A video showing hounds from a hunt going through a North Yorkshire burial ground has been released.
The footage, captured by the League Against Cruel Sports, shows what the group says is hounds from the Middleton Hunt “running amok” at the Mowthorpe Garden of Rest near Terrington between York and Malton.
But the British Hound Sports Association say no damage was done and there’s been no complaint from families.
Emma Slawinksi, chief executive he League Against Cruel Sports, said: “It beggars belief that the hunt would have laid a trail through a burial site so either the Middleton Hunt has no regard for the sanctity of this site or, as is more likely, the hounds were on the trail of a fox.
“They have desecrated this burial site in a bid to carry on with a blood sport that was banned 20 years ago.
“Hunts are behaving in an appalling way, intent on chasing and killing foxes and not caring about their anti-social behaviour and the impact they are having on local communities and the people who live in the countryside.”
The owner of the Mowthorpe Garden of Rest, former Scarborough and Malton MP and government minister Sir Robert Goodwill, said there was no sign that the hounds had been in the cemetery.
He said: “None of the families that visit have mentioned it. We do not ban dogs from the cemetery in any case.
“The hunt is very much part of rural life and am more than happy for them to use our land. I am sorry that I wasn’t around to view the wonderful spectacle of the riders and hounds.”
Mowthorpe Garden of Rest
And Oliver Hughes, managing director of the British Hound Sports Association, said: “‘Desecration’ implies deliberate damage to graves or reckless disrespect to a burial site. There is no evidence of that.
“Sir Robert Goodwill, the owner of Mowthorpe Garden of Rest, has confirmed that dogs are not prohibited there, that he is content for the hunt to use the land, and that there has been no damage, disturbance, or complaint from families.
“What the footage shows is a brief crossing of open woodland on land where the owner has no objection to their presence. That is a long way from the picture that has been suggested.
“Suggesting, without evidence, that this indicates illegal hunting is speculation. If such an allegation is genuinely believed, it should be supported by full unedited footage and referred to the police.
“In the absence of any damage, complaint, or objection from the landowner, the claim of ‘desecration’ is simply wrong.”
