The Hunting Ban Fifteen Years On

Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of the Hunting Act coming into force in England and Wales. It should be an occasion to celebrate, and in some ways it is. The Hunting Act was, and still is, landmark legislation, recognised around the world as one of the most progressive pieces of animal law. Here at the League Against Cruel Sports we are proud of the leading part our organisation played in its creation.

But hunting with dogs still plagues the British countryside. Fifteen years on there are 299 hunts operating in Britain, still chasing foxes, still chasing hare and still chasing deer. The Hunting Act is not working. Legal loopholes are being exploited to create ‘trail’ hunting, a cover story created by the hunting community in an attempt to fool law enforcement, law makers and the general public. The reality is hunting continues just as it did before the ban.

Today we have published our new, interactive state-of-the-art ‘Map of Cruel Sports’, which maps out all the hunts in the UK, what species they target, the territories they use and the uniforms they wear. You can use the map below. The sheer scale of hunting is shocking, the Hunting Act needs strengthening.

But it’s not just lawmakers that can confine hunting to the history books, you can do it too.

Hunting needs land to operate on, if the land is taken away, they can’t hunt. Today we are launching a campaign for you to contact your council and ask them to ban all hunting activity on public land.

You can take the action here.

Public land is your land, and your council speaks for you. Last year, Nottinghamshire County Council passed a motion calling for the immediate cessation of trail hunting, exempt hunting and exercising of packs of hounds on Nottinghamshire County Council land, which in combination with the Hunting Act (2004) brings an end to all hunting related activities. The council was inspired by the work of the League and its supporters. Now you are needed to inspire your own councils.

Fifteen years on and hunting is still taking place. It’s time to put an end to it today.