The drive to strengthen fox hunting laws

A blog by Will Morton, head of public affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports

Over the last few months, we’ve been busy working with our supporters and speaking up for animals by urging as many people as possible to take part in the Government’s consultation to ban trail hunting – and the response has been extraordinary.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consultation, which closed last month, received one of the highest numbers of responses ever. We succeeded in sending a powerful message that the hunting of foxes and other wildlife with dogs must end.

The consultation may be over, but the campaign is far from finished. The Government must now deliver on its manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting – and the League will be there every step of the way to make sure it happens.

Last week, we held an event in Parliament which brought together campaigners, decision-makers, and policymakers from across the political spectrum to ensure your voice was heard loud and clear in the heart of Westminster.

Inspiring speeches from conservationist Megan McCubbin, senior police officers, and politicians including Ruth Jones MP, Baroness Jenny Jones, and Steve Witherden MP bolstered the argument for a stronger Hunting Act, and attendees were presented with the damning evidence from our latest end of season fox hunting report.

Later this year, we expect the Government to publish its response the trail hunting consultation. When it does, we’ll be looking closely at how it plans to deliver a proper ban and reflect the views of the tens of thousands of people who are sickened by the activities of the fox hunts.

We need the Government to act quickly, but we also need to make sure it ends fox hunting and other illegal hunting with dogs for good. As well as banning trail hunting, it must go further and remove all the loopholes in the Hunting Act which allow the hunting and killing to continue.

Only a full and comprehensive ban will truly protect animals from being chased and killed by hunts. We won’t rest until the barbaric hunting of wildlife with dogs is banned and ended for good.