A HUNT master and a huntsman from the Quantock Staghounds will face a three-day trial next year accused of illegally hunting with dogs.

The staghounds’ hunt master Christopher Gibbons, aged 37, and huntsman Martin Watts, aged 63, denied the offences when they appeared in Taunton Magistrates Court on Thursday (October 22).

Gibbons, of West Quantoxhead, was charged with two counts of having hunted a wild mammal with a dog which was not exempted under the Hunting Act, with the alleged offences dating to March 16 and April 23 this year.

Watts, of West Bagborough, was charged with one count of illegal hunting on April 23, the date of the Quantock Staghounds closing meet of the season.

The April allegation involved a stag which was killed along a fence line more than five hours after first being spotted.

Defending the pair, solicitor Steven Welford said they accepted hunting took place, but maintained it was exempt as per the Hunting Act 2004.

Mr Welford said the March allegation was covered under paragraph eight of the Act, pertaining to the rescue of wild mammal, and the April events came under paragraph nine, relating to research and observation, while there were also issues as to whether the stag was, or was not, injured.

Prosecuting solicitor Maree Doyle said the case would be complex, and could require three days in court, as lay people and experts could be called to give evidence.

The magistrates adjourned the proceedings to January 18 for a case management hearing, but did not set any trial date.

Outside the courtroom Gibbons and Watts were met by activists from Action Against Staghunting, which has the stated aim to ‘end all stag hunts forever’, who displayed banners and filmed the accused as they made for their vehicles.

If convicted, the huntsmen face unlimited fines to be determined by magistrates.