Badger Baiters

Badger Baiters - W

Name - Wade Peter Brian (decorator)

Address - Stanley Road, Northfleet, Gravesend

Convicted - 2/12/88

Fine - £300 and £250 costs

Magistrates - Croydon

Age/D.O.B - 23

Also convicted - Charles Cawe

Notes - Found guilty of attempting to take a badger. They said they were hunting foxes and produced a foxes tail to prove it. One person managed to escape. Charles Gibson defended both of them. Barry Peachy gave evidence for the defence.

Name - Wade Sean

Address - Birk Crescent, Kendray, Barnsley

In court - 10/3/88

Not guilty

Magistrates - Harrogate

Age/D.O.B - 21

Also charged - Peter Lawson and Mark Richardson

Notes - Also a fourth man Mr David Atkinson of King Edward's Crescent, Horsforth, Leeds was also at the wood. Caught 17/1/87. All three were found not guilty of unlawfully digging for badgers and unlawfully attempting to take badgers. A charge against Lawson of possessing a dead badger was dismissed after the prosecution asked for it to be withdrawn. Mr Granville Rooley defended all three. They said they were looking for foxes.

Name - Walker Carl (builders merchant)

Address - Mona Street, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield

Convicted - 12/5/85

Fine - £200 and £67 costs

Magistrates - Chesterfield

Age/D.O.B - 23

Also convicted - Howard Carr and Andrew Fenwick

Notes - All found guilty of attempting to dig for badgers. They said they were after foxes.

Name - Walker David

Address - Cliffe View, Denaby Main

Convicted - 30/7/84

Fine - £150 and £20 costs

Magistrates - Chesterfield

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Trevor Jackson, John Bradder and Terrance Calladine

Notes - They all said they were after foxes. All found guilty of attempting to take a badger, accept David Walker who pleaded guilty, so only £20 costs.

Name - Walker Mark

Address - Wentsland Crescent, Tranch, Pontypool

Convicted - 16/4/90

Fine - £50

Magistrates - Usk

Age/D.O.B - Born 1966

Also convicted - Colin Day and David Parry

Notes -

Name - Walker Paul Robert (Member of Fell & Moorland Working Terrier Club)

Address - 80 Bracebridge Drive, Bilborough, Nottingham

Convicted - 8/2/91

Fine - £250

Magistrates - Nottingham

Age/D.O.B - 32

Also convicted - Ivan Brown, Neil Hickling and Thomas Eaton

Notes - All found guilty of digging for badgers. Caught 28/11/90. They said they were after foxes. They were all defended by Granville Rooley.

Name - Wallace Alan

Address - Dalry

Convicted - ?

Fine - £200

Magistrates - Kilmarnock

Age/D.O.B - 21

Also convicted - William McHardy, Stephen Campbell

Notes - All three claimed the dogs were only used for chasing rabbits

Name - Walldock Vincent

Address - Wythenshaw, Manchester

Convicted - 20/4/90

Fine - ?

Magistrates - Macclesfield

Age/D.O.B - 10/8/66

Also convicted - David Lonston, William Mullin and Jonathan Crowther

Notes -

Name - Walsh Kevin Thomas

Address - Hobshey Court, Crosby

Convicted - 1981

Fine - £100 and £10 costs

Magistrates - Wirral

Age/D.O.B - 23

Also convicted - James Sherrin and Gary Purcell

Notes - Found guilty of digging for badgers. There was also a fourth person, a 16 year old boy from Bootle who was also fined £100 and £10 costs.

Name - Walsh Kevin

Address - 61 Dartmoor Drive, Waterloo, Liverpool

Convicted - ?

Fine - £150 and £31.03 costs

Magistrates - Chester

Age/D.O.B - 25

Also convicted - Keith Thomas, McMullen, Charles Fisher and Paul Hughes

Notes - All found guilty of digging for badgers

Name - Walsh Shaun

Address - Clanthorpe, Hull

Convicted - 22/2/89

Fine - £250 and £10 costs

Magistrates - Malton

Age/D.O.B - 19

Also convicted - Lance Watkin and Nigel Hoggard

Notes - They said they were looking for foxes on the way back from a show at Helmsley. Found guilty of attempting to take a badger. Caught 30/5/88, a passer by let the tyres on the van down, then alerted the police. Mr Bob Gundy defended all three.

