International Fund for Animal Welfare welcomes convictions for hare coursing

Miles Henry Easterby and Major John Shaw were today both convicted of committing offences under the Hunting Act. Following trial at Scarborough Magistrates Court, both defendants were found guilty of permitting illegal hare coursing to take place and of attending an illegal hare coursing event in March 2007 in North Yorkshire.

Reacting to the verdict, Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “IFAW is delighted at today’s guilty verdicts. The judge unequivocally ruled that this was hare coursing, illegal under the Hunting Act. These convictions should serve as a strong warning to anyone else intending on taking part in similar activities in the future that they will be prosecuted. This case was based on undercover footage captured by IFAW investigators, whose evidence proved crucial.”

IFAW’s private prosecution against Sir Mark Prescott and Clarissa Dickson-Wright for alleged hare coursing offences in North Yorkshire in March 2007 is scheduled for trial at Scarborough Magistrates Court from September 1-4.

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