ANNA EAGLE NOW IN DEFRA MUST NOT ALLOW A LOOPHOLE IN LEGISLATION TO ALLOW HUNTS TO CONTINUE

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more The new Defra Secretary must not hand the hunts a new loophole. Angela Eagle knows what hunts are capable of. PROTECT THE WILD JUL 27 READ IN APP Andy Burnham has appointed the aptly named Angela Eagle as head of Defra. For anyone who cares about ending the cruelty of hunting, this is a moment of real opportunity. Eagle has a genuine anti-hunting record, with knowledge of exactly how hunts behave. So we are calling on her to examine new evidence, outlined below, that drag hunting - where dogs follow a non-animal based scent - could be used as a loophole if trail hunting is banned. Tell Angela Eagle to close all loopholes A minister who has stood up to the hunts before Back in 2015, as Shadow Commons Leader, Eagle opposed the Conservative government’s attempt to quietly gut the Hunting Act through a “technical” amendment. She accused ministers of trying to “wreck” the Hunting Act, saying that they were “using this backdoor device because they don’t have the majority to repeal the Act or the guts to try.” More recently, as Defra’s farming minister, she repeatedly reaffirmed Labour’s manifesto commitment to ban trail hunting. In a written parliamentary answer, she stated that: “the nature of trail hunting makes it very difficult to do safely.” She continued: “The use of large packs of hounds reduces the control huntsmen have, putting wild mammals, household pets and even members of the public at risk.” She is right. And that is precisely why she, of all people, should not be fooled by what the hunting industry is planning next. Tell Angela Eagle to close all loopholes The next smokescreen is already being drawn up For more than twenty years, trail hunting - the supposed practice of laying an animal-based scent for hounds to follow - has been used as a smokescreen to carry on hunting and killing wild animals in plain sight. Labour rightly pledged to ban it, and this year Defra ran a consultation on doing exactly that. But in its messaging, Defra signalled that it wants “alternative practices such as drag hunting and clean-boot hunting, which use non-animal scents, to continue to thrive.” The hunting industry has pounced on this statement, and freshly leaked documents show precisely how they could exploit this. A confidential note written by British Hound Sports Association chairman Viscount Astor, seen by The Times, proposed that hunts promise to “convert” to drag hunting by 2028, presenting it as a solution that would avoid any change to the law. Astor wrote that the minister, Baroness Hayman, “could claim victory without the difficulty of legislation but would have, in her back pocket, the ability to produce a bill if hunting was not seen to change its ways. But by then we would be close to the next general election.” The strategy seems clear: offer drag hunting as a hollow concession, stall legislation, and run down the clock to an election (presumably Astor assumes Reform will be elected!). Tell Angela Eagle to close all loopholes Why drag hunting cannot be policed under the current law Drag hunting, like trail hunting, involves hounds following a laid scent. The only supposed difference being that the scent is non-animal-based. But as Eagle herself has acknowledged, large packs of hounds are difficult to control, and they can pick up and pursue the live scent of an animal. On top of this, hunts have been documented laying their trails close to coverts, where they know foxes are sheltering. And when dogs pick up on the scent of a fox, the current law is close to useless. The Hunting Act requires proof of intent, so prosecutors must show that a person intended to hunt a wild mammal with dogs. This is the loophole that has crippled enforcement for two decades. Hunts simply claim any kill was accidental, so proving intent beyond reasonable doubt is extraordinarily hard. So if Labour goes ahead and swaps the label from ‘trail hunting’ to ‘drag hunting’, Protect the Wild fears that absolutely nothing will change for foxes and other mammals. Hunts will continue exactly as they do now, killing wildlife and claiming kills were accidental, secure in the knowledge that the intent requirement makes conviction almost impossible. Tell Angela Eagle to close all loopholes What the legislation must do If the new government is serious about ending hunting rather than merely rebranding it, any new legislation must do two things. Firstly, it must not legislate drag hunting as a protected alternative. By doing this, Labour could be responsible for introducing the next smokescreen. Secondly, the legislation must remove the ‘intent’ requirement. So long as a kill can be waved away as accidental, hunts will never be properly convicted, whatever the activity is called. Angela Eagle has stood up to the hunts before. She has already said, in her own words, that packs of hounds cannot be safely controlled. She now has the power, as the head of Defra, to act on that knowledge. She must show conviction and end these loopholes for good, not hand the hunts another. Please sign our open letter/petition to Dame Angela Eagle and Baroness Sue Hayman, telling them to close all loopholes. Tell Angela Eagle to close all loopholes SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing