Hundreds of jobs will be lost because of the government’s decision to ban the countryside sport Trail Hunting, said Blankney Hunt Chairman.
On December 22, the government decided to ban Trail Hunting as part of its plan to tighten animal welfare laws in England and Wales, thrusting the long-running debate between activists and hunters back into the spotlight.
The Countryside Alliance branded it “the latest attack on the countryside.”
The sport involves laying a trail using a rag soaked in animal scent for packs of hounds to chase, instead of using a real animal and avoiding the violence that follows, as fox hunting has been illegal in England and Wales since February 2005.
The Chairman of the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) said public opinion, political promises and years of on-the-ground evidence show that the ban is well overdue and the countryside will not collapse without Trail Hunting.
Last April, Anti-hunting group the League against Cruel Sports said that 1600 incidents including 397 reports of foxes being chased were recorded nationwide during the hunting season prior.
Many people concerned with animal welfare have believed that Trail Hunting is a ‘smokescreen’ for years, due to the actual attacks on wildlife recorded.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association who campaign and actively follow hunts to monitor them with cameras, record evidence if they believe a hunt is breaking the law.
They use non-violent tactics such as noise, scent-masking sprays or positioning themselves to stop wildlife such as foxes and hares being chased or killed.
A poll from YouGov shows that 81% of Britons support keeping fox hunting illegal.
Simon Russell, Chair of HSA said the public is firmly on their side: “This is what the majority of the public want.
“Isn’t that what democracy is about?”
Russell said there are 60 groups of saboteurs, who sabotage 40 hunts a week: “Every week, we’re catching at least one hunt doing something illegal. This season, we’ve got six court cases going on with police.”
Graham Royce, Blankney Hunt Chair, said that banning the sport will have a far reaching impact across Lincolnshire that most people don’t realise: “There would be a knock-on effect on farriers, the feed supply stores, all sorts of financial problems as we use a lorry to transport our horses.
“The sport supports around 500 jobs across the country, along with businesses such as kennels and local pubs.
“The question I want to ask the government is what plans they are putting in place for the people whose livelihoods will be lost.”
Tim Bonner, Countryside Alliance Chief Executive, says hunts contribute more than £100 million to the rural economy and form part of the social fabric of rural Britain.
However, these claims are not backed by official sources. No government body collects data on hunting as a standalone sector contributing to the economy, but hunting bodies normally include the equestrian sector in their figures.
HSA Chair Simon said this is all a distraction from the argument: “It doesn’t matter how many jobs you create, you are doing something that the majority think is morally wrong.
“Most people do not want hunting to continue, and if you are breaking the law, it does not matter how much money it raises or who is doing it, it should be stopped.
“It is unacceptable.”
He said that the 60 groups of saboteurs going out all pay for petrol and spend a lot of money as an association all the time to oppose hunting, which also significantly contributes to the UK economy.
Although the demise of hunting seems to be on the horizon, Russell said their role as saboteurs won’t stop there: “Our role will always be to save the animal, before and after the ban.
“If we get the changes we want, it will be easier to make sure the animal is saved.
“Off the back of being invited to the National Wildlife Crime Union Conference last year, we’ve made links with police rural crime teams across the country.”
Royce, Blankney Hunt Chair, said: “What I would say to the people who are dead against hunting, come and have a day with us.
“Come and see the trails being laid. Or planned rather than laid. Come and see what really happens.
“The huntsman is in complete control of his hounds, it’s a completely harmless sport.”
The penalties currently in place are not enough to deter hunters from continuing, said the Chair of the HSA: “We’re not going to stop hunting overnight. At the moment, the penalty is an unlimited fine and the general fine for illegal hunting is £1000.
“In line with the Animal Welfare Act, the threat of a prison sentence and the first actual prison sentence would change mindsets around hunting.
“Seizures of equipment and imprisonments would lead to a lot of hunts closing down.”
The proposed consultation set to take place soon will decide the fate of hunting in the UK.
