Many of you will be aware of the Westminster Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy in which it committed, amongst other things, to opening a public consultation on how to ban trail hunting (a smokescreen for Fox hunting).
That public consultation has now opened and will close on 18 June 2026. I very much support a ban on trail hunting and would encourage anyone who agrees to fill in the consultation. It’s important to note that the consultation isn’t so much about whether to ban trail hunting, but rather how best to implement a ban that will be the most effective.
For those who want some guidance on how to respond to the consultation questions, I’d recommend you read this advice from the League Against Cruel Sports or this advice from the Hunt Saboteurs Association. Both organisations have been at the forefront of documenting illegal hunts and campaigning against them for decades, both before and after the Hunting Act was enacted in 2004 that was supposed to ban the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs.
The Hunt Saboteurs have also produced this helpful document that clarifies many of the issues:
The parallels with the illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK countryside are not difficult to see – widespread lawlessness, depraved animal cruelty, constant denials that it’s happening despite volumes of unequivocal evidence, and the relentless abuse and harassment of those campaigning for it to end. Both are crimes and both are now listed as National Wildlife Crime Priorities.
The main difference, I think, is that raptor persecution tends to happen in areas and at times where it is difficult to detect (e.g. on private gamebird shooting estates and often under the cover of darkness) whereas Fox and Stag hunting takes place in plain sight, which often leads to violent confrontation.
In addition to participating in the public consultation, there will be a peaceful, family-oriented rally in London on Saturday 9th May 2026, organised by the League Against Cruel Sports, where campaigners and supporters will gather to draw attention to the issue.
This will be at Old Palace Yard (outside the Houses of Parliament) from 3.15pm to 4.30pm. I hope that some of you can make it.
Raptor Persecution UK 