Campaigners on Bristol’s streets call for an end to fox hunting on National Trust land
Posted 13th June 2021
Staff and volunteers from the leading national animal welfare charity, including one in a fox costume, urged shoppers on Broadmead to take action and sign up to its National Trust campaign.
Nick Weston, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “It is evident that tragically fox hunting is still taking place despite the ban, so we are calling on the National Trust to stop licensing ‘trail’ hunts on its land once and for all.
“The overwhelming majority of the public oppose fox hunting and it’s time to consign this barbaric activity to the history books for good.”
Fox hunts have come under the spotlight recently after an ITV expose revealed senior figures within the hunting lobby seeming to admit that ‘trail’ hunting, one of the excuses they use, is a ‘smokescreen’ for the chasing and killing of animals.
Through much of 2020, hunting activities were disrupted by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions but the League still gathered figures showing 300 suspected cases of suspected illegal hunting during the cub hunting season in autumn.
The National Trust is expected to hold its AGM in October when there will be a vote in which members will get the chance to call for a permanent ban on the licensing of trail hunting.
The day of action in Bristol is the first in a series of actions taking place across the country.
Social distancing, masks and hand sanitisers were used at all times and staff took a Covid-19 lateral flow test in advance of the day of campaigning.
Nick Weston added: “If trail hunting is real then why are we getting so many reports of foxes being chased and killed by hunts?
“Trail hunting is a smokescreen being used by the hunts to deceive the public and the police about their brutal activities which shockingly involves their hounds tearing apart foxes.”
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