Name - Walsh William

Address - Mill Hill, Little Hulton, Manchester

Convicted - 30/5/86

Fine - £400 and £50 costs

Magistrates - Chesterfield

Age/D.O.B - 39

Also convicted - David Roberts and Robert Heath

Notes - All found guilty of digging for badgers. Roberts also pleaded guilty to ill-treating one of his dogs and was fined an extra £100. (29 puncture wounds found on the dog) All defended by John Spittle. They all said they were given permission to hunt foxes. Roberts was also fined an extra £70 for having no tax disc and no M.O.T. on his car. Roberts Also has another conviction 11/5/87.

Name - Watkin Lance

Address - Fourth Avenue, North Hull Estate, Hull

Convicted - 22/2/89

Fine - £1000 and £10 costs

Magistrates - Malton

Age/D.O.B - 24

Also convicted - Shaun Walsh and Nigel Hoggard

Name - Watson David (member of Rother Valley Working Terrier Club)

Address - Laurel Avenue, Bramley, Rotherham

Convicted - 7/5/87

Fine - £100 and £165 costs

Magistrates - Rotherham

Age/D.O.B - 28

Also convicted - Morris Cornthwaite, Peter Bottom, Alan Horrace, Thomas Eyre and Roy Winfindale

Notes - All found guilty of digging for badgers. A charge of attempting to kill a badger was dropped.

Name - Watts Alan

Address - 110 St Leonards Crescent, Scarborough

In court 22/12/94

Not guilty

Magistrates - Scarborough

Age/D.O.B - 28

Also charged - Ian Hawkins, Terry Watts, Steve and Mike Osbourne and Brian Rhodes

Notes - The six were cleared of badger related offences. All defended by Harry Topham, they had Barry Peachey as a witness. See Countryman's Weekly 24/11/95, page 14.

Name - Watts Terry

Address - 41 Gladstone Road, Scarborough

In court 22/12/94

Not guilty

Magistrates - Scarborough

Age/D.O.B - 26

Also charged - Ian Hawkins, Alan watts, Steve and Mike Osbourne and Brian Rhodes

Notes - The six were cleared of badger related offences. All defended by Harry Topham, they had Barry Peachey as a witness. See Countryman's Weekly 24/11/95, page 14.

Name - Weir Michael (Hunt Master of Dartmoor Foxhounds)

Address - East Monksmoor, Bittaford, PL21 0HE

Convicted - Due to appear Autumn 1992

Fine - ?

Magistrates - Tavistock

Age/D.O.B -

Also charged - Jonathan Northmoor, Gary Moore and Paul Williams

Notes - All charged with 2 offences of interfering with a badger sett.

Name - Welford Mark

Address - Jubilee Close, Greenhithe

Convicted - 11/6/87

Fine - 2 year conditional discharge and £60 costs

Magistrates - Dartford

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Steven Corps

Notes - They both said they were after foxes. Both found guilty of attempting to take a badger. Caught September 1986. All equipment taken.

Name - West Andrew Terrance

Address - 17 Abbots Crescent, Farnsfield, Nottingham

In court - Found guilty 13/1/93, due to appear again on 12/2/93 after social reports.

Fine - Granted conditional bail until sentencing 12/2/93

Magistrates - Louth

Age/D.O.B - 27

Also convicted - Wayne Coupe, Gary and Stephen Tucker

Notes - Caught 4/5/92. All pleaded guilty to interfering with a badger sett. Andrew West was due to appear in court at a later date after being found guilty of possessing 5 dead badgers, which he kept in his freezer. Defended by Nick Doherty. They said they were after foxes and rabbits.

Name - West Michael James

Address - Fleet Street, Pemberton, Wigan

Convicted - ?

Fine - £50 and £30 costs

Magistrates - Runcorn

Age/D.O.B - 33

Also convicted - David Prescott, John Buckley and Brian Horrocks

Notes - Caught 9/1/?. They were all found guilty of attempting to take a badger. They said they were after foxes.

Name - Whalen Graham

Address - Kenworthy Road, Stocksbridge, Sheffield

Convicted - 29/9/89

Fine - £350 and £25 costs

Magistrates - Chesterfield

Age/D.O.B - 21

Also convicted - Daniel Anson, Mark and Paul Gregory

Notes - Caught 15/1/89. They all claimed they were after foxes. All defended by Mr Michael Whitworth, but found guilty of digging for badgers. Whalen also admitted a further charge of threatening behaviour after he went to the R.S.P.C.A. kennels to get his two terriers back, he was bound over for 1 year in the sum of £100. All had their terriers taken away.

Name - Whalley Sean

Address - Poole Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent

Convicted - 31/1/90

Fine - 3 months and £500 fine, fine later to be quashed to 3 year con. dis.

