Calls for an end to fox hunting as charity ‘hunter’ visits Taunton

A charity ‘hunter’ carrying a fake dead fox strode through Taunton town centre on Wednesday to highlight the scale of fox hunting still taking place and the importance of taking part in a government consultation to strengthen hunting laws.

National animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports took to the streets of Taunton after its new end of season fox hunting figures showed the West Country was a hot spot for fox hunting – with Somerset being the third worst county in England and Wales.

The charity has welcomed the launch of the government’s hunting consultation this spring and is calling for a range of measures including banning trail hunting to end fox hunting for good.

Emma Slawinski, League Against Cruel Sports chief executive, said: “The League hunter brazenly holding up his bloodied fox to the public in Taunton was there to show the scale of illegality that the government is looking to get to grips with.

“The Taunton public is repulsed by trail hunting, which is just a smokescreen to conceal that foxes and other wild animals are still being chased and torn apart by hunt hounds. Those we spoke to in the town today have signed up to take part in the government’s consultation on illegal fox hunting, and we urge other local residents to do the same.”

The consultation is now open until Thursday, June 18, and the League has issued guidance for anyone who wants to take part and help end illegal hunting for good.

The League’s end of season hunting figures show that 55 foxes were seen being chased in Somerset, 11 per cent of the national total of 488 foxes recorded being pursued.

The Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt, based in the Somerset village of Charlton Horethorne, was seen chasing 31 foxes.

Four men from the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt were convicted of illegal hunting last year after the North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs captured drone footage of their hounds killing a fox.

Animal welfare campaigners from the League were joined in Taunton town centre by members of Action Against Foxhunting.

Emma said: “We’re pleased the government understands the time for change is now.  

“Trail hunting needs to be banned but the exemptions in the Hunting Act that hunts exploit need to be removed, jail sentences should be introduced to act as an effective deterrent, and reckless, or ‘accidental’ hunting should be outlawed.”

Polling commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports and carried out independently by FindOutNow with further analysis by Electoral Calculus in March/April 2024 found that 73 per cent of the public in Somerset constituencies supported stronger fox hunting laws, with only seven per cent disagreeing.

A clear majority of voters in rural as well as urban areas across the country backed new laws to stop foxes being chased by hounds and killed, with 70 per cent of people in the countryside supporting the proposal.

· More about how to take part in the consultation, and how people can make their voice heard, is available here: https://www.league.org.uk/hunting_consultation

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Notes to editors

For information or interview requests, please contact the League Against Cruel Sports Press Office on 01483 524250 or email pressoffice@league.org.uk

Trail hunting has been described by Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, the national police lead on fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

Fox hunting was banned in England and Wales when the Hunting Act came into force on February 18, 2005.

The full set of data for the 2025/2026 fox hunting seasons is available on request. The figures are compiled from reports to the charity’s confidential Animal Crimewatch service and other reports from monitor and sab groups analysed by the League’s intelligence team, which is staffed by former police officers and civilian analysts. The figures are believed to be just the tip of the iceberg showing only those hunts being monitored.

Find Out Now interviewed 5,379 GB adults online from 26 March - 2 April 2024. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults by gender, age, social grade, other demographics and past voting patterns.

Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus are both members of the British Polling Council and abide by its rules.

A full breakdown of the data is available here: https://electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/DataTables_LACS_Jun2024.xlsx

The League Against Cruel Sports is Britain's leading charity that works to stop animals being persecuted, abused and killed for sport. The League was instrumental in helping bring about the landmark Hunting Act 2004, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 and bans on the use of snares brought about by the Agriculture (Wales) Act 2023, and Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

We carry out investigations to expose law-breaking and cruelty to animals and campaign for stronger animal protection laws and penalties. We work to change attitudes and behaviour through education and manage wildlife reserves. Find out more about our work at www.league.org.uk. Registered charity in England and Wales (no.1095234) and Scotland (no.SC045533).