Quorn Hunt members 'encouraged hounds to look for fox'

John Finnegan (left) and Rhys Matcham are accused of encouraging hounds to look for a fox

Two hunt members encouraged hounds to look for a fox after a trail hunt was set up "as a charade", a court heard.

Huntsman John Finnegan and whipper-in Rhys Matcham from the Quorn Hunt in Leicestershire are accused of breaching the 2004 Hunting Act last year.

Leicestershire Magistrates' Court heard the pair were captured on camera near Breedon-on-the-Hill on 4 February.

Both men deny any wrongdoing and claim it was a legitimate hunt following a pre-laid scent.

Prosecutor Mark Fielding said Mr Finnegan, 36, and Mr Matcham, 30, can be seen in the footage, which was provided by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) and shown in court.

"The crown says there was quite a charade going on - a great public show," he said.

"The crown's position is that the hounds were taken to the covert (den) where they knew there was a fox.

"They were there for 10 or more minutes, we say encouraging the hounds in their endeavours.

"They made no attempt whatsoever to lift them (the hounds) and take them elsewhere."

Mr Fielding said the footage showed terriermen arriving on a quad bike to dig up the fox, and asked: "If this is a genuine drag hunt, why have you even got terriermen in the field? You don't need them.

"The terriermen were there because this was a proper fox hunt going back to the olden days."

Roger Swaine, from the LACS, who campaigned against fox hunting before the ban was introduced in 2005, said he set up the camera after hearing the Quorn Hunt was meeting.

He described seeing Mr Matcham "looking intently" into a covert and then capturing a fox running away and disappearing behind a tree.

He said he saw the hounds "in a line running at speed down the road towards covert two" and Mr Finnegan followed "encouraging the hounds".

"He used something called burring, a movement of the lips, that's meant to scare a fox," Mr Swaine added.

"There's no reason to do that for drag or trail hunting."

• Latest news and stories from the East Midlands

LACS investigations officer, Debbie Ballard, said she had been a driver for her colleagues and also filmed the hunt when she was parked up.

"Did you see any actions that you interpreted as legitimate hunting activity?" asked Mr Fielding.

"I saw Mr Matcham galloping really fast up to the main road, looking over his shoulder pretty frantically, that indicated hounds were in the area and running up to the road," she said.

"In my experience when hounds are on the road they are intending to take the hounds elsewhere."

She said she did not see any trail layers throughout the day.

Mr Finnegan, who lives at the Quorn Hunt premises near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and Mr Matcham, of Kennel Drive, Badminton, South Gloucestershire, deny illegally hunting a wild mammal with dogs.

The trial continues.