Fox hunting case dropped against ex-hunt master

Three members of the Portman Hunt were charged by Dorset Police

A fox hunting charge against a former hunt master has been dropped on the first day of his trial.

Mark Pearson, 64, of Little Hanford near Child Okeford, Dorset, was accused along with two co-defendants of hunting a wild mammal with dogs near Stourpaine in September 2022.

However, prosecutors offered no evidence against him during a trial at Weymouth Magistrates' Court.

Tom Lyle, 34, of Bryanston, and Marcus Boundy, 23, of Exford, Somerset, both deny the charge.

Mr Lyle, the huntsman and master, was in charge of the dogs, assisted by Mr Boundy, the court was told.

North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs used a drone to film the hunt near Hod Hill on 15 September, magistrates heard.

In the footage played in court, dogs were seen huddled at a fence trying to enter a wood and also moving through a field of maize.

A saboteur's hand-held camera recorded a fox crossing a path but not being pursued, the court heard.

Saboteur Ben Tibbles said the drone footage showed "a fox clearly being chased by hounds without any attempt to call [them] off."

However, barrister Stephen Welford suggested that the Portman had been engaged in legal trail hunting [following a scent laid by hunt members].

The Hunting Act 2004 bans certain forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs.

The trial continues.