Hunt fined for chasing foxes

The Prime Minister’s local hunt has been fined for fox hunting.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Dec 2012, 06:00 BST

The Heythrop Hunt in Oxfordshire pleaded guilty to four charges of intentionally hunting a fox with dogs in the Cotswolds.

Former huntsman Julian Barnfield, 49, and recently retired hunt master Richard Sumner, 68, pleaded guilty to the same charges at Oxford Magistrates’ Court.

Prime Minister David Cameron, MP for Witney, has previously ridden with the hunt.

The hunt was fined £4,000, Sumner £1,800 and Barnfield £1,000 and told to pay £15,000 towards RSPCA legal costs, Sumner £2,500 costs and Barnfield £2,000.