Trail hunting to be banned as part of new animal welfare strategy
Track hunting will be banned in England and Wales as part of a new animal welfare strategy to be published by the government on Monday.
In practice, a group of hunters follow the herd on horseback, leaving an animal-based scent trail for the dogs to follow rather than an actual animal.
Because it does not explicitly involve the killing of animals, it has remained legal since the hunting ban came into force in 2004.
However, the government, which has pledged to impose the ban, said that the implementation Used as a “smoke screen” for hunting wild animals.
Hunting with hounds has been a tradition in parts of the United Kingdom for centuries, but the Hunting Act 2004 placed restrictions on the practice.
The law banned the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals such as foxes, rabbits, deer and mink in England and Wales.
Track hunting involves leaving a trail using a cloth soaked in animal scent that hounds can chase. The aim is to repeat this tracking in rural areas without the need to kill the animals.
In April, anti-hunting group League Against Cruel Sports he said this Nearly 1,600 incidents were recorded across the country during the last hunting season, including 397 reports of foxes being chased.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said it was “completely unnecessary” to revisit the issue of trail hunting.
He said: “It is incredible that the government wants to spend more parliamentary time hunting.
“For the Labor Party, this problem was solved 20 years ago, but they can’t seem to leave it alone.”
Mr Bonner also spoke about Labour’s relationship with rural voters, adding: “It will shock rural people that, after Labor’s attack on family farms and neglect of rural communities, it thinks banning track hunting and fox control trapping is a political priority.”
The British Greyhound Sporting Association (BHSA) has previously said trail hunts are “vital” for rural communities as they not only bring money into the rural economy but also support mental and physical health.
One farmer told the BBC: “If I openly refused to hunt I would be shunned.”
They added that banning trail hunting “reinforces their narrative” [Labour] “They don’t care and they impose civic values on people they don’t understand.”
Ministers will consult on the details of the ban in the new year.
Animal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman said the government would start working to implement the plans.
“We said in our manifesto that we would ban trail hunting and we will do that.
“There are concerns that trail hunting is being used as a smokescreen for the hunting of wild animals and this is unacceptable.
“We are working on the best approach to take the ban forward and will be holding a consultation in the new year to seek views.”
Track hunting is already banned in Scotland. Hunting with dogs remains legal in Northern Ireland.
