Three members of the College Valley and North Northumberland Hunt, including the joint master and the huntsman, have been charged with illegally hunting a fox. Timothy Wyndham Basil Smalley, joint master, Ian Robert McKie, huntsman and Andrew John Proe, kennel huntsman, are each charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs, contrary to Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004. The case is based on evidence supplied by the League Against Cruel Sports and further investigations carried out by Northumbria police in relation to an incident alleged to have taken place during an advertised hunt meet at West Kyloe Farm, near Lowick, Northumberland on 27th February 2014.
All three defendants have pleaded “not guilty” to the charges. The case has been listed for trial at Berwick Magistrates’ Court on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th October 2014.