Trail hunting day slammed as a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting

Trail hunting day slammed as a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting

Almost every hunt hosting a ‘trail’ hunt demonstration today [September 14] has either been accused of illegal hunting or causing havoc within their communities, says leading national wildlife charity the League Against Cruel Sports.

The charity has slammed the planned demonstration as nothing more than a “lame PR exercise” designed to try and prevent the activity being banned by the labour government.

That’s despite the so-called sport being described by the top policeman in charge of policing fox hunting as a “smokescreen” for old fashioned illegal hunting.

Emma Judd, the League’s head of campaigns, said: “So-called trail hunting is a smokescreen invented by hunts after the fox hunting ban to fool people into thinking the cruel blood sport had ended and to hide the fact that hunts are still brutally chasing and killing foxes.

“We have collected data that shows almost every hunt that is putting on this so-called demonstration has either had staff convicted of activity relating to illegal fox hunting or have been reported for causing havoc within their communities since trail hunting was introduced following the ban.”

The Hunting Act came into force in February 2005, and other figures released by the League at the end of the most recent season showed a huge number of suspected illegal hunting incidents in England and Wales.

Emma added: “This trail hunting day is nothing but a sham. Just because they are holding a demonstration of trail hunting doesn’t mean they actually do it – we received nearly 1,400 reports during the last the fox hunting season of hunts engaged in suspected illegal hunting or causing havoc in rural communities.”

In total, there were 1,396 incident reports recorded in the five months between November 2023 and the end of March 2024, which include 526 relating to suspected illegal hunting, and 870 incidents of hunts wreaking havoc on their communities.

The hunt havoc included trespass, hounds loose on railway lines and roads, badger sett interference, livestock worrying and antisocial behaviour - none of which is consistent with a hunt innocently following a trail.

Further, trail hunting has been describedby Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, the most senior police officer in England with responsibility for fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

Emma added: “Both sets of data show that today’s demonstration was nothing more than a lame PR exercise intended to try and bolster the increasingly discredited invention of trail hunting.

“The time for change is now. It’s time for the Hunting Act to be strengthened, for trail hunting to be banned, the loopholes in the law removed and custodial sentences introduced for those that break the law.”

Ends

Notes to editors

Data tables available upon request

Hunting with hounds has been illegal since 2005 with the introduction of the Hunting Act 2004, but in Scotland politicians have already taken steps to prevent hunts from using loopholes in the law to continue their ‘sport’.

Trail hunting was banned in Scotland in 2023when the Scottish Parliament strengthened its own fox hunting laws.

For more information or interview requests please contact the League Against Cruel Sports press office on 01483 524250 or email pressoffice@league.org.uk

The League Against Cruel Sports is Britain's leading charity that works to stop animals being persecuted, abused and killed for sport. The League was instrumental in helping bring about the landmark Hunting Act 2004, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, the strengthened fox hunting laws of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 and a ban on the use of snares created by the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023.

We carry out investigations to expose law-breaking and cruelty to animals and campaign for stronger animal protection laws and penalties. We work to change attitudes and behaviour through education and manage wildlife reserves. Find out more about our work at www.league.org.uk. Registered charity in England and Wales (no.1095234) and Scotland (no.SC045533).