New figures highlight the shocking scale of fox cub hunting

A new set of figures released today exposes the shocking scale of fox cub hunting that took place this autumn – as hunts trained their hounds to kill in preparation for the main fox hunting season which started this week.

The figures, from animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports, showed more than 100 reports of foxes being chased and over 300 reports of hunts wreaking havoc on rural communities through their anti-social behaviour.

Cub hunting takes place from August until the end of October with hunt hounds set loose in woodland or cover to learn to kill by tearing apart foxes predominantly born this year – with any hounds that fail to make the grade being destroyed.

Emma Slawinski, League Against Cruel Sports chief executive, said: “These figures are chilling, highlighting a brutal world of fox cubs being illegally chased and torn apart, and hunts inflicting misery on rural residents, despite the fox hunting ban.

“The vast majority of the public, both in towns and the countryside, will be horrified to hear about this terrible cruelty being inflicted on animals simply for the pleasure of die-hard blood sports apologists.”

The figures show 139 incidents of suspected illegal hunting, mainly made up of 111 reports of foxes seen being pursued but also containing nine confirmed or suspected kills.

The West Country was a fox cub hunting hot spot with 48 foxes seen being hunted in the three counties of Gloucestershire, Dorset and Somerset making up 43 per cent of the total across England and Wales.

There were 319 incidents of hunt havoc nationally which included trespass on private property, attacks on people’s pets and other wildlife species, livestock worrying, hounds loose on roads, and hunts causing road traffic accidents.

All these activities are entirely inconsistent with trail hunting, the discredited excuse invented by hunts after the ban in which they claim to follow an artificial scent, but which is being used to conceal illegal hunting.

The government announced last week that it will hold a consultation early next year to ban trail hunting.

Emma added: “The time for change is now and we back government plans to hold a hunting consultation to ban trail hunting which is a smokescreen being used to by hunts to carry on savagely killing foxes and fox cubs.

“We also need to remove the ludicrous exemptions in the Hunting Act and introduce an effective deterrent in the form of jail sentences for those that break the law so that we can end fox hunting once and for all.”

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

Ends

Notes to editors

For information or interview requests, please contact the League Against Cruel Sports Press Office on 01483 524280 or email pressoffice@league.org.uk

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

The full sets of data for the 2025 fox cub hunting seasons are available on request. The figures are compiled from reports to the charity’s confidential Animal Crimewatch service and from hunt monitor and hunt saboteur online reports 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.

Trail hunting, the excuse often used by hunts, has been described by temporary assistant chief constable Matt Longman, the national lead on fox hunting crime, as a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. He also described illegal hunting as “prolific”.

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).