Calls for anti-hunting laws to be strengthened
The Time for Change coalition believes that trail hunting is being used as a smokescreen to allow illegal hunting with dogs to continue.
The RSPCA, along with a coalition of organisations, is calling for a ban on trail hunting and a tightening of the Hunting Act in order to remove loopholes and protect wild mammals.
The Time for Change coalition is led by the League Against Cruel Sports and includes a group of organisations including, Action Against Foxhunting, Badger Trust, Battersea, Cats Protection and World Animal Protection.
The coalition believes that trail hunting is being used as a smokescreen to allow illegal hunting with dogs to continue. It has risen in prominence since the Hunting Act 2004 was passed, which banned the hunting of most wild animals with dogs in England and Wales.
Trail hunting involves people on foot or horseback following a scent along a predetermined trail for hounds to follow.
The RSPCA says that the majority of people are opposed to hunting with dogs, and according to its Animal Kindness Index*, 80 per cent of people think that animals should either never be used in a way that causes harm (43 per cent) or only when there is no feasible alternative and for human benefit (37 per cent).
RSPCA director of policy Emma Slawinski said: “The RSPCA and the ‘Time for Change’ coalition is deeply concerned that some people are still determined to hunt foxes, regardless of the legislation.
“Since the hunting ban came into force, we fear trail hunting, which at the moment is still legal, is being used to create a smokescreen to allow illegal hunting with dogs - and all the abhorrent practices that come with it - to continue. This makes enforcement very challenging for the authorities. Clearly, it's time for change; and to end hunting for good.
“The Hunting Act 2004 protects wild animals from poaching and hare coursing as well as hunting with dogs. While this law was a landmark piece of legislation, we are still seeing gut-churning proof that illegal hunting continues, highlighting the need to tighten the law and tackle loopholes to properly end this barbaric sport.
“We would like to see amendments which follow Scotland’s lead and ban trail hunting in England and Wales, introduce an offence for the negligent harming and killing of foxes, end exemptions such as for research and observation, increased custodial sentences, and for any convictions to be recorded on the Police National Computer.”
*The Animal Kindness Index is a UK-wide investigation into people’s attitudes towards animals.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.
