Pressure builds to end fox or ‘trail’ hunting on rogue national parks
Posted 14th May 2024
The League Against Cruel Sports’ fox postie has made special deliveries of more than 30,000 campaign postcards calling for an end to ‘trail’ hunting to the Peak District, Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks.
The postcards have been signed by the public who agree that that so-called trail hunting is a smokescreen to allow hunts to carry on chasing and killing foxes.
John Petrie, League Against Cruel Sports senior campaigns manager, said: “Most of the national parks have stopped allowing fox hunts onto their land because trail hunting has been exposed time and again as a cover-up for old fashioned illegal hunting.
“It’s time for change and for the three rogue national park authorities that still allow it to protect wildlife and preserve nature by banning fox and trail hunting on their land.”
The League postie outside the Peak District National Park Authority visitor centre in Bakewell delivering post cards calling on them to ban fox or 'trail' hunting
Major landowners in England and Wales have banned trail hunting because of its association with illegal hunting. These include 10 of the 13 national park authorities in England and Wales and, in recent years, fox hunting has been banned on 2.3million acres of land run by other landowners including the National Trust.
Trail hunting was recently described by Chief Superintendent Matt Longman, the most senior police officer in England with responsibility for fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”.
The campaign is backed by the Time for Change Coalition Against Hunting, formed of 34 animals welfare and environmental organisations.
Despite a fox hunting ban coming into force in 2005, the League Against Cruel Sports compiles reports showing hundreds of eyewitness sightings of suspected illegal fox hunting every year – some of which take place on our national parks.
The League postie delivering post cards to the National Park Authority says it is 'time for change'.
John Petrie added: “The next government needs to strengthen hunting laws so that hunts are no longer able to pursue their barbaric and sordid activities and chase and brutally kill foxes.
“National parks and landowners across the country can also play a huge role in ending fox hunting by denying hunts access to their land.”
- The League is urging residents to take action by emailing the national park authorities which have yet to ban trail hunting.
The League postie and Postman Pat Van delivering post cards signed by the public calling on the National Parks to ban fox or trail hunting
The League Postie outside the Peak District National Park Authority offices delivering campaign postcards signed by the public
League postie on Bakewell Bridge
League postie with 'Love lock' calling for Time for Change on Bakewell Bridge