“Two Kirkby men admitted digging down to snare young badgers in the countryside to train terriers to attack them, a court heard.

William Chrystal, 24 and Leighton David Shiers, 18, were caught with shovels, walkie talkies and were wearing camouflage jackets at a well-known underground sett in north Wales when police pounced. 

Three more of the gang sprinted off when officers arrived at the scene in Holywell on April 26, just before midnight, following a tip-of from a dog walker.

Peter Humphrey-Jones, prosecuting at Flintshire Magistrates, described how Chrystal and Shiers had pre-planned the operation which had involved GPS equipment and dog collars fitted with transmitters and a receiver to pin-point the location of the badgers.

The animals, if captured, could also have been sold on, the court heard, as magistrates warned the pair, they could be jailed for the ‘very serious matter.’

They pleaded guilty to attempting to take, kill or injure a badger.”

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Source: Liverpool Echo