What is Cub hunting?
Cub hunting, as the name suggests, is the practice of training young fox hounds to kill by targeting fox cubs.
Contrary to what the hunters say, hunting a live fox does not come naturally to a foxhound. As such, the young hounds must be taught how to hunt ready for the main season. This is done by hunting fox cubs in confined areas such as small patches of woodland or maize fields, rather than involving a chase.
Fox cub hunting, also known as cubbing or in hunt circles, autumn hunting - remains a dirty secret of the hunting world, and despite the ban on hunting wild mammals with dogs the practice remains a very important and widely practised part of hunting.
Watch this video to see how cub hunting works (no graphic content) and read on to find out why we're standing against it:
During the last fox cub hunting season, the League uncovered reports of 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.
The figures are believed to be just the tip of the iceberg showing only those hunts being monitored.
You can take action to help end cub hunting. Speak out for the victims of hunting with hounds. Help End cub hunting by clicking on the button below: