Members of the public observe hounds and riders of the Quorn Hunt during the New Years Day meet in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. Picture date: Saturday January 1, 2022
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NEW YEAR’S DAY hunts will go-ahead on Thursday despite the industry “showing signs of strain” after ministers confirmed a ban trail hunting last month, campaigners said.
A spokesman for Protect the Wild said that the British Hound Sports Association’s December 17 advice for hunts to distance terrier work from trail hunting “is a clear indication of that unease.
“Given that terriermen exist to put dogs underground to assist in the digging-out of foxes, their presence during a trail hunt, where hunts claim to follow an artificial scent, is wholly unjustifiable.
“Protect the Wild believes this move is purely cosmetic, intended to project an image of reform rather than deliver any meaningful change.”
Protect the Wild founder Rob Pownall added: “New Year’s Day should be about renewal, but for wildlife it brings more of the same.
“These meets show an industry refusing to accept change. Reform is overdue, and the public expects it to happen.”
