A high-profile RSPCA prosecution of the renowned Cattistock Hunt in Dorset has spectacularly collapsed amid claims that the hunt was the victim of a politically inspired campaign , funded by a mystery backer . The Cattistock 's joint master Will Bryer has accused the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – which brought the prosecution – of co-ordinating a campaign of harassment and surveillance over more than three years , in a failed attempt to prove the hunt had broken the law . He also claimed a wealthy anti-hunting businessman intent on landing a 'prize scalp ' had bankrolled surveillance of him , his employees and hunt followers , saying : 'We believe the campaign is funded by a Dorset-based company . A high-profile RSPCA prosecution of the renowned Cattistock Hunt in Dorset has spectacularly collapsed amid claims that the hunt was the victim of a politically inspired campaign . Hunt saboteurs at our meets this year were all wearing T-shirts advertising the firm . We do n't believe that to be a coincidence but a statement . ' The animal rights organisation , which has been criticised for spending £22.5 million pursuing animal welfare prosecutions last year , formally withdrew its case on Friday – after admitting it had no realistic chance of a conviction . Mr Bryer , whose joint master of the Cattistock is one of the richest women in Britain , the Honourable Mrs Charlotte Townshend , claimed the campaign had been 'focused and sophisticated ' . He went on to say : 'Despite the endless footage taken of us by so-called covert investigators , this is the only time anyone associated with the Cattistock has ever faced a charge and now it has been dropped . Cattistock 's joint master Will Bryer ( pictured ) claimed a wealthy anti-hunting businessman intent on landing a 'prize scalp ' had bankrolled surveillance of him . ' I 'm afraid the time has long passed when we thought these people were seriously interested in the law . As far as we are concerned , this is just another way of attacking people who participate in hunting . ' Yesterday , the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance said the RSPCA was at a crossroads , and would have to decide whether to continue to bring what it described as 'malicious ' cases or 'embrace sanity and change tactics ' . Mr Bryer 's solicitor , Jamie Foster , claimed that the case had been flawed from the start . He explained : 'There is video footage of my client laying legal trails before and after the alleged breach of the hunting ban which was not disclosed to us by the RSPCA . ' He said the laying of a trail , or a scent which the hounds can track rather than chasing a live animal , showed that the Cattistock had behaved responsibly , not recklessly as the prosecution claimed . Cattistock chairman Robert Atkinson said : 'We are very pleased that common sense has prevailed and the case has been dropped . The hunt and all its staff , in particular Will as master , make every effort to hunt within the law and be seen to do so . We are glad that our stance has been so demonstrably and categorically vindicated by the court . ' The RSPCA has the power to bring its own prosecutions rather than rely on the police or the Crown Prosecution Service . However last October , a report commissioned by the charity recommended abandoning the policy and leaving the job to the CPS , which has more expertise . An animal rights organisation formally withdrew its case against the hunt ( pcitured ) on Friday – after admitting it had no realistic chance of a conviction . Last year , The Mail on Sunday reported that the RSPCA had spent £22.5 million on prosecutions in two years , and had been obliged to take out an overdraft facility with its bank , Coutts , for the first time in its 190-year history . Discussing the dropped prosecution yesterday , an RSPCA spokesman said : 'We have not at any stage been made aware of a trail being laid or of any alleged footage of such a trail being laid . But having considered all the evidence now available , we concluded there no longer remains a realistic prospect of securing a conviction . ' Addressing the Cattistock 's claim that the RSPCA had mounted a campaign of surveillance , he said : 'This is an outrageous slur and completely untrue . We did not monitor this hunt . The RSPCA does not monitor any hunts . ' He went on to reject the claim that the prosecution had been effectively paid for by a wealthy backer , insisting : 'This prosecution was funded by the RSPCA . ' Philip Mansbridge , the UK director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare – which shot the disputed footage and provided it to the RSPCA – said : 'We are very disappointed that the case has been dropped . We do understand the reasons and the difficulties in getting these cases through the courts . But we stand by our evidence completely ; this case was dropped , not lost . ' He went on to say : 'We have now reached the reluctant conclusion that having tried everything under the current judicial system , we now need to make changes to strengthen the Hunting Act . Time and time again , hunts flout the law and escape prosecution by using the false alibi that they were trail hunting . The pro-hunt lobby continually drag out cases and waste public and charity funds . ' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
High-profile RSPCA prosecution of Cattistock Hunt in Dorset has collapsed . Hunt joint master Will Bryer accused RSPCA of campaign of harassment . He said wealthy anti-hunting businessman bankrolled surveillance of him . The animal rights organisation formally withdrew its case on more than three years .