Thousands of foxes still being chased or killed'Hunting: A Case for Change Report' finds illegal hunting on a massive scale
Protect the Wild recently published "Hunting: A Case for Change", a 50-page report that offers a thorough examination of hunting practices during the 2022/23 season. The report focusses predominantly on fox, hare, and deer hunting in England and Wales.Author Glen Black utilised a combination of online data from anti-hunting groups, public reports, and activist observations to evaluate the prevalence and impact of hunting on wildlife, communities, and individuals."Hunting: A Case for Change” underscores persistent violations and the far-reaching implications on wildlife populations, local communities, and the wider general public, which we are now looking at in a series of posts.
Hull Wildlife Protectors rush to save a fox from hounds from the Holderness HuntThe Hunting Act 2004 was supposed to ban the hunting of wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales. No animal should be chased - that is the law. But as pro-wildlife campaigners have been saying for the two decades since the Act was passed, the hunting (of foxes, deer, and hares in particular) has continued pretty much as before.Many of the key findings of "Hunting: A Case for Change" reinforce that fact. Bearing in mind that few Hunts are monitored or sabbed on every occasion they go out - meaning that there is no possibility that every Hunt or every meet was actually recorded and could therefore be collated for the Report - Black still found that an estimated 15,180 meets took place in the period between 1 August 2022 and 30 April 2023! That's a staggering figure for a banned 'sport' where something like only one-third of all hunts were attended by activists, campaigners or members of the public. Both Hunts and the Master of Foxhounds Association (MFHA, hunting’s self-styled 'governing body') will say that vast total means very little because (they claim) all hunts now legally 'trail hunt' - following a scent trail laid ahead of the hunt. All of them. To quote their website, the MFHA "represents 170 packs that hunt within the law in England and Wales and a further 8 in Scotland". But that's simply untrue. So-called 'trail hunting' didn't exist before the Hunting Act. It is widely used as a 'smokescreen' behind which traditional hunting takes place. If trails are laid (and there has been scant evidence to prove that happens very often), it's typically for very short distances and routinely near coverts where the hunt knows target animals will be. The MFHA is either utterly incompetent or won't acknowledge the facts, because "Hunting: A Case for Change" destroys hunting's ‘legal’ version of events. The total of 15,180 meets includes 2000+ hare hunting meets, but looking at fox hunting alone of the around 13,000 fox hunts that were recorded during those nine months of the year at least 3478 (and as many as 5217) foxes were chased or killed by hunts registered to the MFHA itself.
The Report picks out two hunts that are notorious for breaking the law. The statistics for just one of those hunts, the Warwickshire, are remarkable. This Hunt (which was placed under a Community Protection Notice for continual anti-social behaviour in December 2022 so 'missed' a few meets around then) rode out an estimated 130 times throughout the 'hunting season' including many 'cubbing' meets where the Hunt focussed on killing fox cubs. As the Report says,
Black also drilled down into the mountain of online reports to determine the percentage of Hunts registered to the 'governing body' (which "provides day to day support, guidance and supervision for all recognised hunts") that were implicated in illegal hunting. He found that almost HALF had been caught chasing or killing foxes in the 2022/23 hunting 'season'. As the Report says (and the MFHA and other hunting lobbyists need to understand):
Wildlife needs a Proper Ban on HuntingAs previously stated, there is little evidence suggesting that the Hunting Act has changed the intentions and attitudes of the hunting industry at all. Sabbing and monitoring has influenced hunting's behaviour (and has led to the merging or folding of numerous hunts ), but widespread evidence from the 2022/23 season – such as the shocking videos (filmed by hunt support themselves) of the Avon Vale Hunt digging out two foxes – proves that hunts will continue chasing and killing wildlife so long as they’re not being observed. "Hunting: A Case for Change" looks at several options to improve this appalling situation, and concludes that:
That new law is our proposed 'Hunting of Mammals Bill', which:
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Help us protect foxes!By adopting a fox with Protect the Wild you will help us put ‘eyes in the field’ to tackle illegal hunting, our campaign efforts to ensure a proper ban on hunting and greater protection for wild foxes, and efforts to help rehabilitate sick and injured foxes. As an adopter, not only will you be helping fund vital work, but you will also receive an exclusive Protect the Wild adoption pack including cuddly toy, glossy photo, and an information fact sheet. As an adopter we will keep you up to date by email on our latest campaigns and the important impact we’re having to safeguard wild foxes.
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