Chris Packham is calling on the public to raise a voice for nature by urging the Labour government to ban trail hunting. This is a type of hunting that is meant to serve as an alternative to chasing and killing wild animals. But as the wildlife TV presenter and conservationist points out, there is ample evidence to show that the practice is often used as “a smokescreen for hunting foxes.”
The Labour government promised to ban trail hunting in its election manifesto. But with no concrete news on the ban moving forward yet, Packham believes now is the time to increase pressure on policymakers, so that the “vile ‘sport'” of foxhunting is consigned to history once and for all.
A smokescreen for hunting foxes
Hunting foxes and other wild mammals with packs of dogs is illegal in England and Wales – and has been since the Hunting Act came into force in 2005. However, the act does not prohibit trail hunting, during which hunts are supposed to lay out artificial scent trails for dogs to follow.
In practice, however, this trail hunting loophole has served as an enabler, providing cover for any hunts that want to continue killing wildlife using packs of dogs. Protect the Wild made clear how the smokescreen of trail hunting works in our Trail of Lies animation, narrated by Packham.
Scotland banned trail hunting in 2023 for precisely this reason, to avoid hunts being able to use it as a cover for illegal activity. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, promised that a Labour government would do the same when laying out the party’s priorities ahead of the general election. Reed said the government would:
“End trail hunting by closing loopholes that have allowed the illegal hunting of foxes, deers, and hares to continue.”
Mob rule in the countryside
Packham says banning trail hunting is one of several measures the government should take to demonstrate its commitment to respecting and restoring nature. Other measures that would signal such a commitment include banning bottom trawling, ending the badger cull, and tackling agricultural pollution, he says.
llustrating what is happening while the government fails to fulfill its promise to ban trail hunting, the conservationist released a video of him joining a sab group to monitor the notorious Mendip Farmers Hunt.
Trail hunting is a smokescreen for hunting foxes– it’s wildlife crime , plain & simple .
With a new government we have a real chance for change – use our letter template to write to your MP urging for a ban now https://t.co/vayKU6yvOF
It’s time to end to this vile ‘sport’ . pic.twitter.com/W7oAzys6gp
— Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) August 20, 2024
In keeping with what sabs report dealing with on a frequent basis, the video shows Packham and the Mendip Hunt Sabs being blocked by a vehicle, which inhibits their ability to properly monitor the hunt. The video further shows an errant hound running loose and unaccompanied on a road, endangering themselves and road users. Packham also says that the Mendip Farmers Hunt’s hounds spent around an hour in the woods, which he described as:
“…really thick, with lots of fallen timber, there is absolutely no way at all that anyone could have laid a trail through there.”
“This isn’t trail hunting,” concludes Packham, “this is mob rule of the countryside.”
Protect the Wild approached the Mendip Farmers Hunt for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
Everyone wants rid of the vile habit
The hunting fraternity have pushed back against the government’s pledge to ban trail hunting, as Packham highlights in the video. For instance, the Countryside Alliance’s chief executive, Tim Bonner, has accused it of fanning “the flames of an ugly culture war.”
But Packham stresses that support for a ban on foxhunting is widespread, in and outside of rural areas. He says:
“Polls tell us that as many people living in the countryside want to get rid of this vile habit as living in the city.”
To achieve this, the campaign organisation Love and Rage, which Packham is a co-founder of, is calling on members of the public to write to their MPs to ask them to support a complete ban on trail hunting.
“Nature doesn’t have a voice- but you do,” Love and Rage says. And right now, foxes need you to raise it for them.
Featured image via Garry Knight / Wikimedia, cropped to 2240×1260, licensed under CC BY 2.0
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