Labour MP pressures government to ban foxhunting for good before election with private member’s bill
A parliament-based campaign group is preparing to increase pressure on the government to end illegal fox hunting altogether, as ministers prepare for a public consultation on the issue.
Labor MP Neil Duncan-Jordan will introduce a private member’s bill in the new year to close loopholes that allow the activity to continue, including banning trace searches.
“This is our window of opportunity to lift the ban before the elections,” he said. “There’s no way Nigel Farage [Reform UK leader] “We will enforce the ban.”
In opposition, Labor has vowed to crack down on illegal hunting and pledged to ban trail hunting in its last election manifesto.
Campaign group New Hunting Ban will next week publish a list of reforms it says will make the 2004 Hunting Act watertight, to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the Act’s passage.
The law, which came into force in early 2005, banned the hunting of wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales.
Hunters say they follow scent trails rather than foxes, but evidence from monitors, spotters, drones and saboteurs suggests fox hunting is common.
Homeowners, animal shelters, businesses and even funerals have been disturbed by hounds tearing up their land and pets have been killed.
Independent She previously revealed how the owner of a pony walking company was forced to quit her £70,000-a-year job due to regular outages. People who oppose hunting in some areas say they are being intimidated into silence.
Mr Duncan-Jordan explains Independent That when he went with the North London Hunt Saboteurs to scout a hunt, he saw no sign of the hunters following the scent trail.
“The hounds were everywhere, including on the road where they blocked traffic. And they were sent into bushes or bushes where no one could leave a mark,” he says.
“The riders positioned themselves on either side of the woodland to spot fleeing foxes. Why would they do this if they were following a path?”
He said he refused to respond when hunt supporters greeted them with “good morning”, instead staring at him and pointing their camera phone at his face to scare him.
Environment minister Angela Eagle said a consultation would be held early next year.
In 2020, major landowners suspended trail hunting after Zoom meetings in which UK game chiefs discussed how to create a “smokescreen” were leaked.
Chief Inspector Matt Longman, national police chief on Hunting, told a parliamentary briefing in October: “Taking cases to court is inherently difficult. The question is: Do we have the tools to deliver what the public expects? I believe track hunting is being used as a smokescreen at the moment.”
The New Hunting Ban, which was launched in May and has held meetings in parliament and its own consultations with the head of the Wildlife Crime Unit, the RSPCA, the Cruel Sports League, presents the proposed reforms “as an example of gold standard legislation”.
Mr Duncan-Jordan says: “This isn’t fringe politics; this is mainstream animal welfare.”
He also rejected suggestions that anti-hunting was a matter of class jealousy and said the saboteurs he met came from a wide range of careers.
“You can enjoy cycling in the countryside and having a dog, but it doesn’t have to end with killing an innocent wild animal. I’m not interested in stopping rituals or people wearing fancy clothes and going out with friends.”
But he says this shouldn’t result in an animal being dissected.
“I am interested in ensuring that the ban can be properly implemented before the elections.”
The private member’s bill would also stop deer hunting by hunters using exemptions in the law.
Action Against Fox Hunting (AAF) group compiled police responses to more than 80 incidents during one winter hunting season and concluded that forces regularly failed to act on reports of illegal fox hunting and failed to lay charges even when presented with overwhelming evidence.
A spokesman for the governing body, the British Greyhound Sports Association, said: “Nothing in Mr Duncan-Jordan’s comments describes illegal conduct. Hounds taking cover, riders keeping an eye on them and fans filming interactions are routine features of track hunting. A misunderstanding of normal practice is not a basis for banning a lawful activity.”
“What is difficult to understand is why the Poole MP did not respond to our invitation for a National Trail Hunting Day, which included a meeting just 20 miles from his constituency, and instead chose to make a round trip of nearly 300 miles to escort saboteurs in Northamptonshire. “His constituents may reasonably ask how this serves their interests.
“A review of stalking is entirely legitimate and we welcome it. But the review must be based on evidence, not conjecture. Mr Duncan-Jordan has offered nothing to justify calling for a ban on an activity that is legal, regulated and carried out under clear rules.”
