Barlow Hunt will not be prosecuted after dogs kill fox near Chesterfield

Video released by anti-hunt campaigners showed the animal being attacked by a pack of hounds in the Holymoorside area last December.

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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the ‘legal test for a prosecution was not met’ in this case.

Barlow Hunt insisted it operates within the law.

According to the Hunt Saboteurs Association, Barlow Hunt met on December 17 and visited land owned by the Chatsworth Estate before heading towards the Holymoorside area, where hounds killed a fox.

A spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: “Sabs were present on the day and spent over 10 minutes trying to call hounds out of the woods and away from the fleeing fox.

“Unfortunately, their intervention wasn’t enough and the fox was killed by hounds.”

Barlow Hunt said the incident happened because saboteurs confused its dogs by blowing a horn.

Saboteurs denied this.

Lee Moon, a spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, this week voiced his disappointment after the CPS decided not to prosecute Barlow Hunt.

He said Barlow Hunt should be prosecuted for fox hunting.

A spokesperson for the CPS said: “When deciding whether to prosecute a criminal case, our independent and impartial prosecutors must be satisfied there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that it is in the public interest.

“In this case, the CPS carefully considered the file of evidence passed to us by Derbyshire police and determined the legal test for a prosecution was not met.”

A Barlow Hunt spokesperson added: “Barlow Hunt operates as a legal trail hunt within the parameters laid down by the Hunting Act.

“This allows its members access to the glorious Derbyshire countryside with the consent of its landowners and farmers to enjoy the spectacle of hounds hunting a pre laid trail.

“No member or supporter of Barlow Hunt has ever been convicted of a Hunting Act offence or any offence involving violence.”

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