Northamptonshire hunt staff plead not guilty at Northampton Magistrates’ Court hearing
Staff of a Northamptonshire hunt have appeared at court charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs – alongside the company for which they work.
At the hearing before a three-person panel at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, Pipewell Foot Beagles Ltd’s huntsman Philip Anthony Saunders, 44, of Irchester, and the whipper in, Rachael Victoria Lenton, 41, of Raunds, appeared in the dock together.
Both have been charged with hunting a wild mammal with dogs under the Hunting Act 2005. The pair pleaded not guilty one after the other.
A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of Pipewell Foot Beagles Ltd by its defence solicitor Stephen Welford.
The pair are due to appear before the same court for a two-day trial set for Thursday, November 6, and Friday, November 7.
Saunders and Lenton were charged following the alleged death of a hare on the Boughton estate near Kettering on January 25, 2025.
Pipewell Foot Beagles Ltd is based at Pytchley Hunt Kennels in Station Road, Brixworth.