Man charged with encouraging and helping others to commit hunting crimes
Mark Hankinson will face Plymouth Magistrates Court charged with an alleged offence relating to the Hunting Act
A man is due to appear before Plymouth Magistrates Court after being charged with an alleged offence relating to the Hunting Act 2004.
60-year-old Mark Hankinson, of Sherborne in Dorset, is said to have intentionally encouraged or helped others to commit crimes - contrary to Section 44 of the Serious Crimes Act 2007.
He was caught following an investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police into online webinars held in August 2020.
Devon and Cornwall Police has led the investigation on behalf of all UK forces.
The charge relates to a webinar held on 11 August 2020.
The force are reminding the public to "not speculate on social media", as the case is live and active.
Hankinson is due before magistrates in Plymouth on 4 March.
What is the Hunting Act 2004?
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales.
The Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
The Act came into force on 18 February 2005.
Explaining Section 44 of the Serious Crimes Act 2007
According to legislation.gov, it is "intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence".
A person commits an offence if:
- He does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence; and
- He intends to encourage or assist its commission
But he is not to be taken to have intended to encourage or assist the commission of an offence merely because such encouragement or assistance was a foreseeable consequence of his act.