police Rural Crime Team, added: “Even after the hare was dead, Kennedy and the rest of the group, stood and shook hands in a congratulatory manner instead of stepping in to stop the dogs from continuing to attack the hare.
“We take all reports of crime against wildlife seriously and I would like to extend my thanks to the witness who provided evidence in this case as it shows the importance of reporting any alleged breaches of the Hunting Act 2004.”
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