Three men from Stoke have admitted hunting wildlife
with their dogs at a Staffordshire beauty spot after they were caught with a
fresh deer carcass in their van during a joint RSPCA and police operation. James William Harvey, James Jeffrey Morgan and Kyle Andrew
Rodgers all appeared at Stafford Magistrates’ Court yesterday (6.6.13), when
they admitted one charge each of breaching the Hunting Act by hunting a deer
and rabbit with dogs on Cannock Chase.
The men were intercepted
in the early hours of 24 November last year during Operation Mako, which was a
joint crackdown on wildlife crime by the RSPCA and Staffordshire Police.
They were each fined £184 and ordered to each pay a £36
victim surcharge and £2,538 costs. Magistrates ordered that all of the equipment
and the four dogs that were seized during last year’s joint operation must be
forfeited by the men. Chief inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA’s special
operations unit, said: “These men were effectively caught red handed thanks to
the proactive joint work of the RSPCA and Staffordshire Police.
“Operation Mako was launched to target those people who
think they can get away with hunting wild animals with dogs, and it caught
three men who thought they could do just that.
“Anyone thinking of following in these men’s footsteps
should treat today’s court hearing as a stark warning.
“Once again, the joined up approach between the RSPCA and
Staffordshire Police proved highly successful and we hope to work together
again to protect the welfare of our countryside’s animal population.”
Superintendent Dave Holdway, Staffordshire Police’s force
lead on rural crime, said: “We are very pleased with the early pleas. We hope
this result sends a clear message that offences against wildlife will not be
tolerated in Staffordshire and we will work closely with partners to take
action against individuals involved in such activity.”
Harvey, 24, of Crestbrook Road, Morgan, 28, of Baker
Crescent and Rodgers, 23, of New House Road, were all in a transit van which
was stopped by police as part of stop-checks during the three-day operation.
Operation Mako included a number of uniformed RSPCA inspectors as well as
police wildlife crime officers and special constables.
Upon further investigation, police officers discovered
three lurcher type dogs and a bull terrier type dog in the back of the van,
along with the carcass of a deer. Other equipment in the van included a battery
pack and two lamps.
The three men were arrested at the scene and the dogs and
deer carcass seized. The RSPCA took the deer carcass to an independent vet to
inspect a number of puncture wounds on the animal’s body, as well as large
lacerations to its neck and abdomen.
The vet’s report indicated that the puncture wounds were
consistent with dog bites which would have been inflicted before the deer had
died. He also suggested the lacerations were likely to have been made by a knife
and were consistent with an attempt to prepare the carcass for human
consumption. This was supported by findings from a post-mortem carried out on
the deer carcass at the University of Liverpool’s Department of Veterinary
Pathology.
During interview, Rodgers initially claimed the trio had
found the deer carcass by the side of the road and decided to put it in the
van.
However, he yesterday admitted the one charge under the
Hunting Act, along with his co-defendants Morgan and Harvey.
