To : privateoffice@cps.gov.uk;rebecca.lawrence@cps.gov.uk;enquiries@cps.gov.uk;correspondence@attorneygeneral.gov.uk;cfalconer@gibsondunn.com;enquiries@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk;nick.thomassymonds.mp@parliament.uk;david.lammy.mp@parliament.uk;luke.pollard.mp@parliament.uk;kit.malthouse.mp@parliament.uk;sarah.jones.mp@parliament.uk;zac@zacgoldsmith.com;enquiries@apccs.police.uk;lordsstandards@parliament.uk;info@npcc.pnn.police.uk;info@nationalruralcrimenetwork.net;standardscommissioner@parliament.uk;

Subject : Can the hunting lobby ever be trusted not to lie in court

Dear sir/madam,

I expect that you, are aware of / or have viewed, the leaked ZOOM™ video which highlights elements of a series of webinars, run by the Hunting Office in August, and were attended by over a hundred and fifty hunt masters from across the country.

For a long time we have known hunts lie about the true intent of Trail Hunting and proceed to lie in court (commit perjury). Hunts have deviously plotted, lied for many years to avoid prosecution under the guise of Trail Hunting and accidental kills, which the legal system has allowed them to do. This brings the whole legal system and law enforcement into disrepute.

Participants in these webinars include : Lord Mancroft (Chairman of the MFHA), Phil Davies (Consultant to the Countryside Alliance and Former Police Chief Inspector), Paul Jelley (Committee member of the AMHB and Former Police Officer), Mark Hankinson (Director of MFHA), and Richard Tyacke (Director of AMHB).

These participants are teaching “deceptive” tactics to “bypass” the restrictive elements of the Hunting Act – allowing hunters to create “smokescreens” that permit them to hunt illegally, whilst portraying the guise of an “Organised Trail Hunt” – with Phil Davies, at one point, saying, “I hope no police officers are watching”.

These deplorable instructions in this video are vehemently appalling, and highlight the extensive intent of corruption and reckless disregard for the 2004 Hunting Act, by such peers as the representative of The Countryside Alliance, The Hunting Office, The FoxHound Association, An Ex-Police officer, An Ex-Police Chief Inspector, and a Government Official, as well as over one hundred and fifty Hunt Masters, in attendance of the webinars.

With the release of the recorded Hunting Office’s webinar in which high-ranking hunt officials are heard and seen to train over 100 hunt masters to use trail hunting as a “smokescreen” (their own words) with the deliberate intention of concealing illegal fox hunting.

This is a clear and open admission that “trail hunting” is simply used as a smokescreen to cover-up criminal intent.

Surely teaching intent to commit a crime is clearly a serious infringement of the law and a blatant breach of trust that promote acts of premeditated criminality and must not go unpunished.

Link : Webnairs Video
Link : Transcripts of video 1 can be read here.
Link : Transcripts of video 2 can be read here.

Lord Benjamin Mancroft (Member of the House of Lords, Chair of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) and former Chair of the Countryside Alliance)

Advises hunts on how to avoid prosecution for illegal fox hunting.
Quote : “Those of you who are filming and recording, don’t stand there recording the opposition blowing horns saying, “isn’t it marvellous that they haven’t seen us because we’ve just caught a fox behind them” or something like that”

He is making a suggestion that if you have hunt saboteurs out with the hunts (i.e filming) throughout the day, you need to pretend you have laid a believable trail.

Quote : “If you have hunt saboteurs out with you throughout the day, you need a plausible laid trail”

Mark Hankinson (Director of the Master of Foxhounds Association)

How to con people into believable they have laid a trail

Quote : “It a lot easier to create a smokescreen if you’ve got more than one trail layer operating and that’s is what its all about, trying to portray to the people watching that you’re going about legitimate business”.

He also suggests using:

Quote : “something foul smelling on the end of the drag” in case an anti grabs it and realises … just a clean hanky”.

