Thursday 20 July 2017

Protected wildlife allegedly killed on Peak District shooting estate

 Police investigate after animal rights group films badgers allegedly being caught in snares and shot on the Moscar estate

Hunt Investigation Team’s film footage on the Moscar estate, a grouse-shooting estate in the Peak District.

Josh Halliday  North of England correspondent
Tuesday 11 July 2017 13.29 BSTLast modified on Tuesday 11 July 2017 22.00 BST

Police are investigating allegations that protected wildlife was killed on a shooting estate owned by the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.

Footage filmed by an animal rights group allegedly showed badgers caught in snares and shot this year.

The Hunt Investigation Team (HIT) , which filmed the footage, said it was part of “horrific wildlife persecution” on the Moscar estate, a grouse shooting estate in the Peak District.
It is a criminal offence to injure, kill or ill-treat badgers under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 in England and Wales.

The Moscar estate, near Bamford in Derbyshire, is owned by the 11th Duke of Rutland, David Manners, and Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland.

The pair, worth a reported £140m, also own the 6,000-hectare (15,000-acre) Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, a stronghold established at the Norman conquest that has appeared in films including The Da Vinci Code and The Young Victoria.

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Rutland said in a statement: “They were not aware of any alleged illegal activities being carried out on the land. They are horrified by these allegations and will investigate them fully.”

HIT said an estimated 400 wire snares were set across the estate alongside a variety of traps to catch mammals and birds.



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