After the publication of the Labour manifesto in June 2024 the soon-to-be Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, answered a question about the commitment to ban trail hunting and responded that “drag hunting will remain”.
We continue to wait for the consultation on how the government delivers the ban on trail hunting. There has, however, been an answer to a parliamentary question which suggests that the policy that “drag hunting will remain” is still in place. A committed anti-hunting MP asked about the government’s plans to publish a consultation on amending the Hunting Act 2004 and was met with the blunt response that “the Department has no plans to publish a consultation on amending the Hunting Act”. The Minister did, however, follow up by saying that they “will consult early this year on how to deliver a ban on trail hunting”.
That differentiation is important. In ruling out a broad consultation on the Hunting Act, the government has limited the scope for animal rights organisations and anti-hunting MPs to deliver a death blow to hunts through wide-ranging amendments to the Hunting Act.
Sadly, the political reality is that whilst the government’s proposal to ban trail hunting is unjustified and unnecessary, the maths is unavoidable. Whatever the government’s other travails, it retains a massive parliamentary majority, and by convention the House of Lords does not oppose manifesto commitments.
We will fight the legislation at every stage, but the most important battle may be to ensure that Ministers continue to stick to their policy. That makes the upcoming consultation all the more important and it is here that numbers really will count. We are working with our colleagues at the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) in a joint campaign headed by Sir Ben Wallace and currently the most important task for everyone who supports hunting is to sign up to that campaign: Future for Hunting.
Please make sure that everyone in your family, every friend, every hunting contact, is on the list so we can communicate with the widest possible audience when the moment comes to respond. If each of us adds five names to that database we will hugely amplify our message. It was a lobby by thousands of us that originally forced Steve Reed to clarify that it was not the government’s intention to ban all hunting. We must redouble our efforts and ensure that Ministers understand the huge support for hunting.
The Alliance and the BHSA have been preparing for this battle, the arguments are in place and large sections of the media continue to oppose the trail hunting ban. This week the Yorkshire Post joined The Telegraph and The Times in taking an editorial position against the ban. The leader in the Yorkshire Post said that if the government “does proceed with proposals to ban trail hunting then it will only confirm what a lot of people suspect, that the Government is hopelessly out of touch with rural Britain.”
We now need the support of the whole rural community to reinforce that message and each of us must take responsibility for adding to the voice of the countryside. Nag, cajole, annoy but make sure that everyone you know is signed up to Future for Hunting.
Photo credit: Eddie Hart