Verdict in trial of Cornwall hunt master John Sampson after cat mauling

John Lanyon Sampson, who lives on a farm at St Buryan near Penzance, was on trial at Truro Magistrates' Court today (Friday) having pleaded not guilty to two charges.

The first was that on March 6 this year, at Madron, without lawful excuse, he destroyed Mini the cat belonging to Carly Jose, intending to destroy or being reckless as to whether property would be destroyed or damaged.

The second was that on March 6, at Madron, he was in charge of a dangerous animal, one or more of at least six hunting hounds, which was dangerously out of control.

The first charge, one of criminal damage, was dismissed by the magistrates after hearing the evidence.

However, magistrates found him guilty of the second, under the Dangerous Dogs Act. The chair of the Bench their decision was based solely on the death of the cat, not for any other reason.

Outlining the case, the prosecution said that the incident took place in the Trafalgar Fields estate in Madron.

The prosecutor said Sampson was the master of the Western Hunt and on the morning of March 6 was exercising the hounds, later telling the police there were 21 hounds with him that day.

Alongside him were his son Edward and his girlfriend, who were on horseback.

In a statement from PC Smith of Penzance Police, the transcript of a police interview with Sampson was read out. In it it he said that around six or seven of the hounds had split from the main pack while they were being exercised, and his son Edward had gone to follow them.

He said Edward had later returned to the kennels and he looked "white" and "was pretty shook up."

When asked by police if, as the hunt master, he would be responsible for any damage the hounds caused he replied: "I would presume, yeah."

When then asked if he admitted responsibility for the death of Mini the cat he was advised by his solicitor not to take on responsibility, the court heard.

The court heard that on the day of Mini's death, at about midday, Charlie Knight saw a group of dogs chasing a cat opposite his house in Trafalgar Fields. The cat tried to jump over a fence but one of the dogs grabbed it.

Mr Knight began to film what was happening, with the video shown to the court.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Knight said he saw one of the dogs grab the cat and "the pack mauled it together."

He said: "A man picked up the cat. He looked around and then threw the cat over the fence of a house, into the back garden.

"I saw the man fleeing so decided to follow him back to get a clear shot of his face in the video.

"He said, 'I'm coming back in a minute. I'm going to sort the hounds out and will be back again'."

Carly Jose with cat Mimi who was killed by a hound Picture: SWNS

Neighbour Peter Nicholls said he was lying on his bed when he heard an "almighty rumble like a herd of elephants" and a cat cry.

He ran outside and said he saw a hunt 'whipper in' and a cat "fall from the nose of a dog."

Mr Nicholls said the man "scooped it up and threw it over my garden."

He later the found the body of the cat lying in part of his hedge.

Mr Nicholls said he took his walking stick with him in case he "needed to beat the hounds off the cat, in case the hounds were killing the cat or in case they came at me."

In cross-examination, Mr Nicholls went on to add: "I worked for the hunt for 30 years. They [hounds] can turn nasty sometimes."

However, he acknowledged that once he was outside the hounds "took no interest in me whatsoever."

The court was told that Mini's owner, Carly Jose, took her 14-year-old cat to Vets for Pets at Penzance, where a vet checked over her body and found a small puncture wound, and fractures to the ribs and spine.

Police later seized the cat's body and it was looked over by a veterinary pathologist, who said the cat died as a result of being grabbed and crushed by at least one dog.

The defence said that Sampson had chosen not to give evidence to the court, explaining: "For Mr Sampson to give his opinion on whether [the hounds] were dangerous or out of control would have added absolutely nothing to the court's determination in this case. It's not Mr Sampson's opinion or state of mind that is important to the Dangerous Dogs Act charge."

The solicitor, Mr West, said the "danger of interpretation" of the term 'dangerous dog' was that what would happen if applied to other situations, such as if a dog would be dangerously out of control if it ran away to chase a cat, or if it killed a bird on a country walk.

However, returning the guilty verdict based on the death of the cat, the magistrates fined Sampson £480 and ordered him to pay Ms Jose £350 in compensation.

He must also pay prosecution costs of £775 and a £48 surcharge to fund victims surcharge.

The magistrates said they took into account the incident took place in a quiet resident cul-de-sac and the number of dogs involved.

However, they also considered that this was an isolated incident and there had been no previous complaints against the dogs.