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The annual Boxing Day hunt in Bawtry has been banned from council land after three of the group's members were convicted of illegal hunting earlier this year.

Bawtry Town Council voted 7 - 3 against allowing the hunt to gather in their usual meeting place of one the council's car parks in a meeting this week.

Representatives from the Barnby Moor based Grove and Rufford Hunt, which used to be held in Retford, were at the meeting alongside hunt saboteurs and local residents - but the meeting "did not get too heated".

The decision comes after three members of the hunt - Paul Larby, Peter White and Jane Wright - were found guilty of illegal hunting in March after two bird watchers filmed a fox being killed by their hounds at Laneham.

The bird-watchers told the trial that the fox was chased by a pack of 45 hounds in view of members of the hunt.

And the footage showed no attempt to call off the hounds.

The trio denied fox-hunting, saying they were following an artificially laid scent trail and claimed the fox was killed accidentally.

Mayor of Bawtry, David Kirkham, said: "It's an event that has occurred in Bawtry over several years and has been quite well supported.

"What has disappointed us this time is that in March, three members of the hunt were convicted of killing with hounds.

"They made their request, we had the discussion and we said the concern was that we don't want to be seen to be supporting an organisation that condones this.

"We asked if those involved were still members and they confirmed they are still members. Those three people would be involved on Boxing Day - had that not been the case it could well have been a different outcome.

"The fact that they should tolerate these people is not acceptable to us.

"It's a shame - I rather suspect that if they had reacted differently to the three's convictions it could have been a different outcome.

"It was said that they may still attend Bawtry - but they cannot use our car parks. And they said that they are going to appeal their convictions."

Pete Tutalo, from Retford, who is a member of The League Against Cruel Sports, said in a statement read out to the meeting: "I personally think that this outdated barbarism has no place in modern society and certainly nothing to do with tradition or we would be watching dog and cock fighting in the square also.

"There are many alternative and more acceptable forms of this activity such as drag hunting or hunting the clean boot that don’t involve cruelty and allow the exercise of both horse and hound if needed, trail hunting is habitually used as a cover for illegal hunting, with many examples of this available on various websites and the many of the hunts involved have vowed to continue hunting illegally."

Though not a hunt saboteur himself, Pete said that if the meet does go ahead, it's highly likely hunt saboteurs will also be present on the day.

We have contacted the Grove and Rufford Hunt for comment but are yet to hear back.

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