He also suggests how to avoid being prosecuted by using a bird of prey as a wheeze (ulterior plan) when sending a pack of hounds into a covert to flush a fox out, but goes on to explain that it lacks viability if you want a five mile hunt (chase) afterwards.

Quote : “The law states you can use a pack of dogs to flush a wild mammal to be hunted by a bird of prey. Now that’s a terribly good wheeze for holding up, and i think that everyone during autumn hunting ought to be considering that. However, it lacks viability if you’re having a five mile hunt. So really at that stage once the quarry is gone you very much need your trail laying exemption”.

Phil Davies (Ex police Inspector & Consultant to the Countryside Alliance)

Was also keen on the idea of a smokescreen saying:

Quote : “Now you know more about hunting than the saboteurs or the courts will know but what it will do is create that smokescreen or that element of doubt that we haven’t deliberately hunted a fox, so if nothing else you need to record that and it will help us provide a defence for huntsmen.”

Richard Tyacke (Chairman of the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles (AMHB), Hunting Office Executive Director and former Master and Huntsman of the Wynnstay Hunt.)

Its hard to pretend you have laid a trail for foot beagle packs who hunt hares, so when sabs/monitors turn up, he advises they go home

Quote : “Currently most beagle packs go home if sabs or monitors are present. This is the safe and sensible course of action……What is not acceptable is to carry on regardless with them all around you as if they weren’t there.”

Paul Jelley (Master of the Chilmark and Clifton Foot Beagles from 1990 – 2013 and a Police Officer for 30 years)

Suggests that hunts purchase phones for the purpose of concealing criminality:

Quote : “So something for you hunt staff and terriermen, trail layers and everybody to consider, if you’re recording evidence for the Hunting Act, trail laying, whatever, don’t use the same phones or anything you’ve been using for social media and bragging about what you’ve been doing out hunting.”

He advises Hunt Masters that:

Quote : “All you have to do is produce a small element of doubt into their case for you to get off.”

He then discusses 95% of the police have no knowledge of hunting offences and also verifies what we already know, that there are a percentage of police officers who are keen hunt supporters, therefore a conflict of interest, biased and lacking impartiality.

Quote : “The other 5%, you’re going to get pretty much a split down the middle, half of them are going to be keen hunting folk, there are police officers who are keen hunting folk, the other half are going to be raving antis.”

Richard Gurney (Horse & Hound columnist)

Richard Gurney brags in the webinar about not only getting away with killing a fox, but convincing the police questioning them that hunt sabs did it instead. Where they would pretend to lay a fake trail that would stand out more if being filmed.

Quote : “So when the Master said, ‘go and sort plan B’, off they went and they discussed where, if there was a problem, they would lay trails, things that would stand out if they were filmed.. and we produced to the police a complete package whereby they concluded it was our opponents who had got the fox killed that day and not ourselves”

“Get one in the can”. This could mean two things, suggesting that hunts pretend to lay a trail and film it early in the day, so if they are questioned they have a film showing their pretence trail .. or .. get a fox kill before monitors/sabs turn up.

Quote : “Get one in the can”

He discusses how they use ‘Plan B’, laying trails when Monitors/sabs has arrived.

Quote : “…the Master of the day decided, that we should revert to Plan B, Plan B being obviously using our team to lay trails for the rest of the day because it became clear that the antis had arrived…”

Trail hunting lies fooled politicians, police forces, CPS.

Police were gullible and quick to buy into this national lie that hunts where “Hunting within the Law”.

Pro hunt Lords and MPs helped to spread the smokescreen lies by claiming trail hunting was perfectly legal, all the time knowing it was a lie and a national disgrace, conning the public into believing that hunting wild animals was banned.

This national lie, deception and intent to commit a crime can not be allowed to continue. The “Hunting with Dogs Act 2004” must be strengthened and loopholes closed.

Hunts have proved they are unable to act within the law, reckless and should not be given anymore allowance.

Kind regards,