Five people to face animal cruelty charges

Five people arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty at a hunt kennel in Herefordshire are to be charged.

The men and women were arrested in 2016 after a video allegedly showed live fox cubs being thrown to a pack of hounds at the kennels of the South Herefordshire Hunt.

Detective Inspector Jonathan Roberts, of West Mercia Police, said: "Three men aged 38, 39 and 40 and two women aged 29 and 54, have been summonsed to court to face multiple charges of animal cruelty.

"This follows a complex investigation in South Herefordshire. The individuals will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday May 15.

"Cases of animal cruelty are treated very seriously by West Mercia Police and we actively seek to protect animals from cruelty and to prevent their suffering."