The Canary is covering a story about events back in November 2015. The story was uncovered by a freedom of information (FOI) request by Stop Hunting on the Nation’s Land. The documents released seem to show the Blencathra Foxhounds had a case to answer after being connected to potentially illegal activity on a badger sett but that the landowner the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), a government-run body, took no action.

The full details can be read here but the point we want to emphasise is a single sentence from the statement made to the Canary by Property Services Manager Helen Lancaster.

“Following internal investigations of this matter it was concluded that there was insufficient evidence of an incident of disturbance or other infringement of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 that would warrant a report being made to the police.“

It is a matter of some concern that the LDNPA feels that it should be gathering and assessing evidence of criminal offences. Perhaps the public should be asking what authority the LDNPA has to carry out investigations into possible crimes rather than reporting them to the police. It would also be good to know what action the LDNPA took in relation to possible breaches of the licence to hunt over their land.

The acting Chairman of the LDNPA Peter Allen MBE can be emailed at peterallen@lakedistrict.gov.uk

We need to remind the individuals on the boards of public bodies of this sort that the land they manage is owned by all of us and they are required to act on our behalf.