Hunt Saboteurs Association complains about police officer’s conflict of interest

A police wildlife officer responsible for monitoring hunting in North Yorkshire has been forced to adapt her job remit after it emerged she had followed hounds.

North Yorkshire Police received a complaint about a conflict of interest from the Hunt Saboteurs Association — after the group discovered that PC Sarah Ward had hunted with the Badsworth and Bramham Moor.

PC Ward will now no longer deal with complaints about hunting, despite a senior officer having found that she had dealt with a hunting-related case correctly.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “Following a complaint regarding a conflict of interests by one of the force’s wildlife officers, the force took the decision to change the officer’s responsibilities.

“Although they remain in post as the district’s wildlife officer, they no longer deal with any complaints relating to organised hunts.”

The Countryside Alliance said the actions of the police force were nonsensical.

“It seems crazy that a person could be removed from a certain job because they had too much knowledge of the subject,” said campaigns director Tim Bonner.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (20 June 2013)

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