Now that Scotland has successfully banned trail hunting, the Labour Party has promised to follow suit in England and Wales. The fallout from this promise, laid out in its “manifesto” released this summer, has already affected several hunt clubs that hunt on Ministry of Defence land despite there not being any new legislation enacted from the newly elected party. In response, the British Hound Sports Association held a National Trail Hunting Day this month to try to sway public opinion away from supporting a total ban.
Labour Party Pledges to Ban Trail Hunting in the UK
The Labour Party of the UK made an election promise to ban all trail hunting in its “pre-election manifesto” that was released in June of 2024. While no legislation has been passed yet, it is expected now that the new UK prime minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Government won in a landslide election in July (after 14 years of the Conservative Party in power). Ironically, it was the Labour Party who advocated that hunt clubs convert to trail hunting after the ban in 2004.
Traditional foxhunting was banned by the previous Labour government in England and Wales in 2004. Ever since then, hunt clubs have been practicing the legal alternative of trail hunting (called drag hunting here in the US).
The Labour manifesto stated, “Labour will improve animal welfare. We will ban trail hunting …”. After the manifesto was released, then shadow environment secretary Steve Reed (now Secretary of State for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs) tweeted that Labour would “end trail hunting that allows for the illegal hunting of foxes, deer, and hares to continue.”
The League Against Cruel Sports claims trail hunting is a “smokescreen” for the actual hunting and killing of foxes by hounds. In response, the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has stated that the hunts adhere to a strict code of conduct and warns that any ban on trail hunting would have a devastating impact on the countryside.
Recent legislation and actions from Scotland, England, and Wales have been scaling back the ability of hunt clubs to trail hunt over the last couple of years. Scotland has now banned all trail hunting (see Hunting with Dogs Act in Scotland), and England and Wales both denied the use of national parks for trail hunting (see The English are coming). And now the Ministry of Defence has denied several hunt clubs from using its land in response to the manifesto.
Ministry of Defence Deny Trail Hunting on its Land
Starting September 1, 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued zero licenses for this 2024-2025 season for the eleven trail hunts that use MoD land.
A message sent to hunts from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), the MoD’s estate management branch, said permission for trail hunting would be indefinitely suspended pending a decision by ministers. The message read: “DIO parliamentary branches are gathering information to understand the Government’s position on trail hunting on MoD land.”
The eleven hunts include the Royal Artillery Hunt, which operates entirely on the Salisbury Plain training area. However, the Royal Artillery Hunt was granted a temporary license for hound exercise on the MoD land to avoid a “massive welfare issue”.
National Trail Hunting Day held on September 14
In response to the threat of a complete ban, the BHSA held a National Trail Hunting Day on September 14, 2024, across the UK in 30 different locations. The public and media were invited to attend so they could witness for themselves what trail hunting entails. The hope is that the transparency and education of the day will demonstrate that Labour has an “outdated” view of what occurs during a trail hunt. One of the outdated views is that objection to trail hunting is actually a class warfare issue, where consensus is that anyone who participates in riding to hounds must be a rich snob or “Hoorah Henrys blasting across the countryside.”
There are over 200 trail hunting packs across England and Wales with the BHSA. The BHSA says that these clubs provide jobs, protect the future of rare hounds, offer a fallen livestock service to farmers, and maintain hundreds of miles of hedgerows, as well as planting new ones.
BHSA also said trail hunting “has a good track record of compliance with the Hunting Act 2004” and that there have been just 25 convictions involving registered hunts in the 20 years since the ban.
BHSA managing director Olly Hughes said: “Trail hunting is a legal, legitimate, and well-regulated countryside activity that is conducted under a strict code of conduct and should not be subject to new legislation. Many thousands of people up and down the country enjoy trail hunting, in full compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law. If a ban on trail hunting were to be introduced it would have a devastating impact on rural communities, leading to the closure of kennels and the loss of the many jobs linked to trail hunting in often isolated areas where employment is scarce. A ban would tear apart the sense of community that trail hunts create.” The BHSA has a page on its website devoted to providing resources to those who need mental health support (Emotional Well-being | BHSA).
The British Hound Sports Association is the governing body for all the hound sports associations in the UK, including the Master of Foxhounds Association, Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles, Masters of Basset Hounds, Masters of Deerhound Association, Central Committee of Fell Packs, and Masters of Minkhounds Association (BHSA | The Home of Hound Sports).
The BHSA released a powerful video from Issy Gurney Photography. The video shows Richard Gurney giving a powerful speech over black and white images from the National Trail Hunting Day hosted by Southdown & Eridge Hunt with East Sussex & Romney Marsh* and joined by the Crawley and Horsham Hunt* along with the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt*. The caption on the video post said, “On Saturday, we as a community went out and fought for our livelihoods. Following hounds is not only a pastime, it’s a passion, for many – a job, a life, and the highlight of our week. We will not go down without a fight, and may the sound of hounds never die.”
