Trial of pair on fox-hunting charges offers test to controversial legislation

SCOTLAND’S fox-hunting legislation is set to face a major test with the prosecution of two leading huntsmen.

Timothy Allen, 40, and 28-year-old Shaun Anderson, of the Buccleuch Hunt in the Borders, have been charged with hunting a fox with a pack of dogs.

The offence is alleged to have been committed on land surrounding Whitton Farm, near Morebattle, Roxburghshire, on December 20.

Both men, who live at Eildon, near Melrose, pleaded not guilty at Jedburgh Sheriff Court last week and three days have been set aside for a trial, starting on October 8.

It will be the latest challenge to the Protection of Wild Mammals Act 2002, which was subject to a review by Lord Bonomy, who made a number of recommendations for changes.

The main purpose of the Act is to ban the deployment of dogs to chase and kill wild mammals. However, it also provides a number of exceptions that allow the limited use of dogs for certain situations.

In June, John Clive Richardson, 67, and his 24-year-old son Johnny Riley became the first members of a mounted hunt to be successfully prosecuted since the Act was introduced in Scotland.

The Jedforest Hunt members, who were filmed by investigators from the League Against Cruel Sports, were fined a total of £650 at Selkirk Sheriff Court.