(407)  FOX-HUNTING DECISION AT JEDBURGH SHERIFF COURT

Trevor Adams, formerly hounds master of the Buccleuch Hunt, was found not guilty of offences under the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 10 December 2004.  The full opinion of Sheriff Kevin Drummond, narrating facts and law, can be found at http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/ADAMS.html.  Particularly pertinent is Sheriff Drummond’s early observation (para 4):

It should be borne in mind that this is a penal statute creating offences punishable by imprisonment and it falls to be construed in no different way from any other penal statute. There is no burden of proof on an accused person and it is not for an accused to prove that he falls within a statutory exception.  It is for the Crown to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt and to exclude the application of any such statutory exception.””