Hunting Act at 20 Years: Rural Divisions Persist

Trail hunting continues to be a deeply contentious subject in the countryside as the 20th anniversary of the Hunting Act approaches. The prohibition on fox hunting received Royal Assent on 18 November 2004 and became effective in February 2005. Labour’s election manifesto included a commitment to ban trail hunting, which emerged as a “cruelty free” substitute for fox hunting after its ban in 2004. Opponents of hunting have asserted that trail hunting functions as a “smokescreen… to get away with breaking the law,” while those who participate in hunting have stated that a ban on the practice would signify the “end of a way of life.” A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed to the BBC that the department intends to prohibit trail hunting “that allows for the illegal hunting of foxes, deer, and hares.” Hunting with hounds has been practiced in the UK since the 16th Century. Trail hunting involves dragging a rag soaked in animal scent to create a trail for the hunt to follow. This method mimics the scent of a wild animal, causing the hounds to pursue it rather than a fox. The aim is to replicate the pursuit across the countryside without the necessity of killing animals. The Hunting Act outlawed the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals—foxes, hares, deer, and mink—across England and Wales. Although it officially came into force in 2005, the bill was characterized by intense debate from its introduction to the Commons on 9 September 2004 until it gained Royal Assent on 18 November. On the day of the bill’s final reading, two protestors entered the Commons chamber, and a demonstration involving thousands of protestors campaigning against the Hunting Act was held in Parliament Square. At an open day organized to demonstrate the ethical nature of trail hunting to the media and skeptics, 22-year-old Jasmin Teague remarked: “It would be a real shame if we were to lose this sport.” Ms. Teague, born in the early 21st Century, grew up without any memory of legal fox hunting or the fierce debate that preceded the ban. She stated that without the hunts, she would “lose touch with a lot of friends, because you don’t have the regular, weekly meet-ups.” Those who strongly oppose trail hunting claim that it enables illegal fox hunting to persist. Hunt saboteurs, or “sabs,” observe hunts in progress and occasionally intervene when they believe an illegal hunt might be occurring. Saboteurs Alec and Edgar, whose names are pseudonyms, believe the Hunting Act does not go far enough. “They just go out and fox hunt exactly the same way they did 20 years ago,” Alec said. “When the police turn up, or they get caught killing a fox and somebody gets footage of it and they end up in court, they just say: ‘Sorry we were following a trail and it was an accident.’” “They just use [trail hunting] as a smokescreen and a loophole to get away with breaking the law,” he added. Edgar further stated: “What we’re seeing now is what used to happen pre-ban.” “There’s been a reluctance by hunts to stop [fox] hunting basically – it’s a continuation of what they’re doing, which is hunting wild animals with dogs illegally,” he continued. The British Hound Sports Association maintains that over the last 20 years, more than 250,000 days of hunting have taken place, with only 25 convictions involving hunts registered with them. However, the Hunt Saboteurs Association informed the BBC that the low number of convictions indicates the current law’s ineffectiveness. Daniel Cherriman, the master of the South Shropshire Hunt, believes that a ban on trail hunting could have severe consequences. “Lots of hounds and lots of horses would be surplus to requirement, lots of staff would lose their jobs, lots of families would lose their homes,” he said. “It would be the end of a way of life for lots of other people that aren’t directly employed, or aren’t full-time – but it’s part of their way of life,” Mr. Cherriman added. Mr. Cherriman was convicted of breaching the Hunting Act in November 2022 for failing to call his hounds off a fox. He pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates Court and received a fine exceeding £600. When asked if his conviction undermined the claim that trail hunting was cruelty-free, he responded: “We’re all entitled to a mistake.” “It was an unfortunate situation where we were crossing some country, a fox got up out of some undergrowth which I actually didn’t see until I saw the footage in the police station,” he explained. “It was my decision [to plead guilty], I took responsibility for the decision,” he continued. He concluded: “Perhaps I shouldn’t have allowed that set of circumstances to take place.” A spokesperson for Defra stated that the government “was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation.” They reaffirmed that the government intends to ban trail hunting “that allows for the illegal hunting of foxes, deer, and hares.” Further content from BBC Shropshire can be accessed on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. 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