Men Guilty of Animal Cruelty

Two men have been found guilty at Oxford Magistrates Court with one count each of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, under the Animal Welfare Act. Ian James Kirby Parkinson, 65, and Mark Anthony Vincent, 53, were both convicted yesterday at Oxford Magistrates’ Court.

An investigation was launched after footage was passed to the Hunt Saboteurs Association by the Covert Film Unit showing men apparently releasing a captive fox to be chased and killed by the Kimblewick hunt’s hounds. Footage filmed on New Years Day shows the men using drain rods to force a fox out of a drainage pipe. It is then grabbed by the hind legs and thrown into the wood. Hounds arrive at the site two minutes later.

Watch the video footage here.  

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Horsburgh, who covers South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse, said: “Vincent and Parkinson were captured on a camera forcefully removing a fox from a man-made tunnel shortly before the arrival of hounds from The Kimblewick Hunt.

“The court found this was a cruel activity which subjected the animal to unnecessary suffering.

“Thames Valley Police treats rural crime as a priority and it will not be tolerated.”

Both men were charged in June and will be sentenced at the same court on November 22.  The Judge in the case has advised the defendants to expect a custodial sentence.

Further details here, here and here.