Magistrates - Cheadle

Age/D.O.B - 24

Also convicted - Darren Cashmore

Notes - Claimed they were digging for foxes. Banned from keeping dogs for 5 years. Appealed and the £500 fine was dropped to a 3 year con. dis. by Judge William Allardice at Stoke Crown Court.

Name - Whally Edward

Address - Cotton Abbots Farm, Waverton, Chester

Convicted - ?

Fine - £500 and £1500 costs

Magistrates - Chester

Age/D.O.B - 50

Also convicted - Alone

Notes - He was cleared on appeal at Mold Crown Court on 27/11/89. Whally was alleged to have cruelly ill-treated badgers by pouring slurry down a badger sett.

Name - White David

Address - 31 Brookfield Avenue, Waterloo, Liverpool

Convicted - July 1991

Fine - £30 and £5 costs

Magistrates - Crosby

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Alone

Notes - Found guilty of illegal coursing

Name - White Gary

Address - Glyn Vale, Knowle, Bristol

Convicted - 1/10/90

Fine - £500 and £60 costs paying £8/week.

Magistrates - Long Ashton near Bristol

Age/D.O.B - 27

Also convicted - Alone

Notes - One man was also seen running from the scene. Gary White was found guilty of attempting to kill a badger, and digging for a badger. Caught by a park patrol inspector.

Name - White Mark

Address - Parc-y-Castell, Buith Wells

Convicted - 24/9/90

Fine - 3 months, £1000 fine and £300 costs

Magistrates - Brecon

Age/D.O.B - Born 1965

Also convicted - Trevor Limb, David Shaw, Shaun Williams and David Leach

Notes - They made a video of the badgers being killed, the badgers were stabbed, shot and coursed. All received a ban on keeping animals for 5 years.

Name - Whitehouse John David

Address - Haverlock Road, Alum Rock

Convicted - 26/2/87 and appealed 19/5/87

Fine - £400 and £100 costs fine cut in half at appeal

Magistrates - Bromsgrove and Worcesrte Crown Court

Age/D.O.B - 35

Also convicted - John Collins, Martin Bradley and Mark Poyser

Notes - All found guity of attempting to take a badger and digging for a badger. Defended by Amanda Pittaway and Nick Doherty. Bradleys dog Toby was forfeited. At appeal Judge Michael Mott cut their fines in half on a legal technicality after agreeing they should have been fined for one charge not two. Bradley also asked for his dog back, but was refused.

Name - Whitley David

Address - 4 Norwich Road, Blacon, Chester

Convicted - ?

Fine - £200 and £40 costs

Magistrates - Chester

Age/D.O.B - 24

Also convicted - Julian Evans

Notes - Both were found guilty of attempting to take a badger, caught 19/10. There was also a third man present Darren Hickey who was later sent to prison on a separate charge. Evans also admitted driving to Tushingham while banned, for which he was ordered to do 120 hours community service, he also admitted to having no insurance, £50 fine and banned from driving for 18 months, plus 8 penalty points. Whitley admitted stealing £78.50 from a TV. rental firm. He had to do 80 hours community service and repay the £78.50.

Name - Wild Ian

Address - ?

Convicted - 1980

Fine - ?

Magistrates - Rochdale

Age/D.O.B - Born 1959

Also convicted - William Royston and Bernard Krasowski

Notes -

Name - Wilkinson Darren

Address - Bells Lane End, Hartshorne

Convicted - 6/3/99

Fine - 2 months

Magistrates - Derby

Age/D.O.B - 25

Also convicted - Angela Yates

Notes - A man has been jailed for two months after a court ruled that he used two dogs, one of which was found with horrific injuries, for hunting badgers. Darren Wilkinson was also disqualified from keeping a dog for 10 years. Derby magistrates heard on 6/3/99 that an RSPCA officer and a policewoman, acting on a tip-off from a member of the public, discovered the Jack Russell terriers at Wilkinson's home in December, 1997. One of the dogs had most of its snout missing and the other one had bite wounds on its ears, cheek and leg. They described the injuries to the more severely-hurt dog as the worst of its kind they had ever seen. Wilkinson admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a Jack Russell terrier by failing to get medical treatment for the animal. But he claimed he had found the dog while out walking and taken it home. Wilkinson's girlfriend, Angela Yates was given a one-year conditional discharge and disqualified from keeping a dog for three years. She had denied causing unnecessary suffering to the badly-injured dog by omitting to take it to a vet, but was found guilty of the charge at a previous hearing at Swadlincote magistrates. A further charge against Wilkinson of causing unnecessary suffering to the other terrier was dismissed at the same hearing after the prosecution offered no evidence. The badly-injured terriers has since made a full recovery after having its face reconstructed by vet. Wilkinson and Yates agreed to sign over both animals to the RSPCA.

