South Herefordshire fox cubs cruelty accused's car 'tracked'

A Land Rover linked to hunting kennels where live fox cubs were allegedly thrown to the hounds was tracked to two areas of disturbed ground, a court has heard.

Prosecutors say Nathan Parry's vehicle was tracked to the sites by anti-bloodsport investigators in 2016.

The 40-year-old denies four animal cruelty charges at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

Hounds master Paul Oliver and kennel maid Hannah Rose also deny four counts.

Hunt saboteur, Karl Garside, told the court he had helped to place covert cameras at the kennels in South Herefordshire in 2016.

He also said a tracker had been attached to Mr Parry's vehicle.

It showed that the terrierman's vehicle was near the Mynde estate in Herefordshire the morning of 14 May 2016, then at the hunt's kennels a few hours later, the witness said.

Mr Garside said he attended the first site, where foxes were allegedly dug out, to discover that the "earth had been freshly disturbed and levelled".

He later visited the hunt's premises and filmed a fox cub being held in a cage.

Tracker data presented in court allegedly showed the vehicle leaving the second site in Pencoyd, Herefordshire, the following day, before arriving at the kennels about ten minutes later.

Covert video footage was played to the judge apparently showing Mr Oliver gripping a live cub by the neck and a dead animal being dumped in a bin.

Mr Parry, of Brynarw estate near Abergavenny, south Wales, denies four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal as do Mr Oliver, 40, and Ms Rose, 30, both of Sutton Crosses, near Spalding, Lincolnshire.

Two other defendants pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to fox cubs on dates in May 2016.

The trial continues.

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