FROM PROTECT THE WILD — LET’S GET LEGISLATION RIGHT — END THE CRUELTY OF HUNTING WITH DOGS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Most important email we will ever send to end hunting for good PROTECT THE WILD APR 6 READ IN APP For more than 20 years, hunting wild mammals with hounds has supposedly been banned. And yet foxes are still chased. Deer are still run to exhaustion. Hares are still torn apart. Not because the law was meant to allow it but because it has been too weak to stop it. Loopholes, vague definitions, and poor enforcement have allowed hunts to carry on under the guise of “legal” alternatives. Now, there is a real opportunity to change that. The Government has launched a consultation on banning trail hunting. But this is about far more than trail hunting alone. It is about whether hunting with hounds is finally ended properly or whether it continues for another 20 years under a different name. Trail hunting was never what it claimed to be. It has been widely used as a smokescreen for illegal hunting, with repeated evidence showing that trails are often not laid at all. If this consultation results in weak legislation again, hunts will simply adapt and continue. We have already seen this happen in Scotland, where new laws still allow loopholes like “flushing to guns.” Wildlife is still being chased and killed. The lesson is clear: if the law leaves gaps, they will be exploited. A proper ban must be simple and enforceable. It should not rely on proving intent, which has consistently failed. Instead, it should focus on whether it is reasonably foreseeable that hounds may locate, chase, or kill a wild animal. It must also recognise that hunting is a group activity and hold everyone involved accountable — including organisers and landowners. Crucially, it must close all loopholes. So-called alternatives like drag hunting and clean boot hunting still involve packs of hounds moving through areas where wild animals live. The risk of those animals being chased is not hypothetical — it is inevitable. This is a rare opportunity to finally get this right. We have gone through the consultation in detail and created clear guidance on how to respond to each question, so you can submit a response that pushes for a real ban — not another compromise. You can read the guidance and submit your response below. We’d recommend opening up two tabs to have our guidance on hand. Read our guidance Respond to the consultation Consultations like this are decided by volume as much as argument. The hunting lobby will respond. If those who want to see an end to hunting do not, nothing will change. This is the moment to close the loopholes and end hunting with hounds for good. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing