The Truth About Trail Hunting
Public Awareness Page
| Trail hunting is just a name created in 2005, and therefore not traditional. It is considered a temporary name only used while there is a ban on hunting. Hunts now claim they have changed over to “trail hunting” which is a made-up name invented after the ban to disguise the real intent of hunting wild animals. Trail hunts claim to follow a trail scent, but much evidence proves this is a lie and hunts continue to illegally hunt foxes. |
Truth about Trail Hunting
The “Hunting with Dogs Act 2004” came into force in February 2005.
Some people might say this is the worst written Act in UK history, which is full of loop-holes and allows hunts to carry on killing and mostly avoid prosecution.
Sadly, this weak Act is the only law that offers some protection to our wildlife.
The Trail Hunting name was invented in 2005 and is just a made up name to disguise it’s true intention “the continuation of traditional hunting”. It’s a lie, smokescreen and guise purely used as a cover for illegal hunting.
The majority of Tory MP’s want the act scrapping to allow hunts to carry on hunting and killing without restriction, which is hugely unpopular with 85% of the British public, but these pro hunt supporting MP’s choses to ignore this.
Although …
What is actually needed is for the Hunting Act to be amended and strengthened, the loop holes closed, correctly policed, and with adequate fines and prison sentences to deter illegal hunting.
Most of the public are unaware that fox hunting continues today despite there being a ban. Hunts continue to flout the law, making a mockery of our legal system and conning the public, police and courts.
For many it is hard to understand how this brutal, cruel, and illegal activity continues. The reasons are complicated, and one of them is the false alibi of Trail Hunting.
A recent webinars video meeting consisting of high-ranking hunting officials, exposes the truth, were hunts plot to use smokescreens to deceive the police and courts.
They talk about laying fake trails with the deliberate intention of concealing illegal for hunting.
These participants are teaching “deceptive” tactics to “bypass” the restrictive elements of the Hunting Act – allowing hunters to create “lies & smokescreens” that permit them to hunt illegally, whilst portraying the guise of an “Organised Trail Hunt” – with Phil Davies, at one point, saying, “I hope no police officers are watching”.
These deplorable instructions in this video are vehemently appalling, and highlight the extensive intent of corruption and reckless disregard for the 2004 Hunting Act, by such peers as the representative of The Countryside Alliance, The Hunting Office, The FoxHound Association, An Ex-Police officer, An Ex-Police Chief Inspector, and a Government Official, as well as over one hundred and fifty Hunt Masters, in attendance of the webinars.
Shocking webinars video revealing high ranking officials from the Hunting Office plotting to commit perjury in court and admitting on camera they lie and create smokescreens to fool the public, police and courts.
Link : Webinars
February 2021 : Mark Hankinson, director of the Masters of Fox Hounds Association, has been charged with intentionally encouraging or assisting others to commit an offence under the Hunting Act 2004, contrary to section 44 of the serious Crimes Act 2007.
Foxes and Agriculture |
| A large part of the foxes diet is made up of rabbits, which cause in excess of £100 million damage to agriculture each year. By removing foxes rabbit numbers will increase. (Ref : Foxes and Agriculture IFAW Biological Sciences, University of Bristol & Environment Department, University of York) Helping farmers : Given their diet, foxes keep the numbers of mice, rabbits and rats down, saving farmers millions of pounds in lost grain supplies. |
Impressionable Youngsters
Most pony clubs are linked with mounted hunts and, so long as these hunts claim to be trail hunting within the law, they are able to hoodwink many impressionable youngsters (and their parents) about their real intent. With a range of horse-related activities on offer which seem a million miles from the ritualised sacrifice of a fox, hare or deer, pony clubs seem to provide a perfect gateway for grooming and introducing children into the ways of the hunt.
Hunts & death sport enthusiasts all conspire to convince impressionable young minds that Trail Hunting is legitimate.
By the time the awful truth dawns it is seen as no longer awful to these impressionable minds who are indoctrinated into a world of false alibis, blind eyes and rural lies, wild mammals which are illegally hunted and killed may no longer be empathised with; reduced, instead to objects of amusement.
Hunts now seem to be targeting schools for their recruitment.
Day’s Hunting Begins
The hunt begins by taking their pack of hounds into a covert (usually a coppice, stretch of gorse, or wood) where foxes reside. The pack of hounds are then sent in to either flush the fox out in the open or try to pick up a scent of a fox, “then the chase is on”.
