Fox hunters could face bigger fines while activist call for jail time

Fox hunters are being warned they could be hit with bigger fines under plans to crack down on those who are bending the rules.

The Labour government has reiterated its commitment to ban trail hunting after the traditional Boxing Day gatherings. Anti-hunting campaigners are urging ministers to deliver on its manifesto pledge to ban the controversial practice that mimics a traditional fox hunt with dogs. They want harsher punishments – including jail time – to be on offer to judges to “deter people from this sickening activity”.

Trail hunts lay an animal-based scent trail – such as fox urine – and are not intended to involve chasing, injuring or killing animals. But they often take place in areas where foxes or hares are likely to be – so sometimes dogs end up following a real fox’s scent.

Campaigners warn that hunters then claim they did not know their hound was following a real animal’s scent to avoid prosecution. Ministers are being urged to change the law so hunters are punished if they kill foxes by accident. Currently it must be proved there was a “deliberate” bid to kill an animal but this might be changed to include those who kill one through “recklessness”.

More severe punishments – such as higher fines – for people who break existing hunting laws are also on the table. The government insists it wants to clamp down on trail hunting which it said is being “exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares”.

However, the timing of any potential changes in the law is still unconfirmed, with no proposals on the issue included in the King’s Speech, which set out Labour’s agenda after it was elected to government.

The Hunting Act 2004 bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales. Under the law people can be hit with fines of up to £5,000 but activists say this is rarely enforced by authorities. Campaigners want the legislation to be strengthened to be brought in line with other laws such as the Protection of Badgers Act and Wild Mammals Protection Act, which include maximum penalties of six months imprisonment.

In April this year, the then Commander of Plymouth police, Chief Supt Matt Longman – the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on fox hunting – has pushed for more action by forces across the country, admitting that “historically the police have not been impartial when called to a hunt.”

At the time he said he would like to see the Government close loopholes in the law which had allowed the hunting community to continue killing foxes with apparent impunity.

Now Temp/Assistant Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, he told Devonlive in April: “Hunts are frequently trailing hunts in natural fox habitats, with hounds trained to locate and kill foxes. So-called terrier men are frequently present with shovels and terriers, while scent trails are often not present.”

He added: “I have to agree that trail-hunting is a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting. Tradition cannot be a reason to avoid change.”

During the exclusive Devonlive interview he explained how the law “as it stands has its limitations as to the effectiveness of a policing tool. The law at the moment is ineffective for us, as a tool, and it needs strengthening if we are to be successful in stopping illegal hunting for mammals with hounds and rebuilding public trust and confidence in this area.

“People are becoming less tolerant and as they do the number of hunts are diminishing. It will change but it needs legislation to become more effective. People are realistic about what we can do. What they don’t accept is when we are there but we don’t deal with it.”

According to research by the League Against Cruel Sports, there have been 186 foxes reportedly pursued by hunts and 220 reports relating to suspected illegal hunting incidents since the beginning of August.

There were also 553 reports of “hunt havoc”, in which hounds caused disruption such as chasing other wild animals or pets, worrying livestock or causing traffic incidents, or disturbing the public, the organisation said.

Chris Luffingham, acting chief executive at the animal welfare charity, told the Mirror : “We welcome moves to introduce tougher penalties for those caught breaking fox hunting laws and are calling for custodial sentences to be available for judges in order to deter people from this sickening activity.

“Trail hunting is a deception invented after the hunting ban in a bid to deceive the public, police and courts about their intention to carry on brutally chasing and killing foxes.”

But the Countryside Alliance has warned further changes to the law are “completely unjustified”, as people were carrying out a legitimate, legal activity that brought the rural community together.

Tim Bonner, the alliance’s chief executive, also said the issue of trail hunting was irrelevant to most people and it would be “extraordinary” for Labour to focus on it given the poor state of relations with rural communities.

A Defra spokesman said: “This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in generation and that is exactly what we will do. We are committed to a ban on trail hunting, which is being exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares.”