The Daily Mail on Sunday the 28th August 2011 reports that : ‘David Cameron was facing political embarrassment last night after a leading member of the local hunt he has ridden with was charged with illegal foxhunting.
Julian Barnfield, 47, the professional huntsman with the Heythrop hunt, will appear before magistrates next month on two counts of unlawfully hunting a fox.
The prosecution, which is being brought by the RSPCA, will reopen political divisions over hunting and increase pressure on Ministers to overturn the ban introduced by the Labour Government in 2004.’
The Daily Mail newspaper further 
writes: ‘The Prime Minister has ridden with the Heythrop six times and the hunt is popular with fellow members of the Chipping Norton Set – an influential group of MPs and media professionals who live close to the Oxfordshire market town.’
In 2009 the Daily Mail also reported about the same huntsman of the Heythrop Hunt having charges dropped against him:
The Daily Mirror newspaper also reported about the Heythrop Hunt in 2007 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2007/10/18/david-cameron-link-to-violent-hunt-115875-19969002/
The Daily Mirror wrote on 18/10/2007 -The headline was:
David Cameron link to violent hunt
‘Tory Cameron linked to hunt with some of nastiest followers in Britain
Violent huntsmen who attacked elderly protesters helped propel Tory leader David Cameron to power, the Mirror can reveal today.
Members of the Heythrop Hunt have been captured on video roughing up demonstrators and damaging their cars. But they helped Mr Cameron get elected as an MP in 2001 by canvassing votes for him.
Mr Cameron openly supports hunting and pledges to end the ban on using hounds if elected. He has ridden with the Heythrop, has friends who work for it and its members work as Tory activists to help him in election campaigns.
But leaked documents reveal the sickening violence behind this hunt.
Police have repeatedly investigated it over allegations that members hunted foxes illegally.
And six Heythrop supporters have been cautioned by police for attacking protesters. Anti-hunt campaigner Peter Bunce, 68, said: “We have been driven at, ridden at, sworn at, threatened, tailed and intimidated whilst monitoring the Heythrop hunt since the ban’
Read the full article on the following link:
Prosecutions
There have been over 180 successful prosecutions under the Hunting Act. Listed below is a brief summary of some of the cases that have been reported in the press. Please note that due to the large amount of prosecutions it is not possible to list details of all the cases here http://www.huntingact.org/?q=node/18
In October 2010 The League Against Cruel Sports issued a release ; ‘One Every Week: Hunting Convictions At Highest Level Yet
‘Official figures released in 2010 show convictions almost doubled in 2009 compared with 2008.’
‘Fifty-seven people were convicted of offences under the Hunting Act in 2009, according to Ministry of Justice figures released today, bringing to a total of 145 the number of people convicted between the coming into force of the Act in February 2005 an the end of 2009. In 2008, 33 people were convicted.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs earlier this year claimed that the Hunting Act wasn’t working and was difficult to enforce. But the League Against Cruel Sports today said that the new figures make her claim ‘nonsensical’.
“If an Act wasn’t working, there wouldn’t be convictions,” said Douglas Batchelor, chief executive of the League, which campaigned for 80 years to bring about a ban on hunting and now monitors the activity of hunts up and down the country. “The reality is that the Hunting Act is used more frequently than many other pieces of wildlife legislation, the only difference is that there’s no vociferous and well funded campaign to repeal those laws.”
“Of course the hunters want the law to be repealed. Every criminal would like to see an end to the law that puts a stop to their activity. I’m sure burglars would love to see the back of the Theft Act,” said Mr Batchelor. “But one conviction a week in 2009 shows the law is working, and there is no prospect of the law being repealed in the near future.”
Hunt officials continue to be prosecuted under the legislation. Earlier this year, a terrierman connected with the Ullswater Foxhounds in Cumbria was fined for killing a fox. Prosecutions are ongoing in North Yorkshire, Devon, Leicestershire and Somerset, based on evidence provided by the League.’
http://www.league.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=929&q=&RegionID=&ResultList=1
