Countryside Alliance urges support from National Trust members

The Countryside Alliance "urges all members of the National Trust to use their vote to oppose the members' resolution put forward to ban trail-hunting", that will take place at the Trust's AGM at their headquarters in Swindon on 21 October.

"We cannot underestimate the importance of members using their vote to support legal trail-hunting on National Trust land," explained Polly Portwin, the Countryside Alliance's Head of Hunting.

"There are currently more than 60 hunts that apply for a licence to enable them access to National Trust land, but if this motion carries at the AGM then a number of these hunts may no longer be viable due to a lack of country."

"Voting papers and full details about when and how to vote will be included in the AGM documentation sent out to eligible members of the National Trust at the beginning of September. They will also be available online so please ensure you respond by the appropriate date which we will remind people of when the closing date for proxy votes is confirmed."

"Please alert your friends, family and any other contacts who might be National Trust members to the importance of this matter, and encourage them to use their vote to oppose the motion to ban trail-hunting on NT land."

The Countryside Alliance's president, Labour peer and long-standing member of the National Trust (NT), Baroness Mallalieu QC stands firmly behind our campaign: "Our countryside has never been under more pressure than today," she revealed. "The National Trust was founded to preserve our heritage for all of us to enjoy but sadly it appears to have lost sight of its purpose."

Describing why it is critical to vote against the motion and send a clear message to members of the NT's board of trustees, Baroness Mallalieu continued: "Those of us who care about its real work and its future survival as a respected national charity need to point its trustees back in the right direction."

Earlier this week, the Countryside Alliance and other hunting authorities condemned the Trust's release of details of changes to the trail-hunting licensing policy which were described as "appearing to have been made as a direct response to demands from the animal rights movement."

Chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, Tim Bonner explained that: "Following subsequent meetings between the Alliance and the National Trust, we made it clear that whilst we all understand that the Trust has again been dragged into a fight it would rather keep well out of, some of the conditions that it is attempting to impose on hunts are simply unacceptable."

"I hope that the Trust has taken on board the real concerns raised by its tenants and the hunts that operate on Trust land. We understand the unpleasant impact of electronic animal rights campaigning and cyber-bullying, but a stand-off between the Trust and its tenants, neighbours and a significant part of the rural community would be a much more damaging fight and something that the Alliance and hunting world is keen to avoid."

For further details about what else you can to do enforce our campaign to oppose the motion to ban trail-hunting, please visit our website http://www.countryside-alliance.org/ or click here to show your support for this campaign.

• Please note: only members of the National Trust who joined before 12th August 2017 are eligible to vote.