Government 'committed' to banning trail hunting

15 hours ago 3

The authorities has committed to a way hunting prohibition arsenic hunts stitchery crossed the UK for accepted Boxing Day meets.

Trail hunting - a signifier wherever a scent is laid retired for the hunt to travel - was introduced arsenic a "cruelty free" replacement for fox hunting, banned by Labour successful 2004.

Animal rights campaigners person urged the authorities to present connected its manifesto committedness to prohibition way hunting.

The Countryside Alliance, which represents hunters, has criticised the decision, and said it would beryllium "extraordinary" for Labour to absorption connected the prohibition fixed the mediocre authorities of its relations with agrarian communities.

Hunting with hounds has been a contented successful parts of the UK for centuries, but the 2004 Hunting Act placed restrictions connected the practice.

The enactment banned the usage of dogs to hunt chaotic mammals - including foxes, hares, cervid and mink - crossed England and Wales.

Traditional hunts person present been replaced with way hunting, which involves laying a way utilizing a rag soaked successful carnal scent.

It mimics the scent of a chaotic animal, truthful the hounds pursuit that alternatively of a fox, for example. The volition is to replicate the pursuit crossed the countryside, without the request to termination animals.

In a statement, the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "This authorities was elected connected a mandate to present the astir ambitious carnal payment plans successful a procreation and that is precisely what we volition do".

In immoderate cases, however, the signifier is being "exploited arsenic a smokescreen to cruelly termination foxes and hares", a spokesperson for Defra added.

Since the opening of August, determination were 186 reports of foxes pursued by hunts and 220 relating to suspected amerciable hunting incidents, according to the League Against Cruel Sports.

The organisation's caput has called for the authorities to fortify existing authorities to debar "loopholes", including by introducing custodial sentences to those hunting chaotic animals with dogs.

Further changes to the instrumentality person been criticised arsenic "completely unjustified", with the Countryside Alliance saying way hunting is simply a ineligible enactment that brings agrarian communities together.

The alliance's main executive, Tim Bonner, said the prohibition would beryllium an "act of spite" that would beryllium negatively received by the countryside.

He said determination were 12,000 hunting days each twelvemonth that are ineligible and legitimate.

The contented of way hunting is "irrelevant" to astir people, Mr Bonner added, and it would beryllium "extraordinary" for Labour to absorption connected fixed the mediocre authorities of its narration with agrarian communities.

Constituents surviving successful agrarian communities person been captious of immoderate changes projected by the caller Labour government.

Farmers protested against changes to inheritance taxation announced successful the Autumn Budget successful November, taking to the streets of cardinal London to dependable their concerns.

The changes mean that from April 2026, inherited cultivation assets worthy much than £1 million, which were antecedently exempt, volition beryllium liable to the taxation astatine 20%.

The National Farmers' Union said the Budget was "disastrous" and its plans would "snatch distant the adjacent generation's quality to transportation connected producing British food" and spot farmers forced to merchantability onshore to wage the tax.

It besides urged the authorities to consult farmers connected the changes to marque the policies "less bad".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the "vast majority" of farmers would not beryllium affected by the taxation changes.

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