Countryside campaigners are warning that a ban on trail hunting would have a devastating impact on the rural economy, with 1,000 jobs directly at risk and many more impacted.
It comes as a consultation is currently underway, with the aim of officially outlawing trail hunting across England and Wales as part of Labour’s 2024 election manifesto.
Trail hunting was introduced after fox hunting was banned more than 20 years ago, as an alternative to hounds chasing foxes. It mimics a traditional hunt, with hounds following an animal scent which has been laid and hunters trailing the pack on horseback.
But ministers say that trail hunting is sometimes used as a “smokescreen” for illegal fox hunting and so needs to end.
The Countryside Alliance claims a trail hunting ban represents an “attack on rural life” and argue that trail hunting is a legitimate, lawful alternative to traditional hunting and already governed by the Hunting Act 2004.
The organisation is urging those in favour of trail hunting to fill in an online form lobbying MPs to vote against the ban and say it risks the loss thousands of jobs in rural economies, with hunting contributing £100m a year to the economy.
There are 12,000 hounds across England and Wales, each of which employ huntsmen and kennel workers, who face being put out of work by the Government’s looming ban.
The ban would also impact groomers, farriers and rural vets who tend to hunt horses, and more widely, a ban could financially impact rural village hubs, such as pubs, shops, and bed and breakfasts that rely on hunting events and tourism.
With less than a month until the consultation ends, GB News visited the Bedale Hunt Kennels in North Yorkshire to find out the impact that eroding this part of British culture would have on the countryside’s economy.
Sandy Wilson, 56, is a Kennel Huntsman, for the Bedale Hunt and has cared for hounds for the last 40 years.
He told GB News: “Hounds are just a wonderful animal, they belong in a pack, and they love what they do, it breaks my heart to think about what would happen to them if trail hunting was banned.”We’ve already had one hunting ban, we’ve adjusted to it. We’ve got our own police policing us – the British Home Sports Association – everything is working, so why break something?
“If trail hunting was banned, the hunt produces a house for me and my wages to make a living for my family. I’ve only ever known this job, and it’d be like putting me in a big wide world. The hunt totally looks after me and it’s just the impact of just losing everything would be too much to bear.
