A senior huntsman caught on camera preparing to feed live fox cubs to his hounds has avoided jail despite causing their "painful, terrifying" deaths, a judge has ruled.

Paul Oliver has also avoided a ban on keeping animals because he would lose his job at a stud yard.

Passing sentence at Birmingham Magistrates' Court, District Judge Joanna Dickens handed Oliver - who was master of hounds with the now disbanded South Herefordshire Hunt - a 16-week suspended jail sentence. His partner and the hunt's kennel maid, Hannah Rose, was also given a 12-week suspended sentence.

Oliver and Rose, both of Sutton Crosses, near Spalding, Lincolnshire, were also ordered to pay £300 in costs and a £115 victim surcharge after being convicted of causing unnecessary suffering.

Oliver, 40, and Rose, 30, were convicted after a seven-day trial was told live fox cubs were used to "blood" hunting hounds at the hunt's kennels in Wormelow.

Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Show all 15 1 /15 Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Big Tip the fox cub who was saved by farmer Chris Rolfe when he performed a cesarean section on a dead vixen Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Biscuit the fox cub who was saved by farmer Chris Rolfe when he performed a cesarean section on a dead vixen Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Little Tip the fox cub who was saved by farmer Chris Rolfe when he performed a cesarean section on a dead vixen Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Ginger the fox cub who was saved by farmer Chris Rolfe when he performed a cesarean section on a dead vixen Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Jean and Chris Rolfe, who saved the fox cubs and have been looking after them in their early weeks SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Chris Rolfe, 24 with the fox cubs at seven weeks old SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Chris Rolfe, 24 with the fox cubs at seven weeks old SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Ginger was the runt of the litter and was much smaller than his siblings Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother At seven weeks old, Ginger is now doing well and will be released with the other cubs Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Little Tip at seven weeks old Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Biscuit at seven weeks old Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Big Tip at seven weeks old Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Biscuit at seven weeks old Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Little Tip among a flower patch Jean Rolfe / SWNS Four fox cubs saved by cesarean on dead mother Ginger among a flower patch Jean Rolfe / SWNS

The pair were charged with animal cruelty offences after covert footage of them was captured by cameras placed at the hunt's premises by anti-bloodsport activists in May 2016.

Footage showed Oliver handling foxes at the kennels and putting the bodies of two cubs in a wheelie bin, the court was told.

Cameras also captured Oliver using a stick with a noose attached, known as a grasper.

“The unnecessary suffering involved the killing of fox cubs, effectively feeding the animals... throwing the fox cubs into the kennels of the fox hounds, thereby killing them,” Simon Davis, the prosecutor, told Birmingham Magistrate’s Court during the trial.

Suspending the sentences for a year, District Judge Dickens said: "Four fox cubs were killed by hounds whilst in the kennels.

"They did not have the chance of escape. It is not clear if this was a single lead hound in a pack or just one hound on its own.

"Thankfully, the veterinary evidence shows that they died quickly. I consider that Mr Oliver took the lead role in this and it is clear that Ms Rose was acting on his direction.

"This was a very serious offence of its type. The fox cubs suffered a painful, terrifying death."

Sabotaging a fox hunt Show all 15 1 /15 Sabotaging a fox hunt Sabotaging a fox hunt A pack of hounds races past saboteurs. Hunting foxes with hounds is illegal in England. 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs geared up in camouflage strategize and survey maps of the area. They follow hunting teams around the countryside in cars and on foot, spraying citronella around to throw off the scent of the fox for the dogs. They use the same whistle the hunters use to get their dogs to turn left and right and all the commands, etc., which throws off the dogs. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs travel on foot through miles of country fields during a fox hunt. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt A pack of dogs waits for commands from their mounted owners. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt In England, fox hunting with hounds is illegal. So is sabotaging a hunt. Yet the police are there only for the saboteurs. 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs film the illegal practice of using dogs to hunt foxes. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs follow hunting team into the fields during a fox hunt. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs follow hunting team into the fields during an illegal fox hunt. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt A hunter angrily addresses a crowd of saboteurs. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Things turn dangerous as hunters on horseback rush the line of saboteurs. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt A hunter and saboteur share the same space as one attempts to direct dogs towards fox trails while another tries to confuse them. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Fox hunt saboteurs keep an eye over the horizon for signs of pursuit. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Saboteurs block hunters from passing. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt A mounted hunter addresses the saboteurs. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Sabotaging a fox hunt Mounted fox hunters, a pack of dogs, and saboteurs all converge before the hunt. Fox hunting with dogs is illegal and so is sabotaging the illegal hunt. England, 2011 Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

Explaining her reasons for not banning the couple from keeping animals, the judge added: "I think the chance of any reoccurrence is minimal.

"I also take into account that to disqualify them from being in control of animals would cause them to lose their current employment and any hope of future work, as this is their livelihood."

The court was told hidden cameras were placed at the kennels by the Hunt Investigation Team (HIT) after they received information that animal welfare legislation had been breached.

As part of the HIT inquiry, two sites were identified where foxes were thought to have been "dug out" and police enquiries established gamekeepers had given permission for the animals to be destroyed on the land.

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Julie Elmore, 55, of Brynarw estate near Abergavenny, and Paul Reece, 48, formerly of Itton, near Chepstow in South Wales, admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to cubs which were distressed by being transported to the kennels.

Accepting that neither Elmore nor Reece had any idea that foxes would be killed, the judge said the pair had been "motivated by consideration" for the cubs while trying to stop them being shot.

A fifth defendant, Nathan Parry, 40, also of Brynarw estate, was cleared of four animal cruelty charges after the judge accepted that he believed foxes taken to the hunt's kennels would be relocated in the wild.