Tim Bonner: Labour revives Corbyn's trail hunting ban

Boxing Day and the Christmas period always brings a range of responses to rural activities and this year was no different. On the one hand, hundreds of thousands of people were out hunting, supporting their local hunts and shooting. On the other, animal rights extremists behaved as badly as ever and politicians who seem little interested in the countryside for the rest of the year took prejudiced and unnecessary positions.

Free of Covid restrictions and in the main blessed by good weather, hunt meets on Boxing Day and throughout the festive period drew some of the biggest crowds for many years. Meanwhile, the sort of informal shooting that is the staple of the Christmas period has become the norm for many this season anyway as the release of pheasants and partridges has been so much reduced by the Avian Flu outbreak.

That activity on the ground was more than matched by interest in the media with the Alliance's media and social media reaching nearly 15 million people. Sadly, some of that related to the usual appalling behaviour of the tiny number of anti-hunt activists who so readily resort to violence and extremism in a desperate attempt to promote their divisive agenda. This was illustrated by the conviction of a hunt saboteur who assaulted an 81-year-old man in Dorset and the vandalization of a bridge in a Staffordshire site of special scientific interest which was daubed with anti-hunt graffiti.

Mostly, however, there were wonderful scenes as big crowds came out across the country to welcome hunts to town squares and village greens. It is this overt support which seems to especially rile the extremists, but unfortunately it often draws a reaction from the political element too. Labour, through its shadow Defra Secretary, Jim McMahon, chose to use Boxing Day to restate its commitment to further legislation on hunting which was included in Jeremy Corbyn's 2019 manifesto. This does not bode well for shooting either as Labour also went into that election pledging a consultation on banning grouse shooting and restrictions on game farming.

On hunting, Jim McMahon's position is totally illogical. He claims that there are loopholes in the legislation which apparently mean that Labour has to legislate to ban trail hunting, yet in the same press release 'reveals that there have been at least 438 convictions under the Hunting Act since 2010'. Either the law is effective in prosecuting people who break the law (the vast majority of whom have nothing to do with registered hunts), or there are loopholes in it. Labour's own evidence suggests the Hunting Act is effective in delivering convictions, however unjustified and unpleasant it is, so the only reason for further legislation must be Labour's continued obsession with bigoted attacks on the hunting community.

As our Chairman, Nick Herbert, said: "This is an act of self-harm and explains why Labour has consistently lost in the countryside - its priorities are completely out of touch with those of rural communities. The last Labour government learned how damaging a battle over hunting can be and there is no less determination to oppose prejudiced and unjustified restrictions now than there was then. Labour is drawing battle lines in the countryside when it should be trying to unite the country."

The Alliance will continue to deliver that tough message to politicians in Westminster and across the country, but we also have to ensure that there is not a sliver of justification for any future government to legislate to restrict hunting, shooting or wildlife management. That means removing any reason to have a negative perception of our activities whether that is illegal raptor persecution or unsustainable gamebird release and by ensuring that there is clear evidence of the legitimacy of trail hunting and standards in hunt kennels. Sadly, as we know only too well, there are no guarantees in politics, but we strengthen our own position by giving our opponents as little to work with as possible.

Become a member of the Countryside Alliance today to join a community which is striving to protect the rural way of life.

Image credit: Susan Bird. Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt, Boxing Day 2022