If the hounds do not flush out or pick up a fox trail, they then move on to the next convert.
Hunts claim they are just trying to find their pre-laid trail while doing this or were just exercising their hounds.
Trail hunts claim to deliberately not know where these myth trails are laid to simulate the real feeling of hunting foxes.
Although if the truth be known the reasons they cant tell anyone where a trail has been laid is because a trail hasn’t actually been laid.
If hunts where genuine about staying with-in the law, surely they would avoid areas with known resident foxes & dens.
Hunts have had 16 yrs to retrain their hounds to follow a non-fox scent but “choose not to” as they claim their hounds will only follow a fox based scent. This is clearly incorrect.
Their stubborn defiance only leads to illegal hunting and animals being killed.
Covert Laying – (Hunts rearing foxes).
Hunts put a lot of effort into covert laying, i.e. a term used to attract or make an area attractive to foxes by leaving food i.e. dead chickens, lambs etc to keep the foxes in the area so they have something to hunt.
This has been witnessed and caught on camera many times with hunts being prosecuted, although many hunts continue to lie and insist its nothing to do with them.
If hunts don’t chase foxes as they claim, then why do they need to feed and encourage them into area ?
Hunts Rearing Foxes to Hunt
Hunts claim fox numbers need to be controlled, if this is the case why do hunts go to the trouble of making artificial fox dens/earths to attract breeding foxes.
Some of these reared foxes are thrown alive to hounds to teach bloodlust … or … bagged and then released infront of a pack of hounds on hunting days.
| If fox numbers need controlling (as hunts falsely claim) … then why are the hunts rearing more foxes ? Answer : So there are more foxes to hunt. |
Hound Training
Trained to seek out and follow live quarry with the intention of killing.
A huge scandal has been following fox (trail) hunts for many years on their methods used to train their hounds to follow fox scents. Hunters have been arrested and prosecuted for rearing fox cubs to throw alive to hounds to teach them to kill.
Cub hunting is another way hunts train young hounds how to hunt.
Cub Hunting
Cub hunting or autumn hunting (as the hunts have renamed it to make it sound more publically pleasing) involves : riders, terriermen and foot followers surrounding a covert (usually a coppice, stretch of gorse, or wood) where foxes reside., sending a pack of hounds in to kill the fox cubs to teach the young hounds how to hunt and kill, any cubs that try to escape the riders chase them back in forcing the cubs into the mouths of the hounds to be ripped apart.. the hunts claim innocently they are only exercising the hounds or trail hunting.
Many hunts pre-kill the adult foxes which, given a loop hole in the law, then allows them to kill the cubs.
Any cubs which hide in the dens are either dug out and a terrier sent in underground to fight and drag/flush the cubs out so they can be thrown alive to the hounds to rip apart or chased.
This activity is usually done in complete secret and is totally un-policed or investigated.
This must be one of the cruellest hunting activities and one which is blatantly illegal.
Trail Scent
The only trail hunts follow is a trail of lies.
Fox (trail) hunts often claim they lay a trail i.e. fox based urine to follow.
This has to be questioned for a number of reasons :
* The UK does not manufacture fox based urine.
* Hunts fail to produce evidence of where they are importing fox urine from or any scents, which once again confirms their Trail Hunting lies.
* Considering there are over 250 hunts in the UK all hunting upto three times a week, thousands of gallons of fox urine would be needed, which dismisses their fake claims that they lay a trail.
* Some have now changed their lie to say they now follow a (non-fox) animal based scent. If so, why are their hounds still chasing foxes.
* If they have changed to a (non-fox) animal based scent, this also contradicts their other false claim that they are unable to re-train their hounds to follow anything other than fox scents.
* Hunts claim they have experimented with various fox based scents ie ground up liquidised foxes, until someone questioned where they are getting all their foxes from.
They claim they lay a trail, then why do they spend so much time on roads, on railway lines, in dense woods, riding through bogs and over ploughed fields, in peoples gardens, on private property, in areas totally unsuitable for riding.
The truth is fox (trail) hunts don’t lay or follow an artificial trail. They lie so much to cover up their illegal activity, once one excuse has been exposed as a lie they move onto another lie excuse.
