Hunt pays ‘fine’ for holding up trains as hounds chased a fox on the Banbury to Leamington railway on New Year’s Day – Banbury Guardian
Hunt pays ‘fine’ for holding up trains as hounds chased a fox on the Banbury to Leamington railway on New Year’s Day – Leamington Courier
On the 1st January 2020 the Warwickshire Hunt met at Knightcote and soon began hunting fox covert, a small wood located right next to a main train line. Inevitably the hunts hounds, riders and foot supporters all ended up trespassing on the trainline.
Unfortunately a hound was hit and killed by an oncoming train. The train was held up for some time and another 20 services were disrupted because of the delay. Members of the Warwickshire Hunt refused to leave the tracks when asked to by staff from the train.
A hound was hit and killed by the train, no body was found by the train company but then the hunt members trespassing all over the line refused to leave the tracks so would have had plenty of time to hide the body
The Warwickshire Hunt admitted their guilt and were subject to a community resolution where they paid Network Rail over £13K compensation for the lost minutes to train services and wrote a letter of apology. To say that the Warwickshire Hunt have gotten off lightly is an understatement.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs said “
“Why did the police bother to ask the public to identify individuals on the train line if they had no intention of charging them with criminal trespass or malicious obstruction?”
“The hunt always complains about saboteurs trespassing as if it’s the worst crime in the world so we find it hugely hypocritical that they themselves trespass on a regular basis through people’s gardens, church yards and railway tracks.”