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Hunting

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The Hunting Act came into force in February 2005 making it an offence to hunt wild mammals. The Countryside Alliance have since this time campaigned against the act which they believe is more about prejudice and spite rather than principle and evidence.

What is the Hunting Act? (extract from Defra website)
The Hunting Act 2004 bans the hunting with dogs of all wild mammals, and all hare coursing. Its intention is to end a practice that many people feel causes unnecessary suffering to animals.

Hunting is an intentional activity and there can be no such thing as unintentional hunting. Thus, if a dog runs off after a squirrel in the park, the person accompanying the dog would not be guilty of unlawful hunting (unless he or she then used the dog to hunt the squirrel). Equally, if dogs being used in drag-hunting were to run off after a fox, the drag-hunters would not be guilty of unlawful hunting (unless they then used the dogs to hunt the fox). This is unlikely to be a problem for genuine drag hunters, while pretence would be easy to detect. Suggestions that anyone is obliged to shoot any wild mammal that their dog accidentally flushes out are also entirely untrue.

However since the act came into force in 2005 many hunts have gained in popularity and still continue to hunt - within the law, on a weekly basis. Details of local Hunt websites are below or click the links in menu on the left for the Master of Foxhounds association or the Countryside Alliance.