“Appearing before Scarborough Magistrates’ Court this afternoon Lee Martin, Terrierman for the Middleton Hunt was found guilty of blocking up a badger sett in current use, contrary to Section 3 of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

At the end of a two day trial, Magistrates ruled Lee Martin was guilty of interfering with a badger sett near Scrayingham, on 29th March 2014, when the Middleton Hunt were due to meet at Pasture Farm.

Martin was given a community service order of 120 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay total costs and a surcharge of £970 in full within 28 days.

Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive at the League Against Cruel Sports said: “We are pleased with today’s verdict. The defendant’s actions and his obvious total disrespect for wildlife has been exposed and dealt with by the courts thanks to the work of our investigators and the Police.

“This case clearly demonstrates that foxes are not the only wild animals to suffer at the hands of hunts. The deliberate persecution of any wild animal is not acceptable and our team of professional investigators work hard in the field to capture illegal activity to bring about prosecutions.”

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Source: League Against Cruel Sports