This morning the government launched its consultation on ‘Proposals to Prohibit Trail Hunting in England and Wales’.
With a growing cost of living crisis related to the war in Iran and a raft of other challenges for rural communities, it is extraordinary that the government has chosen to prioritise this legislation but, there again, we should never be surprised by the Labour party’s strange obsession with hunting. The 700 hours of parliamentary time the last Labour government spent on the issue was clearly not enough to satisfy at least some in the party.
This also comes in close proximity to Defra’s proposal to license game shooting and restrict the shooting of some species, and whilst the Home Office continues with plans to restrict shotgun ownership. Whether by design or by default, this raft of measures looks increasingly like a culture war against the countryside.
As far as the detail is concerned, the government seems to be set on making it a criminal offence to follow an animal-based scent with hounds, but has made little attempt to justify this new law. There is no response to the point that we have repeatedly made that however misguided the Hunting Act is, convictions under it are more common than those under any other wildlife legislation. How can it be justified or necessary to legislate on hunting again? Unless this is actually about performative politics rather than wildlife or the law.
We have been expecting the announcement of this consultation and have been preparing for it for some time. Within the next few days, we will issue clear guidance on how you can show your opposition to the ban on trail hunting. Using our simple tool – which will only take a couple of minutes to complete – you will be able to send a response to the consultation and your local MP will also automatically receive a copy so that they are reminded of the support for trail hunting within their own constituency. This function will be available very soon and we would advise people not to respond until that guidance is available.
With our colleagues at the British Hound Sports Association in the Future for Hunting campaign, we will be working to generate the widest possible response and you can help by ensuring that everyone you know takes action. This is a crucial opportunity to demonstrate the scale of opposition to the proposed ban.
Hunting can and will survive this attack, just as it did when the original Hunting Act was passed 22 years ago. We are determined to preserve our hunts, our hounds and our community and together we will do just that.
Image credit: Bernard Hand