Terriermen and Digging Out
This must be one of the most brutal and cruelest parts of hunting, not only for the foxes, but also for the terrier dogs used. All suffer horrific injuries.
Terriermen are usually seen on quad bikes armed with digging out tools and boxes attached to their quad bikes which contain their terrier dogs. They are employed by hunts and seem to have three main parts to play :-
- To dig/flush out foxes that have gone to ground using their terrier dogs.
- To block up fox den and badger set holes to prevent foxes going to ground.
- Hired masked thugs who attack monitors to intimidate and prevent filming.
Dog fighting is suppose to be banned in the UK; yet a loophole in the Hunting Act allows terriermen to send dogs underground into fox dens (foxes are also a species of dog) where cruel and barbaric dog fighting takes place. The foxes are dragged out of their dens by terriers (if not killed underground) and thrown to a pack of hounds/dogs to be ripped apart. This also happens with badgers.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fox-hunt-master-exposed-badger-11929937
Unbelievably, the law still allows terriermen to engage in this activity.
The law states that terrier men are allowed to flush out a fox using two dogs but one dog allowed underground at a time …. once a fox has been dug out, it must be shot. This rarely happens and law enforcement is never around to ensure this law is enforced. There is no closed season for this practice and it happens all year round, even when fox cubs are present and the fox parents are frantically trying to protect their babies.
Terriermen hide their faces behind masks as they don’t want to be filmed. It takes a very cruel person with a twisted mind to be a terrierman.
The only way to prevent this brutal cruelty is a total ban on terriermen and the use of their terrier dogs. Animals should not be brutally dragged out of the ground or endure hours of fighting and being ripped apart. This is not only barbaric for the wild animals but also the terrier dogs used.
Foxes have been persecuted for centuries with hunting, shooting, snaring, poisoning and trapping, all of which still happen on a regular basis.
If hunts where obeying the law and not chasing foxes (as they claim) then why do hunts need terriermen present on supposedly legal trail hunts. (The lies they tell). Just the presence of terriermen on a hunt indicates illegal activity but the police never question their presence.
This is one of the most brutal and disgusting laws our government shamefully still allows.
Please click on links below for more evidence
- Videos – Attacks, Abuse, Intimidation, on public by hunts
- Videos – Terriermen and their Brutality
- Photos – Sabs & Monitors Abuse & Intimidation by Hunts
- Photos – Terriermen
- Photos – Terriermen digging
- Terrier Work Wildlife Guardian.
- What happens to animals when chased.
Animal cruelty Involved |
| Not only is foxhunting cruel for the poor hunted animal (fox, hare, deer) …. but also for the hounds and terrier dogs involved.
The hunt horses also suffer. (Please click on link below) Domestic pets also suffer. (Please click on link below) |
Quick Kill or Not
Hunts claim that hounds make a quick kill with a nip to the back of the neck.
Link : Killer bite or not
Link : What happens when animals are chased
If you have ever watched a fox being ripped apart by a pack of hounds you will know this certainly isn’t true. The actual death can take some time where the fox is used as a tug of war between the hounds and slowly ripped apart. This behaviour can be observed daily with domestic dogs pulling on a toy.
A study of post-mortem examinations of foxes killed by hounds relieve that foxes died from profound trauma inflicted by multiple wounds to the body.
The study showed that in many cases foxes are disembowelled first. The Burns report also concluded that hunting with dogs causes animal suffering both during the latter stages of the chase and at the kill.
A kill by a pack of hounds is one of the most brutal events to witness and totally unnecessary.
Foxes and Conservation |
| Agricultural intensification, habitat loss, pesticide use or other factors is by far the major factor in the decline of most wildlife in Britain. Thus foxes do not pose a significant risk to conservation interests and there is no justification for widespread fox control on conservation grounds. (Ref : Foxes & Conservation IFAW Biological Sciences, University of Bristol & Environment Department, University of York) |
The Problem with the Hunting Act
Prosecution is difficult because of the ridiculous requirement of evidence needed to show “intent” a loop hole which has caused a lot of problems with prosecution and policing.
Despite video evidence showing hunts chasing foxes, the CPS & Judges also require evidence to prove a hunt was “intentionally” chasing an animal with dogs.
Can you imagine if all our other UK laws where based on intentional.
example : Would murderers, rapists, thieves claim “oops” they didn’t mean to intentionally murder or steal something, it was an accident and get away with being prosecuted.
