Chef thought hare event was legal

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Television chef Clarissa Dickson-Wright has said she would not have attended a hare-coursing event in North Yorkshire if she had known it was illegal.

On Tuesday, Ms Dickson-Wright and racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott were given absolute discharges after pleading guilty to attending the event.

Speaking on BBC Radio York she said she was "delighted" with the result.

Muzzled greyhounds were used to chase hares during the two-day gathering near Malton in 2007.

The event was organised by the Yorkshire Greyhound Field Trialling Club who said a firm of solicitors had been consulted beforehand, and that it believed it was acting within the law.

The private prosecution against the pair was brought by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

'Cruel pursuit'

Ms Dickson-Wright, of Inveresk, Midlothian, said: "Sir Mark and I believed what we were doing [in attending the coursing event] was within the law."

She said: "Hare coursing is one of the oldest sports in the world, they were hare coursing in 4000 BC.

In 2000 hare coursing featured in Clarissa and the Countryman

"The object is not to kill the hare, the object is to train and show the skills of the greyhounds behind the hare.

"It is a beautiful thing to watch."

In summing up the case at Scarborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Judge Kristina Harrison said her verdict was not intended to condone hare coursing and any future offences would be dealt with "most strenuously".

A spokesperson for IFAW said the group was "extremely pleased" with the outcome of the case, as it sent out a "clear and strong message" that those who "engage in activities involving the cruel pursuit of animals for sport will be prosecuted".

"Ignorance of the Hunting Act will not be accepted as an excuse," the campaign group added.

The chef and TV presenter has a history of being outspoken in her views about hunting.

Ms Dickson-Wright's BBC series Clarissa and the Countryman ran between 2000 and 2002 and featured countryside pursuits including hare coursing, which was legal at the time.

The series was later found guilty of having a pro-hunt bias by BBC governors after a complaint from the League Against Cruel Sports.