Footage of attack on hunt monitors released
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
The League Against Cruel Sports has released footage of one of its monitors being attacked by a foxhunter.
The video, which is two and a half minutes long, shows hunt monitors being approached by several hunters who proceed to repeatedly knock the monitors over with their horses.
While verbally abusing them, the hunters eventually manage to knock Graham Forsyth, a hunt monitor for the league, into a ditch while verbally threatening his fellow monitor Helen Weeks.
Ms Weeks appears highly emotional in the video.
The perpetrator of the attack, huntsman Christopher Marles, has since been convicted of assault on Ms Weeks and faces a jail term when he is sentenced at Exeter crown court next month.
League chief executive Douglas Batchelor said: "Some of this footage is extremely disturbing and we think the public will be shocked when they see exactly what goes on when some hunts get together for a day's hunting.
"The gang-like mentality of some extremists along with the bullying behaviour is simply not acceptable in any sector of society."
Today marks the fourth anniversary of the ban on hunting with dogs and there have been 63 prosecutions since, with another 18 pending.
An early day motion has been tabled in parliament for the Act to be better enforced, with 130 MPs having currently signed it.
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