@issygurneyphotography On Saturday, we, as a community went out and fought for our livelihoods. Following hounds is not only a pastime, it’s a passion, for many – a job, a life and the highlight of our week. We will not go down without a fight and may the sound of hounds never die 🤍 Words by Mr Richard Gurney before a day with the Southdown and Eridge with East Sussex and Romney Marsh, Crawley and Horsham and Old Surrey and Burstow, West Kent hunts. @bhsa_official @countryside_alliance_ca
♬ original sound – IssyGurneyPhotography
The link to the TikTok video is here: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTF2sE9nS/
The link to the Facebook video is here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/tgL2eiWvRLAKN6uh/
Mr. Richard Gurney is an MFH for the Crawley and Horsham Hunt* based in southeast England, and he is also a Horse & Hound columnist. He delivered the eloquent comments for the day:
“Good morning, everyone. Masters, ladies, and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to our National Trail Hunting Day. Today, at 30 venues up and down the country, packs are showing how they hunt trails with hounds. We are doing this to send a strong message to Parliament, to new MPs, and to the Labour Government that trail hunting is legal, legitimate, and well-regulated. This is one of the most important days for our community since the Countryside March.
Over 20 years ago, Tony Blair’s Labour Government banned traditional hunting and told us to hunt a trail. He then left office, and on more than one occasion he told the press that on balance, he wished he hadn’t banned it. But he did ban it. And we took up his challenge and we adapted. We have survived, and in many cases, we flourished. Last season alone there were over 12,000 days trail hunting carried out by over 200 packs of hounds. These days were enjoyed by thousands of people and many of you here today.
We now once again face a Labour Government who have been poked and prodded by the extremist on the far left and by the likes of C-list celebrities, and of course, Chris Packham. An individual who believes that he alone can speak for and on behalf of the countryside. And that what he says, goes. Well, let me tell you something about Mr. Packham, just because he says something is true does not make it so. Our community loves and respects the countryside as much as he does. Let’s face it, we’ve been here for a lot longer than he has. Don’t be fooled by Packham though. He is apoplectic with rage, we are told, that the new government did not ban trail laying on the first Tuesday it arrived in Parliament. That is how deluded he is and how he fails to see what is important and what is only important to him.
The Labour front bench, I believe, do not want to fight with a minority in the countryside. Let’s face it, they have been too busy already pandering to the unions and taking the heating allowance away from pensioners. They have promised to build 1.5 million homes, reform the NHS [National Health Service], act on global warming, solve our immigration problem, reform education, and promote trade around the world. They, therefore, cannot surely want to spend valuable parliamentary time bringing further legislation against a totally lawful pastime enjoyed by thousands.
So today we will let the huntsman steward and his hounds hunt a trail away from this meet, and we will cheer him on and hope they have a good day. We will show the Labour Government how these wonderful hounds bring the rural community, our community, together. Providing employment for many and benefits in the countryside for all. We will show that it is our opponents who break the law, not us. That often we are the victims of violence and harassment, not the perpetrators.
Indeed, just two weeks ago a former huntsman had his appeal upheld against a conviction for ABH [Actual Bodily Harm]. The court described the behavior of the saboteurs as unreasonably provocative. And the judge himself, in summing up, said that the saboteurs were gilding the lily. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no justification for this Labour Government to stop you and I riding to hounds, let alone our children and our grandchildren.
At the BHSA and the MFHA we are committed to doing everything we can in our power to preserve our communities, promote trail laying, and most importantly of all protect our hounds. Remember, 20 years ago we won the argument, and we lost the battle. This time, we will fight again for what is right, and if necessary, we will march on the capital once more. And this time, we will win. Thank you.”
[Chris Packham, CBE, is an English naturalist, nature photographer, and a television presenter for the BBC. He has used his popular celebrity status to very publicly take up the cause to ban all trail hunting.]
Only time will tell if Labour follows through with its threat and if the MOD begins to reissue land-use licenses. Or if the BHSA’s National Trail Hunting Day was successful enough to sway any votes.
*The Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt – established in 1866 with a harrier pack; converted to foxhounds in 1909; merged with West Kent in 1999; West Kent established in 1776.
*Southdown & Eridge Hunt with East Sussex & Romney Marsh – established in 1981 by the merger of the Southdown Hunt and the Eridge Hunt; merged with East Sussex & Romney Marsh in 2024.
*Crawley and Horsham Hunt – established in the 17th century; modern-day kennels were built in 1877; kennels were moved in 2021 to share with Southdown & Eridge Hunt.