Teen fined after filming badger being killed by dogs
Getty ImagesA teenage boy who stood by as he watched and filmed dogs kill a badger has been prosecuted.
The 16-year-old, from Poole, Dorset, was convicted under the Badger Act 1992 after police found the footage on a phone seized during an unrelated investigation.
Dorset Police's rural crime team said the clip showed two dogs attacking the animal at Bourne Valley Nature Reserve, with the person behind the camera making no attempt to intervene. A photo of the dead badger was also found.
The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, admitted an offence of wilfully killing a badger. Weymouth magistrates sentenced him to a six-month referral order and fined him £400.
Posting on Facebook, Dorset Police's rural crime team said: "We will continue to investigate all reports involving cruelty towards wildlife and will use legislation available to us to bring perpetrators before the courts."