Name - Williams Gareth Michael

Address - 4 Packett Street, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent

Convicted - 12/10/90

Fine - £200

Magistrates - Crewe

Age/D.O.B - 28

Also convicted - Paul Anderson and Ian Johnson

Notes - Claimed they were out hunting foxes. They dug a 8ft hole down into the badger sett. Found guilty of digging for badgers. Caught December 1989. They had been given permission to dig for foxes at a near by farm, but had started to dig at Hineswood.

Name - Williams Gary Alan

Address - Heol y Craig, Clydach, Swansea

In court - 1/12/99

Charges dropped

Magistrates - Lampeter

Age/D.O.B - 22

Also charged - Gary David Venton, Kevin Venton, Geraint Ronald Woolcock and John Alan Gilmore

Notes - Police on an undercover operation against badger baiters found a disturbed sett, a freshly killed badger with wounds consistent with badger baiting, and five men with dogs hiding nearby Lampeter magistrates heard on 11/11/99. The men claimed to be hunting foxes, but one, who told police he would never touch a badger, was later found to have two stuffed badgers and a mounted badger's head at his home. When they appeared at Lampeter magistrates on 1/12/99 all had their charges dropped. Gary Venton also denies possessing excess ammunition and failing to notify the transfer of a shotgun.

Name - Williams James Royston

Address - 187 Bamford Road, Heywood, Bury

Convicted - 1980

Fine - £500

Magistrates - Rochdale

Age/D.O.B - Born 1948

Also convicted - Bernard Krasowski and Ian Wild

Notes -

Name - Williams James Royston

Address - 187 Bamford Road, Heywood, Rochdale

Convicted - 15/2/89 and 13/4/90

Fine - £1200 and £500 costs

Magistrates - Rochdale

Age/D.O.B - Born 1948

Also convicted - Steven Holt

Notes - Williams has previous convictions for badger offences

Name - Williams Mark

Address - 133 West Avenue, Melton Mowbray

Convicted - 11/12/86

Fine - £100

Magistrates - Melton

Age/D.O.B - 23

Also convicted - Anthony and Philip Hurrell

Notes - Found guilty of attempting to take a badger and digging for a badger. Barry Peachy gave evidence for the defence. Caught 19/1/86.

Name - Williams Paul (Dartmoor Foxhounds supporter)

Address - Hartford Road, Ivybridge

Convicted - Due in court Autumn 1992

Fine - ?

Magistrates - Tavistock

Age/D.O.B -

Also charged - Michael Weir, Jonathan Northmoor and Gary Moore

Notes - All charged with 2 offences of interfering with a badger sett.

Name - Williams Philip

Address - Phillips Walk, Rhymney.

Convicted - 89/90

Fine - £500 and £500 costs

Magistrates - Carmarthen

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Alan Mallet

Notes - Confirmed his involvement with Ledbury Foxhounds, also named four other fox hunts he had followed. Also another conviction for badger digging.

Name - Williams Robert

Address - Rickstead Farm, Uppingham Road, East Norton

Convicted - 30/1/96

Fine - £700 and £260 costs

Magistrates - Lutterworth

Age/D.O.B - 48

Also convicted - Alone

Notes - He was found guilty of destroying a badger sett and damaging another. This occurred when he asked Peter Waddington to clear some shrubs and trees on his land. The offence took place in April 1995 also a body of a ten week old female badger cub was found dead at the scene.

Name - Williams Shaun

Address - Flat 3, 3a Broad Street, Buith Wells

Convicted - 24/9/90

Fine - 3 months, £1000 fine and £300 costs

Magistrates - Brecon

Age/D.O.B - Born 1963

Also convicted - Trevor Limb, David Shaw, Mark White and David Leach

Notes - They made a video of the badgers being killed, the badgers were stabbed, shot and coursed. All received a ban on keeping animals for 5 years.

Name - Williams Terrance (building contractor)

Address - Hawthorne Park, Brynna

Convicted - 86/87 and appealed 11/6/87

Fine - £150 and £100 costs and £124 costs at the appeal

Magistrates - Pontypridd and Cardiff Crown Court

Age/D.O.B - 38

Also convicted - Carl Jenkins

Notes - Both defended by Richard Griffiths.

Name - Williams Wayne

Address - Glyn-y-Nant, Pencoed

Convicted - June 1986

Fine - £250 and £118 costs

Magistrates - Bridgend

Age/D.O.B - 22

Also convicted - Charles Gwilliam

Notes - Found guilty of attempting to kill, injure or take a badger. Williams was also fined a further £25 for three offences of keeping a dog without a licence.

