Fitzwilliam Hunt have appeal rejected: Hunting - what the law says
While using hounds to kill foxes is forbidden by law, there are ways hunting is legally allowed in the UK - including with a bird of prey.
George Adams claimed he was using hounds to flush out the fox for a bird of prey to dispatch the animal.
The Hunting Act (2004) provides a number of exemptions to allow hunting of mammals.
The law states:
Falconry:
Flushing a wild mammal from cover is exempt hunting if undertaken—
(a)for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal, and
(b)on land which belongs to the hunter or which he has been given permission to use for the purpose by the occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to whom it belongs.