First arrests made under new Hunting Act (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

First arrests made under new Hunting Act

POLICE officers in Malmesbury have become the first in the country to make a successful arrest against people hunting with hounds.

Four men have been arrested in North Wiltshire on suspicion of breaking the newly introduced ban on hunting with dogs, the first in the country to fall foul of the controversial legislation.

The men were arrested at 4am last Saturday in a field between Sherston and Hullavington, just 28 hours after the Hunting Act became law.

They were found with four dogs and the carcass of a hare after their vehicle lights were spotted by a passing police patrol.

The men, aged 31, 32 and 33 from South Wales and a 53-year-old from Ireland have been arrested on suspicion of hunting with dogs under Section 1 of the Act.

The suspects are also being investigated for possible firearm offences relating to a modified air rifle and possible offensive weapon charges relating to the possession of a knife.

They have been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

Police spokesman David Taylor said initial reports that the men were hare coursing have been dismissed, because the sport is specifically carried out as a spectacle before large crowds, and not in the middle of the night.

He said: "They were out there hunting specifically with dogs and had one dead hare in the vehicle. Their actions certainly come under the category of hunting with dogs."

Mr Taylor added that even though Wiltshire Police have become the first force in the country to make an arrest under the Hunting Act, it will continue to enforce the law in the same way they would any other.

"Essentially, we will enforce this law in the same way we approach any other offence."