THE HUNT SABOTEURS CONTINUE WITH HOW TO END HUNTING

View this email in your browser Hi, Supporter Witness The End Of Hunting: Aligning Hunting Act Penalties With The Animal Welfare Act 2006 The Hunt Saboteurs Association has produced a booklet titled ‘Witness The End Of Hunting’ which outlines our plans to stop hunters in their tracks or – at least – get them into court with a high chance of prosecution. Fox hunter helping the police with their enquiries. In this sixth and final article, the HSA looks at our proposal to align Hunting Act offences with those of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. At present the penalties for breaching the Hunting Act are a Level 5 fine which has no limits on the amount. However, the reality is this equates to under a £1000 fine, even for serial offenders. We suggest that the Act should be aligned with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 as follows: a) On conviction or indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. b) The owner of an animal in relation to which the offence was committed, the court by or before which he is convicted may, instead of or in addition to dealing with him in any other way, make an order depriving him of ownership of the animal and for its disposal. c) Any hunting article that was used in the commission of the offence or in the possession of the defendant when arrested to be confiscated. A hunting article is defined in section 9(3) as any article designed or adapted for use in connection with hunting a wild mammal and any vehicle used in the commission of the offence for example, the van or trailer (does not have to be a motor vehicle) used to bring the dogs to the start of the hunt. d) A recordable offence under ‘The National Police Records (Recordable Offences) Regulations 2000’. e) Act to recognise that a hunting organisation is a corporate body and all staff present on day of the offence, directors of the organisation. Police attend a meet of the Albany & West Lodge Bassets. At present, the Act does include a specific power of forfeiture in section 9 of the Act. The following can be forfeited when a person is convicted of any offence under the Act: Any dog (but note, not horses) that was used in the commission of an offence under Part 1 of the Act or in the possession of defendant when arrested. Any hunting article that was used in the commission of the offence or in the possession of defendant when arrested. A hunting article is defined in section 9(3) as any article designed or adapted for use in connection with hunting a wild mammal and any vehicle used in the commission of the offence for example the van or trailer (does not have to be a motor vehicle) used to bring the dogs to the start of the hunt. This is regularly used against hare coursers, and we would like to see the courts use this by default against Hunting Act offenders, but this would assume that with an increase in penalties that the courts would take any breach in a more serious light. The police are also asking that the Act is made a ‘recordable offence’. A recordable offence is any offence in England and Wales where the police must keep records of convictions and offenders on the Police National Computer. That is a decision of the secretary of state. In the UK, only a limited number of wildlife crimes are currently recordable under Home Office counting rules. Most wildlife crimes in England and Wales are recorded as 'miscellaneous' offences, rendering them invisible in official police records and preventing accurate assessment of the problem. There is clearly much work to do to make the courts take on the seriousness of wildlife crime which the public is demanding. Join the Hunt Saboteurs Association! Support our vital work by becoming a member. Join The HSA Spread the word! Please share our news Share via email Facebook icon Instagram icon Twitter icon Logo Copyright (C) 2026 Hunt Saboteurs Association. All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from Hunt Saboteurs Association. Our mailing address is: BM HSA, London, WC1N 3XX, U.K. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe