Tolkien beings pursuing punishment for porcupines? (7)
I believe the answer is:
rodents
'porcupines?' is the definition.
(porcupine is a kind of rodent)
'tolkien beings pursuing punishment' is the wordplay.
'tolkien beings' becomes 'ents' (I've seen this in another clue).
'pursuing' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'punishment' becomes 'rod' (stick used for corporal punishment).
'ents' after 'rod' is 'RODENTS'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for rodents that I've seen before include "Rats and mice, say" , "Animals that gnaw" , "Guinea pigs, hamsters etc" , "Eg. rats" , "Mice, squirrels etc" .)