Hunting incident involving dog leads to £800 fine for County Durham man

A COUNTY Durham man has been fined over £800 after pleading guilty to hunting animals with his dog in rural countryside.

John Campbell, 28, of Wharton Street, Coundon, Bishop Auckland, was caught on October 24 last year at Ainderby Miers, Bedale, North Yorkshire, attempting to hunt wild mammals with a dog.

He was subsequently charged with the offence, which falls outside the confines of the Hunting Act 2004, with his case heard at York Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, April 28.

In court documents, Campbell “hunted a wild mammal with a dog and that hunting was not of a class exempted by Schedule 1 to the Hunting Act 2004 Contrary to sections 1 and 6 of the Hunting Act 2004”.