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The government has announced street hunting ban To prevent the activity from being used as a cover for fox hunting.
Any restrictions would raise questions over the future of about 170 hunt packs in England and Wales, which would face a dilemma over whether to continue in a separate form or close down.
Hunt opponents – those who insist on banning fox hunting violated regularly – celebrated that announcement, which was followed by years of fierce clashes over what constituted actual trail-hunting.
The proposal, a Labor election manifesto pledge, is a key part of the government’s long-awaited animal-welfare strategy, which is being unveiled on Monday.
a public consultation on banning trail-hunting A spokesman for the governing body the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) said it was already being planned for early next year Independent: “Hunters will continue to follow what the law requires of them.”
Some hunters have already contacted clean-boot hunting groups, such as drag hunts, with a view to joining those who do not chase foxes. Independent It has been told.
The Hunting Act 2004 made hunting wild mammals illegal, and hunters say they stay within the law by following scent trails rather than the animals themselves. But video evidence As it has been repeatedly shown, some hunters still catch and kill foxes.
In a webinar on Hunt Masters in 2020, leading hunting celebrities Discussed how to create a “smokescreen” about their activities and how to avoid prosecution. In its new strategy, the government acknowledges widespread concern that mark-hunting is a smokescreen.
Poachers chased or killed about 600 wild animals In the winter season of 2023-24, according to a report by anti-hunting organization Protect the Wild.
This week’s drone footage of the Northants Hunt saboteurs claims a hunter is packing something into a black sack and carefully handing it to another rider. The hunt saboteur who shot the footage is alleged to have been bagging a fox killed by hounds.
When shown the footage, a BHSA spokesperson said it was too vague to identify the person, object or context. He said, “It would be inappropriate to comment on material that was filmed secretly and presented without verification. To the best of our knowledge, Cottesmore has complied with the law and our regulations.”
Earlier this week, BHSA ordered that in the future terrier maleFoxes who close clay holes to avoid pursuit should not engage in “trail hunting” days – a move understood by some as a last-ditch effort to clean up the hunting image.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association is concerned that if some hunters become associated with drag-hunting groups, it will be difficult to retrain hounds to stop picking up the scent of foxes.
And a spokesperson said they feared that some unregistered, mostly farmer-led hunts, would “go underground” and continue to hunt in defiance of the ban.
She said: “We are hopeful for a reasonable ban on trail-hunting, which will close the loopholes in the law and take the smoke out of hunting.
“This season has already seen the pursuit and killing of wildlife under the guise of ‘trail hunting’. A ban is long overdue to end the brutality caused by hunting with hounds. We will wait to see the outcome of the consultation, but it is clear that far stronger measures are urgently needed to protect wildlife.”
a spokesperson for rural areas alliance Said of plans to ban trail-hunting: “The previous Labor government said hunts should follow artificial scents when it spent several hundred hours banning traditional hunting. It would be perverse if they banned that now.”
When asked whether hunters would follow or violate the trail-hunting ban, he did not answer.
A BHSA spokesperson said that until there is a clear proposal, it is too early to speculate what Hunts might do or how the ban might be interpreted.
“Trail hunting is legitimate, and we do not accept the premise that it should be banned. It supports livelihoods, keeps small rural businesses running and holds communities together, with over ten thousand hunting dogs and thousands of horses kept specifically for this legitimate purpose.
“It is more than a pastime – it is part of the economic and social lifestyle of the countryside, something that will be visible again when large crowds gather on Boxing Day.”