Editing Hunting Act 2004 (section)

=== RSPCA vs Heythrop Hunt: 2012 ===
In December 2012 the [[RSPCA]] took out a private prosecution against Heythrop Hunt Limited. This was a landmark case, as it was the first time that an organized hunt was prosecuted as a corporate body. The Heythrop Hunt, its Huntsman, Julian Barnfield, and its Senior Master, Richard Sumner, all pleaded guilty to four charges of illegally hunting a fox at Oxford magistrates court in December 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10113373.update-heythrop-found-guilty-illegal-fox-hunting/ |title=UPDATE: Heythrop found guilty of illegal fox hunting |newspaper=Oxford Mail |date=18 December 2012 |access-date=24 October 2020}}</ref> Barnfield, a former huntsman with the Heythrop and one of those convicted, said that the case had been politically motivated with its links with David Cameron's constituency.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/dec/17/david-cameron-hunt-convicted-rspca|title=David Cameron's local hunt convicted after RSPCA prosecution | location=London | work=The Guardian|first=Caroline|last=Davies|date=17 December 2012}}</ref> The presiding magistrate called the RSPCA's £327,000 costs "staggering";<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-20758022|title=Heythrop Hunt members admit illegal fox hunting | publisher=BBC News | date=17 December 2012}}</ref> however, Gavin Grant, the chief executive of the RSPCA, said that the organisation would prevent cruelty to animals by all lawful means and had prosecuted 1,341 individuals and secured 3,114 convictions in the past year with a success rate of more than 98%.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/19/rspca-job-to-sue-heythrop-hunt|title=Why the RSPCA pursued a Heythrop Hunt prosecution | location=London | work=The Guardian|first=Gavin|last=Grant|date=19 December 2012}}</ref>