Fox hunter Ollie Finnegan is setting records for hunting convictions. He stood trial yet again this week, having been granted a retrial after being convicted of illegal hunting in 2023. Much to Finnegan’s dismay, he was found guilty yet again!
Protect the Wild previously reported on how Finnegan was found guilty of illegal hunting three different times in less than a year. He was granted a retrial for these second and third convictions, when he was huntsman of the Cheshire Hunt. The hunter hadn’t bothered to show up for any of that trail or for the verdict itself, having left England to live in Ireland.
A new trial date was set in March 2023, but Finnegan’s solicitor produced a sick note, claiming that the hunter had been in an accident. So the trial was set again for 15 and 16 August 2024.
CPS error
Finnegan stood trial this week for two counts of illegal hunting, but due to a massive CPS error the hunter escaped one charge. Yet due to the hard work of Cheshire Against Blood Sports (CABS), Finnegan didn’t walk away from court an innocent man. The group explained:
“It should be noted he faced two charges, however the CPS inexplicably “forgot” to send Stephen Welford, Finnegan’s barrister, the drone footage which was extremely damning and included Finnegan watching as hounds chased a fox and made no attempts to call the hounds back for 15 minutes. Of course they knew this footage was missing. Finnegan had seen it and had been questioned about it, and several witness statements regarding it had been made. But given the missing evidence the charge had to be dismissed. This was extremely disappointing and we will be asking the CPS how this happened.
However, the second case was very strong, and Finnegan’s and Welford’s attempts to defend it were met with incredulity from the magistrates and the public alike.
The defence asked Finnegan why he thought the hounds had gone quiet. He replied, that’s when the hounds have lost “their PREY”. Prey is an extremely strange word to describe a trail!
The defence tried to discredit our team, attempting to blame ‘aggressive sabbing tactics’. This was the prosecution clutching at straws and was not borne out by the video evidence. Finnegan accused us of carrying whips etc… again he was asked to watch the footage frame by frame and point out the whips… he couldn’t as there wasn’t any. There was no aggression by any of our team.”
Fumbling his way through the evidence
You would think that having had months to sort out his story, Finnegan would have done better in court. But maybe the fact that he was granted a retrial gave him false confidence that he was untouchable. CABS stated:
“Finnegan said that it was a difficult scent day and that the hounds would be quiet with heads down. So when he was presented with the facts that the hounds were baying in a frenzied cry, running in a line away from where he stated, and he thought a trail had been laid, why then did he not call the hounds back, he couldn’t answer. He mumbled that he thought they were on a trail.
The defence tried to build his character by stating that in 458 hunt days he only had one conviction. So someone can live for 80 years and only kill one person and that’s okay because it’s only one conviction?”
Finnegan previously made news headlines back in December 2022 after he pleaded guilty to another charge of illegally hunting with dogs. He had no choice but to enter the plea after police seized his phone and found WhatsApp messages incriminating him. He was working for the Quorn Hunt at the time.
One of the most damning messages said:
“Only found a brace [of foxes]. First one went to ground, The second went 5 fields to a real thick cover which we weren’t aloud [sic] in and had to stop [the hounds].”
Police found lots of other messages on his phone, a number of which dated back to other hunting meets.
On top of these convictions, Finnegan previously found himself in court two other times. He was cleared of illegal hunting with the Quorn Hunt in August 2021. Back then he, along with whipper-in Rhys Matcham, insisted the hunt had laid an artificial scent for hounds to follow. And then back in 2019, when he was whipper-in for the Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt, Finnegan pleaded not guilty to illegal hunting, despite League Against Cruel Sports footage incriminating him and five others. The case against him was dismissed after two of the hunt members pleaded guilty.
Backed by another criminal hunter
Finnegan was accompanied in court this week by another criminal. Julian Barnfield, the British Hound Sports Association’s executive director (pictured to the right of Finnegan in the top photo and the video), is infamous in the world of fox hunting. Barnfield himself made news headlines back in 2012 when he was huntsman for the Heythrop Hunt. He and ex-hunt master Richard Sumner pleaded guilty to four charges of intentionally hunting a fox with dogs. Meanwhile, the hunt itself was the first ever to be convicted under the Hunting Act as a corporate body.
But even the support of hunting’s so-called governing body wasn’t enough to overturn Finnegan’s second conviction.
Sadly – but predictably – the hunter’s punishment was pitiful. CABS said:
“In cases like this, the conviction is always worth more than the fine: £300 prosecution costs, £120 fine and £48 court costs, which under sentencing guidelines is always going to be pitiful.
When discussing the fine, Finnegan stated he is now unemployed with zero income due to his accident, and he is not able to ride a horse for two years. It will be interesting to see what photos emerge from Ireland regarding the truth of this. He relies on his family to support him… maybe karma has had a helping hand in this.”
Support Cheshire Against Blood Sports
CABS concluded:
“This case has taken almost two years to get some justice for the foxes brutally hunted by Finnegan. He stated he had no plans to ever return to the UK, so that’s one small mercy for the foxes.
This is why the Labour government must immediately bring forward the promised legislation, and once and for all ban this cruel, abhorrent practice of hunting the much loved iconic fox.”
CABS told Protect the Wild that securing this conviction against Finnegan has been a “rollercoaster ride”. If the group hadn’t worked tirelessly, providing footage and evidence to the CPS, Finnegan wouldn’t have found himself in the dock at all.
CABS deserves all the credit for monitoring, sabbing and filming the illegal hunting of the Cheshire Hunt. The group is on the frontline, protecting foxes and other wildlife from being harmed, and deserves much support.
- Donate to Cheshire Against Blood Sports here. Follow them on Facebook.
- Images and video by Cheshire Against Blood Sports
