Back in November last year we reported here and here on the publication on the internet of sections of zoom type meeting conducted by members of the fox hunting fraternity. Things said during the meeting suggested that ‘trail hunting’ was being used as a cover to circumvent the law.

Last week Mark Hankinson, a director of the Master of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), was found guilty of encouraging and assisting hunts across the country to evade the ban on fox hunting. i News is now reporting that police officers are ‘furious’ that others at the meeting were not prosecuted as well. See the full story here.

It is often the case that investigators are unhappy with decisions taken by the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland or the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland. Clearly investigators conduct their inquiries and submit their reports in the hope that the prosecuting authority will take forward all the charges they suggest. Sometimes this does not happen and that leads to huge disappointment among investigators. It is however very unusual for investigators, especially police officers, to ‘go public’ with their frustrations and particularly where an individual, or individuals are named, as is the case here.

This is a nationally important case not only because of the individuals involved but also because a number of land owning organisations suspended ‘trail hunting’ on their land until the matter had been heard in court. Presumably those bans will now become permanent.

Many congratulations to David Parsley who got this exclusive for i News.