Name - Wilson Gary

Address - Dalkeith Road, Hartlepool

Convicted - 8/3/88

Fine - £300 and £20 costs

Magistrates - Teesside

Age/D.O.B - 22

Also convicted - Ian McKinley, John Connor and Carl Malham

Notes - All were found guilty of digging for badgers.

Name - Winfindale Roy

Address - Woodland Drive, North Anston, Rotherham

Convicted - 7/5/87

Fine - £100 and £165 costs

Magistrates - Rotherham

Age/D.O.B - 34

Also convicted - Morris Cornthwaite, Peter Bottom, Alan Green, Thomas Eyre and David Watson

Notes - All found guilty of digging for badgers. A charge of attempting to kill a badger was dropped.

Name - Wood Kenneth James

Address - ?

Convicted - 1981

Fine - £75 and £65 costs

Magistrates - Staffordshire

Age/D.O.B - Aged 31

Also convicted - Alone

Notes - Found guilty of killing a badger cub

Name - Woolcock Geraint Ronald

Address - Cowbridge Square, Gwae-Cae-Gurwen, Ammanford

In court - 1/12/99

Charges dropped

Magistrates - Lampeter

Age/D.O.B - 21

Also charged - Gary David Venton, Kevin Venton, Gary Alan Williams and John Alan Gilmore

Name - Worrall David

Address - Willdale Close, Clayton, Manchester

Convicted - 23/11/95 due back for sentence 19/12/95

Fine - 100 hours community service, £260 costs and banned from keeping a dog for 5 years

Magistrates - Leek then Cheadle

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Bernard Perry

Notes - Both admitted interfering with a badger sett and causing unnecessary suffering to a dog. Charges of digging for badgers and attempting to kill or capture a badger were dropped. A Peak Park warden called the police after seeing two men acting suspiciously near a sett. One appeared to be digging in an entrance hole and dogs were heard barking. When they were confronted they said they had been given permission by a farmer to hunt foxes and rabbits. Mark Davies defending Perry said they had already caught a fox, then their terrier ran off down a badger sett after another.

Name - Worthington Stephen

Address - 14 Central Avenue, Distington

Convicted - 6/5/88 and appealed 13/8/88

Fine - £200 and £50 costs and at appeal it was quashed

Magistrates - West Allerdale and Carlisle Crown Court

Age/D.O.B - 28

Also convicted -

Notes - He was found guilty of attempting to take a badger. Barry Peachey gave evidence at his appeal. Put a letter in the Times and Star after his appeal to apologise to the Melbreak Foxhounds Committee for any embarrassment caused to the hunt, as he had been a life long supporter of the them.

Name - Wragg David

Address - Sandbed Lane, Belper

Convicted - 18-19/9/97

Fine - See below

Magistrates - Bakewell

Age/D.O.B - 32

Also convicted - Garry Shaw, Gary Pettipierre and Michael Holland

Notes - They were found guilty of interfering with a badger sett, digging for badgers and killing a badger. The court heard on they were seen on 10/3/96 by a badger protection group. The group were keeping watch on a sett when they observed the four approach the sett and begin digging. They then watched in horror as a badger was knifed, then bludgeoned to death. The police were called and found the body of a fully grown male badger still warm in a shallow grave near the sett. The four told the police they had been looking for foxes (there goes that old excuse again) and had nothing to do with the badgers death. However, Wragg told magistrates he had stabbed the badger through the heart and then buried it. He said the two terriers were on a scent and had run into the sett, he then dug out the terriers and found one dog locked jaw-to-jaw with the badger and the other dog was also clamped onto it. Wragg said the killing was unavoidable. "It was not sport. I did it to save the dogs." Police took a knife from Wragg and a boiler suit from Holland both were bloodstained and DNA genetic profiling (used for the first time in such a case) matched the blood of the dead badger. On 17/10/97 all were sentenced to five months in prison by Bakewell magistrates, however all were released on police bail pending an appeal at Derby Crown Court. The court also ordered that their terriers be forfeited to the RSPCA. Following a failed appeal at Derby Crown Court on 12/2/98, Holland was sentenced to four months, Wragg and Pettipierre both received three months sentences.

Name - Wynn-Owen Geriant

Address - Llallyfni, Caernarfon

Convicted - 11/12/90

Fine - £450 and £115 costs

Magistrates - Pyllheli

Age/D.O.B -

Also convicted - Steven Pritchard

Notes -

Badger Baiters

Badger Baiting

Vermin