League statement on North Yorkshire Council trail and fox hunting motion
Posted 15th November 2023
A motion to ban trail hunting on land owned by North Yorkshire Council was defeated after a debate by councillors at today’s full council meeting.
Trail hunting was introduced by hunts following the introduction of the Hunting Act 2004 as a smokescreen for illegal hunting.
Will Morton, head of public affairs at animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “Despite the hunting ban, foxes continue to be chased and killed in Yorkshire, often under the guise of trail hunting, despite all the evidence this is a smokescreen to conceal the brutal activities of fox hunts.
“We’d like to thank all the councillors who supported the efforts to try and end fox hunting on public land and the cruelty that animals face.
“This isn’t the end of the campaign. It’s time for change and we’re hopeful the next Government will strengthen hunting laws and end fox hunting once and for all.”
League figures show North Yorkshire is one of the hot spots for incidents involving fox hunts across England and Wales.
In the last hunting season between November 2022 and March 2023 there were 21 reports of suspected illegal hunting of foxes in North Yorkshire and 37 of cases involving fox hunts wreaking havoc on rural communities.
In the run-up to the season there were eight reports of fox cubs being targeted by hunts as they trained their hounds to hunt and kill foxes.
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