In case anyone was wondering, the
footage on Youtube of cub hunting in the North East of England, explains exactly why the League Against Cruel Sports monitors hunting activity.
Six years on from the introduction of the Hunting Act and what better evidence could there be to confirm that ‘trail hunting’ is a nonsense. These people are training the new intake of hounds to hunt foxes, plain and simple; we know it and they know it.
Unfortunately for them, once trusting landowners are waking up to this deception too. A combination of unacceptable hunt havoc ruining relationships with distraught and angry neighbours and the realisation that allowing hunting activity to take place that isn’t what it claims to be - and could invite the prospect of a criminal record - has contributed to a problem for many of the hunts. Put simply, people are fed up with the duplicity and are beginning to say no where they would once have given an emphatic yes.
It is also rumoured that one major landowner is considering asking any hunt that wants to trail hunt on its land to demonstrate, over the course of an entire hunt, that the hounds can follow and stick to a scent line laid in a set area – now that would be something to see! And of course taking into consideration the amount of accidents that occur and the fact that responsible landowners have to assess the risks posed by any licensed activity this sort of precautionary measure would not be before time and should certainly be standard practice.
What with the prospect of another severe winter on its way, things aren’t looking all that good for the future of hunting with dogs.