Traditional Boxing Day hunts gathered across England on Thursday, as the Countryside Alliance claimed that the Labour government had “alienated rural people” with its planned ban on trail hunting. The pressure group released a poll suggesting that 65% of people believe the government neglects rural communities.
The ban on trail hunting, which involves hounds following a scent rather than a live animal, is included in the government’s animal welfare strategy published on Monday. The practice was introduced to comply with the Hunting Act 2004, which banned the pursuit of foxes with dogs. A consultation on how to implement the ban is expected to launch in early 2026, adding to friction over recent changes to inheritance tax relief for farms, which the government partially reversed on Tuesday.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “When Keir Starmer said he wanted a new relationship with the countryside, we all assumed he meant a better one, but in 18 months his government has alienated rural people and created the clear impression that it does not care about the countryside.” He accused the government of prioritising tax on family farms and business rates over policies that would benefit rural communities.
A poll by ORB International found that only 36% of British adults agreed that the government cared about people living in the countryside, while 76% said they believed urban issues were prioritised over rural ones. The survey of 2,083 adults was conducted between 12 and 14 December. Johnny Heald, chief executive of ORB’s UK operation, is a director of the Countryside Alliance’s corporate vehicle, though the group said it operates separately.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “This government is committed to banning trail hunting, which is too often used as a cover for illegal foxhunting, and has strong public support across the country.” It also pointed to increased powers for police to tackle dog attacks on livestock and the raised inheritance tax threshold for farms, which now stands at £2.5m for individuals.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who attended a hunt in Kent, described the government as having “an ignorance” of rural communities. Emma Slawinski, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, countered that “banning trail hunting isn’t an attack on the countryside, it’s an attack on those who would use weaknesses in the law to get around it”. She noted that polling showed the issue was unlikely to influence voters’ decisions at the next election.
