Heythrop huntsman accused of illegal hunting

A professional huntsman from the Heythrop hunt will face the first prosecution in the UK by police for allegedly killing a fox.

Julian Barnfield, 44, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, faces three charges of hunting a wild animal with dogs on 17 November 2007 and 23 January and 7 February 2008.

The Heythrop covers Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire and attracts a great deal of attention and filming by antis, according to Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance.

Mr Barnfield will appear at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on 21 July.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (29 May, ’08)

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