Ten weeks to make history: Ministers urged to end ‘trail hunting’ loophole once and for all, and how YOU can help

Campaigners have issued a stark rallying cry to the public, warning there are just ten weeks left to help consign hunting with hounds to history as the Government weighs up a potential ban on so-called “trail hunting”.

The consultation, which applies across England and Wales, has been open for only a matter of weeks but is already shaping up to be a defining moment in the long-running battle over the future of hunting. At its heart lies a practice critics say has acted as little more than a smokescreen for illegal fox and hare hunting for more than two decades.

While traditional fox and hare hunts have paused for the summer months, activists say the cruelty has not stopped. Stag hunting, they claim, continues in full view, with members of the Hunt Saboteurs Association documenting what they describe as “heart-rending” scenes in the countryside in recent days.

Helen Roberts from the Hunt Saboteurs Association with comedian and supporter Diane Morgan at a recent Parliamentary event

Dr Jane Washington Evans, Wildlife Guardian spokesperson, a lifelong activist and parliamentary campaigner, said: "After decades spent monitoring hunts across Britain, I can say with absolute certainty that so-called ‘trail hunting’ has been used time and again as a cover for the pursuit and killing of wild animals.

"What we are witnessing is not tradition, it is cruelty dressed up in loopholes. This consultation is a pivotal moment. The public need to take part to support the government and getting this done, and the Parliament must act decisively to remove every exemption that allows this to continue. Anything less will simply prolong the suffering we have documented for years in our countryside.”

Dr Jane Washington Evans speaking at a recent anti-hunting event in Parliament

For those like Dr Jane who have spent years monitoring hunts on the ground, the consultation represents a rare opportunity to close what they see as fatal loopholes in the existing legislation. Introduced under the Hunting Act, trail hunting allows hunts to claim they are following an artificially laid scent rather than a live animal, a defence campaigners insist has been widely abused.

The Hunt Saboteurs Association, which more than sixty years’ experience observing hunts, has produced detailed guidance to help members of the public respond to the consultation’s 29 questions. But they are urging people not to simply copy and paste answers, stressing that individual, personal responses will carry far more weight with policymakers.

Central to their demands is the removal of exemptions that they say have enabled illegal hunting to persist largely unchecked.

Campaigners also want the Government to address associated practices, including the use of terrier men equipped with spades and quad bikes, as well as what they describe as intimidation and aggression directed at those filming hunts in public spaces.

The actor and animal activist Peter Egan speaking at a recent anti-hunting event in Parliament

There is a growing sense of urgency behind the campaign. With the consultation due to close on 18 June, supporters believe the coming weeks could determine whether the law is finally tightened or whether, as critics fear, the status quo will continue.

Many involved point to repeated incidents in rural communities where hunts have caused disruption, alarm and, they allege, direct harm to wildlife. For them, this is not an abstract policy debate but a question of what kind of countryside Britain wants to protect.

To read the guidance and make your submission go to: https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/ha-campaign/have-your-say/?mc_cid=a15ed42d9e&mc_eid=4be907cf39