The government is expected to announce a ban on trail hunting in England and Wales as part of a forthcoming animal welfare strategy. The strategy is slated for release on Monday.
Trail hunting involves laying an animal-based scent trail for dogs to follow, while hunters pursue the pack on horseback, simulating a hunt without targeting live animals.
The practice has remained legal since the 2004 hunting ban, as it does not explicitly involve the killing of animals.
Officials state the ban fulfills a manifesto commitment to outlaw a practice allegedly used as a “smokescreen” for illegal hunting. However, hunting and countryside organizations argue the measure is unnecessary and could negatively impact rural communities.
Hunting with hounds has a long tradition in the UK, but the 2004 Hunting Act imposed restrictions on the practice.
That act prohibited the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals, including foxes, hares, deer, and mink, throughout England and Wales.
Trail hunting seeks to replicate the pursuit of an animal by laying a scent trail, typically with a rag soaked in animal scent, for hounds to follow across the countryside, without the intent to kill.
In April, the League Against Cruel Sports reported nearly 1,600 incidents during the previous hunting season, including 397 reports of foxes being chased.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, characterized the renewed focus on trail hunting as “completely unnecessary.”
“It is unbelievable that the government wants to waste more parliamentary time on hunting,” he stated.
“This issue was settled 20 years ago as far as Labour was concerned but it does not seem to be able to leave it alone.”
Bonner also commented on the Labour party’s relationship with rural constituents, adding, “People across the countryside will be shocked that after Labour’s attack on family farms and its neglect of rural communities it thinks banning trail hunting and snares used for fox control are a political priority.”
The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has asserted that trail hunts are “vital” to rural communities, contributing to the rural economy and supporting mental and physical wellbeing.
One farmer told the BBC: “I would be shunned if I publicly rejected hunting.”
They added that banning trail hunting “reinforces the narrative [Labour] don’t care and are imposing urban values on people they don’t understand”.
Ministers will consult on the details of the ban in the new year.
Baroness Hayman, the minister for animal welfare, stated: “In our manifesto we said we would ban trail hunting, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
“There are concerns that trail hunting is being used a smokescreen for the hunting of wild animals, and that’s not acceptable.”
“We are working out the best approach to take the ban forward and will run a consultation to seek views in the new year.”
Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake described the ban as an “attack on rural Britain and British culture,” accusing the government of “punishing the law-abiding majority who support legal trail hunting.”
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Labour as “authoritarian control freaks”.
Trail hunting is already prohibited in Scotland. Hunting with dogs remains legal in Northern Ireland.
A council says more than 20 lurchers have been picked up by dog wardens this year compared to six in 2022.
Trail hunters call for the sport to be protected as the government continues to consider banning it.
A number of people charged in connection with incidents across the county appear in court.
Officers in Lincolnshire say they are combining expertise with other forces to target perpetrators.
Officers in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire say they are combining expertise to target perpetrators.