The government has announced a ban on trail hunting, aiming to prevent the activity from being used as a cover for illegal foxhunting. The proposal, a Labour election manifesto pledge, forms a key part of the long-awaited animal welfare strategy to be unveiled on Monday. A public consultation on the ban is planned for early next year.
Approximately 170 hunt packs in England and Wales now face a dilemma over whether to continue in a different form or to fold. The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) said hunts will comply with the law, but some packs have already approached drag-hunting groups, which do not chase foxes, with a view to joining them.
Hunt opponents celebrated the announcement, citing evidence that trail hunting is routinely used as a smokescreen for illegal hunting. Video footage has repeatedly shown hunts catching and killing foxes, and a report by Protect the Wild found that nearly 600 wild animals were chased or killed in the 2023-24 winter season. This week, drone footage allegedly showed a huntsman placing a fox killed by hounds into a sack. A BHSA spokesman said the footage was too unclear to identify the individual or context.
Earlier this week, the BHSA ordered that terrier men, who block earth holes to prevent foxes escaping, must not attend trail hunting days, a move seen as an effort to clean up hunting's image. The Hunt Saboteurs Association expressed concern that some unregistered hunts might go underground and continue illegally.
The Countryside Alliance criticised the planned ban, calling it perverse that the government would outlaw an activity it previously allowed. A BHSA spokesperson said it is premature to speculate on how hunts might respond, but stressed that trail hunting supports livelihoods, keeps rural businesses going, and holds communities together, with thousands of hounds and horses kept for this lawful purpose.
