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Anger as hunt dogs lay waste to village garden
A PACK of hounds wrecked a woman's garden in Eydon causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
Sonia Hawes was left to pick up the pieces after 20 dogs – part of a hunt – rampaged through her garden in High Street, Eydon.
Mrs Hawes said: “Hunting appears to continue as if there were no laws against it.
“They violated my garden causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage and a considerable amount of stress.”
According to Mrs Hawes, the Bicester Hunt was riding across fields at the back of the village on Saturday, December 29, when a fox got into her garden.
The dogs chased it and wrecked her garden, including a winter swimming pool cover, steps, a pond and a fence among other things.
She said: “These are big animals and you can’t grab hold of them. They are a law unto themselves.
“I’m not scared of dogs, but for a lot of people it is quite frightening.”
Mrs Hawes said that the huntsmen were nowhere to be seen and didn’t appear until about 15 minutes later, when they sounded a horn and the pack of dogs piled back through the garden again to the fields.
Mrs Hawes said: “I was angry. I went out onto the street expecting to find someone in control.
“They were so far behind the dogs and that should not happen.
“They should not be coming anywhere near a village.”
According to Mrs Hawes the Bicester Hunt has apologised and have offered to pay for the damage caused, which currently stands at around 1,000.
They have also mended the fence but Mrs Hawes is still concerned.
She said: “It doesn’t account for the stress involved and the damage to the wildlife in my garden and they can’t guarantee they won’t come back again. This is not acceptable.
“I now feel that every time I hear the hunt near the village or go away for the weekend something similar may happen and there is nothing, apart from taking out an expensive injunction against them, I can do.”
A ban on hunting with dogs officially came into force in February 2005. However drag hunting and using dogs to flush out foxes before shooting them are still legal under the new law.
Northamptonshire Police confirmed they were called to Eydon at around 12.45pm on December 29 but said the matter was between the homeowner and the hunt.
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Thursday 17 May 2012
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