AR-News: (Scot) Hunter find after dogs kill fox

[Ronda Roaring]

Saturday March 20, 03:00 AM 

Hunter fined £300 after dogs kill fox 
THE first man to be charged with an offence after hunting with dogs was outlawed in Scotland under the controversial Protection of Wild Mammals Act was fined £300 yesterday. 
Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard how Stephen Scott sent terriers into a foxhole on a farm near Hawick, and, when two foxes bolted, one of them was grabbed by the throat by Scott's lurcher. 
Scott, a forester and fencer from Hawick, admitted hunting a fox with three dogs on Flex Farm during January or February 2003, only weeks after measures aimed at banning foxhunting became law. 
But as the procurator fiscal, Graham Fraser, pointed out, although the case had attracted a fair amount of attention, it was not the classic issue expected to arise under the act. 
Scott and a friend were with the dogs, which were running loose, when they were spotted by the farmer at Flex. He saw terriers going into a fox's lair, and asked the two men what they were doing on his land. 
"The farmer explained that if foxes were injured, then escaped, they would take out their revenge on his stock," said Mr Fraser. 
"But Scott told the farmer he should be grateful as they had just killed a fox." 
However, the animal was lying on the ground, gasping, and in its last throes at that stage, Mr Fraser added. 
When police interviewed Scott he accepted responsibility and admitted putting the terriers into the fox's lair. 
The accused described how two foxes bolted in different directions, the lurcher caught one and the other animal escaped. 
As Scott headed towards the farm with the dying fox, the angry farmer approached them and told the men to get off his land. 
The case follows the conviction last December of a Dundee man, David Murray, who was found on a beach at night with two dogs trying to lure foxes into a trap. 
Although Murray did not catch any foxes, he was still found guilty under the terms of the law. He admitted hunting for foxes with dogs, but was not convicted of killing foxes. 
Speaking after yesterday's court hearing, PC Mark Rafferty, a wildlife liaison officer with Lothian and Borders Police, said he was satisfied there had been a successful conviction in the case. 
"There is a commitment by wildlife crime officers that we will enforce this act, and the outcome of today's proceedings should send out a message to anyone who may be thinking of hunting a wild mammal with dogs," said Mr Rafferty. 
He revealed that police officers in the Borders were currently investigating other cases in which badger setts had been interfered with and disturbed. 
"It is clear a number of people are committing offences against the protection act," Mr Rafferty said. 
But he said monitoring of the region's foxhunting packs, which still participate in fox control, had shown they were sticking to the law and had co-operated fully with the police. 
Mr Rafferty and colleagues also plan to visit estates in the Borders, asking for the co- operation of landowners to prevent the persecution of birds of prey, particularly hen harriers. 
By: WILLIAM CHISHOLM -- 20-Mar-04 


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