July fox hunting update: The hypocrisy of pro-hunt puppy shows

As the British countryside breathes a sigh of relief at a short Summer respite from fox hunting (and commercial bird shooting), many hunts are using this time to promote themselves and fundraise for next season. One regular fixture in the pro-hunt calendar are the annual puppy shows and hound shows, where hunting dogs are shown off in an annual public relations exercise. Puppy shows are typically held at hunt kennels, while hound shows are often held at large public venues.

These pompous PR events are ongoing right now around the UK. For example, hunting advocates in Peterborough are gearing up for their annual Festival of Hounds on 16 July. These occasions are being cynically used to present a benevolent hunting community which cherishes its hounds. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Hunts treat dogs as commodities to be discarded and killed when they have outlived their usefulness. Protect the Wild documented a massive 537 instances of hound neglect between 20 August 2024 to 20 January 2025. These incidents span 75 UK-based hunts.

Thousands of dogs killed every year

More than 7000 healthy dogs are shot by hunts every year. In 2021 a long-running investigation carried out by the Hunt Investigation Team and supported by Protect the Wild, revealed harrowing undercover footage showing the Duke of Beaufort Hunt shooting dead four of their hounds. Earlier this year, we published documents acquired by Wildlife Crime Action showing that Dorset’s Portman Hunt was replacing 22% of its hounds each year. It seems likely that the discarded hounds are killed.

Sabs and animal rights activists often protest these cynical PR events. Weymouth Animal Rights (WAR) held a noisy demonstration outside South Dorset Hunt’s puppy show in Bere Regis this year along with members of Dorset Against Blood Sports and Action Against Foxhunting and North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs. The event was held in late May on the land of pro-hunt and pro-cull conservative politician Richard Drax, whose inherited fortune comes from the Transatalantic slave trade. Shamefully, Drax recently refused to return his plantation in Barbados to the people of the island.

WAR wrote of this year’s South Dorset Hunt (SDH) puppy show:

“Puppies are bred for the sole purpose of being trained to illegally hunt and kill foxes, if this isn’t bad enough; any hounds that don’t perform to the required standard are shot… whether they’re puppies that don’t learn quickly enough, or hounds that aren’t up to par during the season. Throughout the country over 8,000 hunting hounds are shot by hunts throughout the year and although the natural age span of fox hound is about 12years old, hunt hounds rarely live longer than 5 years.

At the country shows, hunts bring out their cute puppies to meet the public and act as though they’re cherished members of the group, whereas in reality they’re just a disposable commodity! Hounds seen out in the field are skinny and covered in scars, where they’re forced to go through brambles and barbed wire fence in pursuit of the scent of a fox. Fox hunting isn’t just an outdated barbaric pursuit and cruel to foxes, it’s also cruel to the hounds that are trained to kill the foxes”

WAR’s analysis ties in with Protect the Wild’s findings. We’ve documented the following types of concerning incidents showing neglect for hound welfare during the last hunting season:

• Hounds stuck in fencing (34 instances): Instances where hounds became trapped in fencing, leading to potential injuries and distress.
• Stranded hounds (53 instances): Situations where hounds were left stranded, facing threats like dehydration, harsh weather, and traffic accidents.
• Hounds hit or kicked (12 instances): Reports of physical contact causing injury and psychological harm.
• Hounds hit by vehicles (10 instances): Incidents where hounds were struck by cars, resulting in minor injuries, serious injuries and in some cases fatalities.
• Hounds with visible injuries (39 instances): Cases of visible wounds or injuries, minor and severe, that occurred during the hunt meet.
• Hounds being roughly handled (18 instances): Reports of hounds being lifted, restrained or thrown inappropriately.
• Other incidents (84 instances): This category includes various situations, such as hounds falling from heights, becoming trapped in dangerous conditions such as deep/flowing water, being taken out during severe weather warnings, and running dangerously on roads.
• Hounds out of control or lost (287 instances): The most frequently reported issue, highlighting risks to the hounds themselves, as well as the harm they may cause to wildlife, livestock, or private property when out of control or lost.

“Staggering hypocrisy”

At the puppy show in Bere Regis the noisy protest pointed out to the public what the fate of these puppies was likely to be.  WAR accuse SDH of killing dozens of young puppies who are in excess of the Hunt’s requirements.

Protect the Wild’s hound researcher Charlotte Smith said:

“It is staggering hypocrisy that hunts use their hounds in puppy shows to manufacture affection and public goodwill. These shows are a calculated PR tactic, exploiting the beauty and loyalty of these dogs to veil the cruelty they endure. Behind the façade, hounds are subjected to harsh, often brutal, training methods and are used to facilitate illegal hunting. When they are no longer ‘useful’, whether due to injury, age, or even the wrong markings, they are frequently shot, discarded like broken tools. Many never know comfort, freedom, or retirement. Puppy shows are not acts of care, but performances to conceal an industry built on suffering. Hunts don’t love their hounds, they use them. And when they no longer serve a purpose, their lives are taken from them.”

As a public consultation on a new ban on fox hunting looms, hunts and their supporters will be making the tired old argument that if hunting is banned their hounds will have to be killed. At Protect the Wild we know this is a straw man narrative. That’s why we started the ‘Rehome the Hounds’ campaign, to show that hunting hounds can live happy lives after being rehomed from hunt packs.

Painting over the cracks

This year Tim Bonner, CEO of the pro-hunt Countryside Alliance, used the puppy and hound show circuit to advocate for hunts to be “open” to the public and to try to paint over the reality of this cruel bloodsport. In a blog post for the Alliance, written on the occasion of the 6 June Foxhound Day of the South of England Hound Show at Ardingly, Bonner lamented:

“…we need to be honest about this, the perception of trail hunting is much less rosy. Polling shows that people are at least uncertain about the activity and the attitude of politicians and the police is profoundly sceptical.”

Bonner called on hunts to make efforts to improve their damaged reputation. But the cruelty and neglect inherent in fox hunting can’t be brushed over so easily. Bonner is right that public perception of hunting is at an all-time low. Let’s make sure that we make the case against fox hunting clearly and loudly in this crucial year in the struggle against this brutal bloodsport.

• You can find out more about hound welfare and our calls to rehome the hounds here.
• Read Protect the Wild’s page on ‘Dogs and the Law’ here.
• Check out Protect the Wild’s call for a proper ban on hunting mammals with dogs
• Weymouth Animal Rights are fundraising for some new camera equipment, click here to donate.
• Donate to support Wildlife Crime Action’s work here.