Wildlife crime hunting mammals with dogs

North Yorkshire Rural Task Force are investigating an incident in relation to the discovery of 3 young foxes that appear to have been killed by dogs in the Forcett area of Richmondshire.

We believe it happened between the early morning and lunchtime on Saturday 1st August 2026 . The bodies of all three Foxes (1 male and 2 females) were dumped over the small railway bridge at the junction with the B6724 Forcett to Caldwelll road the East Layton turn off (W3W ///Sheep.Present.Deeds).

It appears these animals were killed elsewhere and deposited at this location postmortem.

The animals have been recovered and may be subject to forensic testing.

The Hunting Act 2004 is a law passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that bans hunting most wild mammals—such as foxes, deer, hares, and mink—with dogs in England and Wales. It also bans hare-coursing events. The law took effect on February 18, 2005

Attached image has been heavily pixelated  for the obvious reasons.

Do you have any information which would assist North Yorkshire Police in finding those responsible that would help prevent or detect this type of crime? 

If you can assist, please call 101 quoting reference 12260148667

You can also email Gary.Smithowen@northyorkshire.police.uk 

If you need any direction in relation to wildlife crime do not hesitate to contact me via email.

Contacts

Crimestoppers - 0800 555 111

Supporting Victims – 01904 669276