Moves to strengthen hunting laws
This spring saw a significant development in wildlife protection when the government announced in parliament that it would hold a consultation later this year to ban trail hunting.
This has been a key ask for the League’s public affairs team that has been busy lobbying the new government since it came into power, calling on them to lay out a timetable for the implementation of new stronger hunting laws.
Trail hunting was invented by hunts after the fox hunting ban, an activity in which they
purport to follow a scent trail that has been laid by a person.
However, this increasingly discredited excuse is being used by hunts to conceal their hunting of foxes from the public, police and courts – trails are very rarely seen being laid except during the occasional lame PR exercise conducted by the hunting world.
So, this consultation is greatly welcomed. But it does need to go further to ensure our hunting laws are fit for purpose.
We will be lobbying for an effective deterrent to prevent hunts from breaking the law – we will be calling for judges to have the powers to impose custodial sentences for those that attempt to chase and kill our wildlife.
We will also call for the exemptions in the Hunting Act being exploited by hunts to be removed.
Deer hunts under the spotlight
Last month a team from the League based itself at one of our wildlife reserves to monitor a hunt in Somerset that is still chasing and killing red deer despite the ban on hunting with dogs.
Each chase can go on for hours and over many miles, involving hounds, riders on horseback and hunt followers on quadbikes, before the exhausted stag is cornered and then shot by the hunt.
The Quantock Staghounds were seen chasing three young stags on the day but thankfully all of them got away this time…but it’s estimated hundreds are killed every year.
The video footage gathered by the team and North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs who joined us on the day, was made into a short film exposing the horror of what was going on.
The hunts claim they are using exemptions in the Hunting Act which allow them to ‘rescue wild animals from suffering’ or conduct ‘scientific research’ – but in reality it’s an absurd pretence to cover up their barbaric blood sport.
And this is why we are lobbying the Government to remove these exemptions.
Forgotten animals of the Hunting Act
Red deer, hares and otters are all still being hunted with dogs, alongside the more well-known fox hunting taking place in our countryside.
A new campaign has been launched by the League to highlight the plight of these forgotten animals of the Hunting Act.
Red deer are being targeted by three staghound packs hunting across Devon and Somerset.
An astonishing 68 hunts, most of them foot packs with beagles, are chasing hares. Unlike hare coursing, which is the focus of police concerns and extensively covered in the media, hare hunts, perhaps because they are invited onto land by landowners rather than trespassing, don’t’ get the same attention.
But it is one of the cruellest of all the blood sports and we are determined to tackle it.
The much-loved otter became a protected species in 1978 but the hunts which targeted them changed their name to mink hunts.
But they still hunt the same rivers and whether it be otters or mink, they are savagely killing anything they find.
It’s why our campaign is calling on you to write to your MP calling for stronger hunting laws.
The way forward in intelligence gathering
The League’s intelligence team has recruited two new field intelligence operatives to gather evidence that could help expose hunting with dogs, the brutal world of dog fighting and the practices of the game bird shooting industry.
They will be able to tap into intelligence received by the supporter funded Animal Crimewatch service and help bring those behind any heinous crimes involving wildlife to justice.
This is an exciting new chapter for the intelligence team, the League as a whole and all of you who support our vitally important work for animals.
You can report wildlife crime to the League’s Animal Crimewatch service on 0300 444 1234, email crimewatch@league.org.uk or WhatsApp at 07552 788247.
You can use their new WhatsApp number on 07552 788247 to report incidents of animal cruelty.
Message them on WhatsApp
