A hunter who posed next to a dead boar and bragged about his dog killing a deer faces jail.

Mark Bond, of Westwood Road, Loose, Maidstone, was cleared of stabbing a boar and killing a badger and a deer but was found guilty of killing a fallow deer and causing unnecessary suffering to one of his dogs.

During a two-day trial at Maidstone Magistrates' Court the 38-year-old denied all five charges, which had allegedly happened in September and October 2018.

The court was shown videos and photos found on WhatsApp during an RSPCA investigation in January 2020 involving Jimmy Price and Danny Price.

Videos included dogs attacking a boar, a badger and a deer, with the boar letting out a high-pitch squeal as it was stabbed by an unknown person.

There was a picture of Bond posing with a dead boar, which prosecutor Richard Reynolds claimed was a "trophy" image. He also claimed Bond stabbed the animal after setting three dogs on it.

Bond denied this, saying the boar was shot on land with the permission of the owner and was different to the animal filmed being stabbed.

Another video showed a thorn-coloured dog, which Mr Reynolds claimed was owned by Bond, ragging a badger about with blood spattered across her muzzle.

But Bond denied it was his dog, Brooke, as it had different colouration.

A voice note played to the court from Danny Price’s confiscated phone, which was sent on WhatsApp a day after the alleged badger offence, said: “That bitch is the best lamping dog I’ve seen in my life. She’s an all-rounder. She killed a fox in minutes and got three foxes in an hour. She is unbelievable.”

In another Mr Price said: “Mark went to stand on the badger and stab it and it grabbed his wellie boots and pierced a hole right through.”

In October 2019, RSPCA chief inspector William Mitchell visited Bond at his home, then in Mayfair Avenue, Loose.

His five dogs were in kennels at the property while a fridge was found packed with meat and five skulls, thought to belong to deer.

A hunting knife and tools used for hunting were found in his van.

Alex Weller, defending, questioned Mr Mitchell about his visit and whether the dogs were in good health, which he agreed they were.

Bond gave evidence about injuries his terrier Vegas had sustained, as well as messages he sent on WhatsApp boasting about killing a deer.

He bragged his dog Vinnie killed a deer but when questioned by Mr Reynolds said the messages were just "a joke" and "banter" as friends would mock Vinnie's skill.

One read: "I'm out lamping now, Vinnie just got a fallow," while in another he said he'd be "eating venison" for a week.

Others discussed an injury Vegas had at the bottom of her muzzle. One said there were "two holes", while another said it looked like her "chin would fall off".

Bond – who admitted he'd been ratting and rabbiting before – said he hadn't taken Vegas to the vets but was treating her himself by cleaning the wound and giving her anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.

An expert witness said the treatment was "suitable".

Despite this, magistrates found Bond guilty of causing unnecessary harm to Vegas and killing a fallow deer, after saying his evidence was "unreliable".

He was cleared of killing the boar, badger and deer after magistrates said it couldn't be proved he was the person in the videos.

Bond is set to be sentenced at a later date after a pre-sentence report but was told he could face jail or a community order as well as being banned from owning dogs.

He was given unconditional bail to appear at a later date to be confirmed.