To put it in simple terms, this is what has been happening with illegal hunting.
Intentional : Any hunt who sets out :
• With a pack of hounds trained to kill and follow a fox, deer, hare scent. (ie purposely setting out with killing tools (hounds) which have been trained to follow animal scent).
• In an area with known wildlife. (ie purposely going to an area where their quarry live).
• With little control over hounds. (ie knowingly that their hounds will chase an animal).
• With terrier men in tow. (ie with terriers ready to be put to ground seeking out hunted animals taking refuge).
• Illegally blocking roads to prevent themselves being filmed. (ie trying to cover up a crime).
We believe this shows intention enough to prosecute these hunts and they should not be allowed to use the excuse of an accident to avoid being prosecuted. The law should support this.
Hunts must clearly display they have control of their hounds and a reckless clause should be included into the Hunting Act to prevent (so called) accidents and lies.
Hunts have had 16yrs to retrain new hounds to follow a non fox based scent but have refused to do this.
Hunts must be held accountable by law for their hounds actions :-
- Chasing and killing animals
- Trespassing on peoples private land
- Running riot on roads causing accidents
- On railway lines
- Recklessly out of control
- Killing domestic pets
- Spreading TB throughout the countryside
The C.P.S (Crown Prosecution Service) require video evidence of the fox being chased by hounds followed by the huntsmen actively encouraging the hounds to chase …. but one main problem the CPS and the Hunting Act fail to acknowledge is the “Foxes Natural Behaviour” in prosecutions.
Foxes have a very acute sense of hearing and will be able to hear the hunt coming from miles away. Their natural instinct would be to hide, but with their dens being block up they are forced to run instead. The fox maybe in front of the hounds by 10 mins to start with. Foxes are quick but lack stamina, hounds are slower but have more stamina, the hounds eventually wear and chase the fox down. To capture all this on video without any video breaks as required by the CPS is near impossible. Hence why hunts get away with illegal hunting and the main reason hunts violently try to stop sabs/monitors catching up with the chase to film.
Enforcing the Ban
The only people trying to ensure the (supposedly) hunting ban is being enforced are the public (sabs & monitors) doing the job the police are supposed to be doing.
Police very rarely go out into the field or investigate; therefore hunting remains totally unchecked and unmonitored by the law.
Police rely on the public to do their work for them collecting evidence of illegal hunting.
Hunts do not like sabs & monitors spoiling their day of killing, so will often try and get sabs & monitors arrested to keep them out of the way for the day.
Sabs and monitors are volunteer members of the public who are attacked on a regular basis, have threats and abuse thrown at them, families threatened if hunts discover who they are, vehicles damaged with no support from the law while they try to gain evidence of illegal hunting. All done for no personal gain except for the love of animals and to protect our wildlife.
The police are governed by their directive from the NPCC. If you have ever taken the time to fully read “Police Operational Advice on Hunting (directive), you will fully understand why police fail to uphold the law on hunting.
Link : Police Operational Advice on Hunting (directive)
Why Do Sabs Cover their Faces
Due to the threats from hunting thugs, the Sabs have to keep their faces covered to prevent being recognised which could result in their families being attacked by hunt supporters or their jobs being threatened.
In Oct 1994 an explosive device was placed under the car of a monitor in Milton Keynes. The bomb exploded at 9.00am destroying the underside of vehicle.
Sabs/Monitors face a constant barrage of threats, violence, intimidation and damage to their property from hunts and their supporters.
Please clink on link to see evidence.
Link : Attacks-abuse-intimidation – Videos
Biased Policing
With the public becoming more aware of trail hunts illegal activities, thuggery, blatant disregard for the law, cover ups, bias policing, cruelty etc, there is growing frustration at the failure of MPs, Police, PCC to ensure these hunts are brought to justice and do not make a mockery of our justice system.
| Example 1 : A recent Boxing Day hunt meet video showed a terrierman’s quad bike illegally over loaded with men sitting on the rear mud guards, without a registration plate therefore not legal to be on road, untaxed, without insurance driving up the main high street past a police van with policeman watching and turning a blind eye. |
This video has been shared across the internet to millions of people.
