ANDREW LEE AND MARK BAXTER ACQUITTED IN HORDEN FOX HUNTING CASE

In a detailed courtroom session at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court, the case against Andrew Lee of Barsloan Grove, Peterlee SR8 2PY, and Mark Baxter of Morpeth Street, Horden SR8 4BE, concluded with both men being found not guilty of serious animal welfare and hunting offences. The charges stemmed from an incident involving a fox that was reportedly dug out of its burrow and subsequently stabbed to death, an act that drew significant attention from animal rights advocates and local residents alike.

According to the court proceedings, the incident took place in December 2016 on land near Sandhutton, close to Thirsk. Both Lee and Baxter had obtained permission to hunt vermin on this land, and the court heard that they were engaged in hunting activities using dogs and a shotgun. However, the police were alerted after a witness observed the men digging for approximately an hour before the witness saw a dead fox being thrown out of a hole.

The charges brought against the two men included causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, hunting a wild mammal with dogs, and inflicting unnecessary suffering on a wild animal. Throughout the trial, Lee and Baxter maintained their innocence, denying all allegations.

Lee explained that their hunting activity involved rabbits and that they had been accompanied by two young boys. He stated that the digging was initiated because one of their dachshunds had gone underground and was unaccounted for. He further explained that the two lurchers, which were held on leads by the boys, broke free when the fox emerged from the hole, prompting him to stab the animal. Lee claimed his primary intention was to prevent the fox from suffering further, asserting, “As far as I am concerned I dealt with a bad situation as best as I could.”

Postmortem reports confirmed that the fox died instantly from the stab wound, ruling out the possibility that injuries inflicted by the dogs, which included a broken jaw, caused its death. The report also noted that one of the lurchers had a cut nose and face, but it was not clear whether these injuries resulted from an altercation with the other lurcher or from the fox itself.

After deliberating for about an hour, Magistrate Scott Handley stated that the evidence did not establish beyond reasonable doubt that the men had committed the offence of hunting a fox with dogs. Consequently, the court acquitted Andrew Lee and Mark Baxter of all charges, ending a case that had garnered considerable local and animal welfare attention.