On 28 May Duncan Cinnamond, huntsman of the Seavington Hunt plead guilty to illegal fox hunting, which is an offence under the Hunting Act 2004. Magistrates in Weymouth ordered him to pay a fine and court costs. Cinnamond’s conviction comes after Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs submitted damning video footage of a fox being ripped apart by the Seavington’s hounds last year.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks over half a dozen hunters around the UK have been arrested or charged with Hunting Act and animal welfare offences, as well as for assaults on sabs and monitors.
Those facing prosecution include all three directors of the Cheshire Hunt. We take a look at the facts.
Seavington Huntsman pleads guilty to illegal fox hunting
49-year old Cinnamond from Ilminster in Somerset, where the Seavington Hunt has its kennels, was interviewed by officers last month and then charged under the Hunting Act 2004. After he entered his guilty plea, the court ordered him to pay a fine of £513, court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £205.
The illegal hunting charge related to 26 October 2024, when the Seavington Hunt’s hounds caught and killed a fox. Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs (2CHS) were on the scene, they wrote at the time:
“The Two Counties team caught up with the hunt near Childhay Manor Farm House and Temple Brook. This is where we sadly witnessed the hunt blatantly hunting and killing a fox. The huntsman blew to signal the kill. A rider who was dressed in black and a man who was walking terrier dogs then threw the poor foxes body parts into the stream.”
You can read Protect the Wild’s original article on the killing here.
His guilty plea came as a result of this footage, taken by 2CHS. Sadly, the sabs were too far away to stop the killing from taking place, but they were able to capture the incident on camera:
No strangers to controversy
The Seavington Hunt are certainly no stranger to controversy. In August 2022, ITV News showed footage showing a bagged fox being released by the hunt. The video captured footage of terriermen pulling a bag from a quad bike before dumping a trapped animal onto the ground. Huntsman Benedict Hood is seen encouraging a nearby pack of foxhounds to chase the animal. Hood pleaded guilty to a Hunting Act charge later that year.
A Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) spokesperson responded to Cinnamond’s recent conviction:
“The footage captured by Two Counties Hunt Sabs tells you everything you need to know about hunting twenty years after the Hunting Act. Their previous conviction did nothing to deter the Seavington and they have no doubt been emboldened by the support they have received from the discredited BHSA [British Hound Sports Association]. Only a complete ban on trail hunting and much tougher penalties will deter these committed criminals.”
“Hugely significant”
Protect the Wild’s Rob Pownall commented on the significance of the case, and the guilty plea:
“
Shame on Childhay Manor!
Childhay Manor, where the killing took place, is the home of Black Cow Vodka. A brand that states that it is “proudly from West Dorset“. Maybe Black Cow’s customers will think twice about their choice of vodka now that they know that the Seavington Hunt uses the company’s land to commit wildlife crime.
Two Counties Hunt Saboteurs, who took the footage that led to Cinnamond’s conviction, are raising money to keep their vehicle on the road next season. You can donate here.
Hunting arrests across the UK
Cinnamond’s guilty plea is just the tip of the iceberg. In recent weeks a dozen or more people around the UK have been arrested or charged for Hunting Act offences.
Here’s a list of the hunting-related arrests, charges and convictions over the last month:
- Huntsman Shaun Parish and whipper-in Jacob Whally of the Fitzwilliam Hunt have been charged and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates Court on the 13th June over the hunting of a fox across a golf course in November 2024. Beds & Bucks Hunt Sabs wrote: “It was our video footage and witness statements along with work from the Cambridgeshire Police [Rural Crime Action] RCAT team that once again meant the Fitzwilliam will be facing the courts. This will be the third potential Hunting Act conviction for this hunt. Both Parish and Whalley have previous convictions. Parish pleaded guilty to a Hunting Act charge back in May 2023, and Whalley was convicted of three counts of battery in 2014 in another hunt-related incident.”
- A 19-year-old man from the Dorset and Somerset Bassets in Sturminster Newton was charged with illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs after Wildlife Crime Action and North Dorset Hunt Sabs provided evidence to the Dorset Police Rural Crime Team. The charges relate to the Hunt chasing a hare across Somerset’s Bagber Common on 13 October 2024.
- On 12 May, all three directors of the Cheshire Hunt, Peter Jones, John Simpson and David Woolley, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court facing charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 over the treatment of their hounds. The defendants are accused of allowing their hounds to run dangerously out of control during a hunting meet in January 2024. The judge reportedly commented that the case was “unique”. The three hunt directors will appear for trial at Crewe Magistrates on 3 and 4 November, just at the start of the winter fox hunting season! Cheshire Animal Rights Campaigns told Protect the Wild: “Now it’s not just the hunt servants that are the focus of prosecutions but the hunt directors too – who up until now have probably felt quite untouchable!”. Protect the Wild’s Charlotte Smith wrote last week: “These dogs aren’t just ‘tools’ of the hunt. They’re living, breathing beings—intelligent, loyal animals bred and trained for a brutal purpose, yet left vulnerable and often mistreated by the very people who claim to care for them… This case is significant because it highlights something the hunting world has long tried to avoid: the reality that hunts can be held responsible when their hounds are put at risk.”
- Two people – a 70 year-old man and a 50 year-old woman – were charged under the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act in Scotland. The allegations relate to a hunting incident which took place in the Houston area in Renfrewshire on 2 January. Glasgow Hunt Sabs wrote that “these charges are pretty significant, as these individuals were operating under licenses issued by NatureScot – licenses that are routinely described as ‘strict’ by those defending them. The tide is turning in Scotland. Nearly half of the country’s fox hunts have collapsed in the past two years. The message is clear: the days of hunting with dogs are numbered.“. This latest move by police in Scotland is part of a recent escalation of charges against illegal hunting.
- On 9 May 18-year-old Tom Martin, a supporter of the Puckeridge with Essex Union Hunt (now the Puckeridge with Essex Hunts) plead guilty to assaulting a member of North London Hunt Saboteurs (NLHS). Martin was ordered to undertake 50 hours community service and pay a £249 fine. NLHS wrote “This is just the latest conviction our group has secured against organised wildlife crime groups in Essex and Hertfordshire. They hate us because we stop them. Their violence will not intimidate us.”
Protect the Wild has been monitoring arrests, charges and convictions related to hunting since 2023. We have recorded 29 convictions since then. We’re less than halfway through this year and there have already been a whopping 17 convictions for hunting-related offences, showing that both guilty pleas and successful prosecutions are becoming increasingly regular.
Please support the sabs and monitors who are ensuring that hunts are not able to abuse wildlife without consequences:
- Donate to North London Hunt Saboteurs here.
- Support North Dorset Hunt Sabs here and Wildlife Crime Action here.
- Donate to Beds & Bucks Hunt sabs here.
- Check out Cheshire Animal Rights Campaigns here.
- Make a donation to Glasgow Hunt Sabs here.
– Click here to read Protect the Wild’s factfile on fox hunting and the law.
– Don’t forget, we need a proper ban on trail hunting to stop this killing for good. You can sign our call for a workable ban here.
