Man pleads guilty to killing hare with hounds in Kettering
It happened in January
A 45-year-old huntsman has pleaded guilty to killing a hare with hounds, in the Warkton area of Kettering.
On January 25, 2025, Philip Saunders was the huntsman of the Pipewell Beagles Ltd, when a member of the public captured a video of their pack of beagles killing a hare on the Boughton Estate in the Warkton area of Kettering.
An investigation into the incident was launched by Northamptonshire Police’s Rural Crime Team which saw the hare sent for a post-mortem. This confirmed it had been killed by dogs.
This resulted in Saunders being charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs under Section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004.
The trial at Northampton Magistrates’ Court started on Monday, February 16, with evidence given by the witness who filmed the incident - a wildlife photographer – on day one.
The court also heard from an expert witness who explained that the sounds made by Saunders through his voice and his horn were that of encouragement for the hounds to hunt.
Although Saunders, of Vicarage Lane, Podington, Wellingborough, initially denied that the group were illegally hunting, he changed his plea on day two of the trial to guilty.
At sentencing, which was held at the same court last week(February 17), Saunders was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £5000 which he is required to settle within 28 days.
His hunting horn was also ordered to be destroyed and this was forfeited to police the following morning (February 18).
During sentencing, District Judge, Amar Mehta, said: “A strong message must go out to those engaging in these activities that the courts and public will not tolerate animals being harmed.”
A colleague of Saunders, a 42-year-old woman and the company itself, who had also been charged in relation to the incident, were released after the prosecution agreed to offer no evidence following the guilty plea.
Lead investigator, Wildlife Crime Officer, PC Chloe Gillies from Northamptonshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “These investigations are quite complex and we don’t always have enough evidence to get them as far as court. I’d like to thank the specialist Wildlife advisors from the CPS for their assistance in this case as well as the witnesses who appeared in court.”