Crawley and Horsham huntsman pleads guilty
Crawley and Horsham huntsman Nicholas Bycroft has admitted illegally hunting a fox, after being filmed by hunt monitors.
Mr Bycroft, of Kennel Lane, West Grinstead was filmed at Angmering Park, near Arundel on 19 February.
Mr Bycroft appeared at Worthing Magistrates Court on Tuesday 17 September and admitted one count of “hunting a wild mammal with a dog”.
He was given a year-long conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £150.
Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance said: “The Crawley and Horsham hounds found a fox in cover while trail hunting.
“The fox was not hunted and there is no suggestion that it was caught and killed by the hounds. However, the Hunting Act is a Draconian and complex piece of legislation and we understand why Mr Bycroft decided to plead guilty rather than go to trial.”
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.