If a member of the public rode a bike in this manner they would be arrested immediately but hunts believe they are above the law and police just seem to turn a blind eye.
| Example 2 : Police claim they haven’t got the funds to police illegal hunts but on 23rd December, Baronet Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland phoned police to falsely claim two members of the public (monitors) were spraying acid around the area of a hunt he was organising. Clearly rattled after having his showpiece Christmas fox hunt ruined, 17 police cars turn up armed with pepper spray to threaten 2 members of the public. These protestors were filming suspected illegal hunt activities and spraying citronella i.e. a herbal spray used to mask the smell of a fox (basically an air freshener). What a complete disgrace and waste of tax payers money for police to over react in such an appalling way.
No arrests were made but clearly Baronet Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland should have been fined for wasting police time and giving false information. Do police think its their job to protect the over privileged but ignore calls from the public of illegal activities and assaults. |
Prosecutions
Over the last 16 years, hunt monitors have reported they may have only witnessed a genuine trail hunt meet (not a fake one put on for the cameras) an average of around 0.04% of the occasions.
Taking into account that there are over 250 registered hunts in the UK, hunting upto three times a week, to be reported that only 0.04% may have been witnessed as a genuine legal trail hunt is an appalling statistic.
The UK government states the Hunting Act is a police matter and official figures demonstrate that the Hunting Act has protected animals, with people being convicted for crimes covered by the law, although this response is highly questionable and does not address the current weak loop holes.
Far too many reportings of illegal hunting have not been properly investigated and far too many illegal hunters have got away with it unpunished, which means that the Act has a serious enforcement problem. The consequences for breaking the Hunting Act law is so light (inadequate fines and sentences) that it’s no deterrent.
Because of the weak enforcement by the authorities to monitor and police the hunting Act, the successful prosecution of hunts has only been possible through private prosecutions against illegal hunters. While many people have been convicted under the Hunting Act, most of these are in fact poachers rather than hunters.
A report by Lord Bonomy in his review of the “Protection of wild animals Act” commissioned by the Scottish Parliament, agrees with anti-hunt organisations and police Scotland that the current law offers too many loop holes, is unworkable and lacks definition to enable successful prosecutions. The Hunting Act needs strengthening and loopholes closed.
Defiance
| In 2003, thousands of hunt supporters from the Countryside Alliance signed a public declaration pledging to continue hunting, break the law and risk a criminal record or face imprisonment in a defiant attempt to beat a ban on foxhunting. This same community vows to retain and defend the infrastructure of hunting so that, if they ever succeed in repealing the Act, full-on death sports can resume seamlessly, without delay and no longer having to hide the real intent of hunting. Responding to their supporters, the Countryside Alliance announced a massive campaign of civil disobedience against the Government plans to ban foxhunting. |
Summary
Fox hunting is a toxic issue and one which 85% of the public are against. Any person that supports fox hunting does so against the public’s wishes and laws of this country. Most of the public are unaware that fox hunting continues today despite there being a ban. Hunts continue to flout the law, making a mockery of our legal system and conning the public, police and courts. What sort of example is this setting.Law enforcement agencies are often accused of turning a blind eye and failing to uphold the law and prosecute offenders despite strong evidence.
85% of the public are against hunting (foxes, deer, hares) but our hunt loving government chooses to ignore this fact to pander to their hunting sponsors. Hopefully the pro hunt MP’s won’t be in power to protect the hunters for much longer and the public will finally see through this farce and lies which will eventually be fully exposed.
The law has been brought into disrepute by hunts and their supporters. It is time the loop holes where closed, properly enforced and brought back under control.
So next time your MP’s tells you they support hunting … or….. does not support the strengthening of the hunting Act …. Remind them of what cruelty they are actually supporting and allowing to continue.
Article Series : The Truth about Hunting
This series of articles has been written for public awareness and designed to give members of the public basic information regarding “The Truth About Hunting”.
.It allows wildlife lovers the chance to raise awareness and educate the public on the real truth behind hunting by sharing links.
.Please feel free to share these links and help us to get the truth out to the public.
.· The Truth about Trail Hunting
· The Truth about Hunts Causing Chaos
· The Truth about Hounds Spreading Disease
· The Truth about Cub Hunting
· The Truth about Scent Laying
· The Truth about Terrier Men
· The Truth about Policing
· The Truth about Hounds Running Riot
· How do the get away with Cub Hunting
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