Boxing Day hunting: the government has “committed” to banning trail hunting

Hunting with hounds has been a tradition in parts of the UK for centuries, but the Hunting Act 2004 placed restrictions on the practice.

The law prohibits the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals, including foxes, hares, deer and mink, in England and Wales.

Traditional hunts have now been replaced by trail hunting, which involves marking a trail using a rag soaked in animal scent.

It mimics the scent of a wild animal, so dogs chase it instead of a fox, for example. The intention is to replicate the chase across the countryside, without the need to kill any animals.

In a statement, the government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “This government was elected with a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in a generation and that’s exactly what we will do.”

In some cases, however, the practice is “exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares”, a Defra spokesperson added.

Since the start of August, there have been 186 reported cases of foxes being hunted and 220 cases of suspected illegal hunting, according to the League Against Cruel Sports.

The organization’s leader called on the government to strengthen existing legislation to avoid “loopholes”, including introducing prison sentences for those who hunt wild animals with dogs.

Other changes to the law have been criticized as “completely unjustified”, with the Countryside Alliance saying trail hunting is a legal activity that brings rural communities together.

The alliance’s chief executive, Tim Bonner, said the ban would be an “act of spite” which would be unwelcome to rural people.

He said there are 12,000 legal and legitimate hunting days each year.

The issue of trail hunting is “irrelevant” to most people, Mr Bonner added, and it would be “extraordinary” for Labor to focus on the issue given the poor state of its relations with rural communities.