In November 2019 two men, Sam Staniland, 32, of Hadleigh, Ipswich; and William Tatler, 46, of The Green, Idridgehay, Belper; were fined when they appeared at Nottinghan Justice Centre and admitted illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs. The charge arose out of an incident which took place when the Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt were out at Spath Covert, in Sutton-on-the-Hill, Derbyshire, on October 2, 2018. See here and here.

This is the second time that members of this hunt have been successfully prosecuted under the Hunting Act 2004 so it is surprising to see that Forestry England has given them a licence to trail hunt on the public land that it manages on our behalf. It seems that the National Trust banned them after a previous incident in 2011 details of which can be found here and here. Perhaps we should write to Forestry England and enquire how many times the members of an organisation can be successfully prosecuted for committing crime before they take action. Their address is commissioners@forestrycommission.gov.uk