To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the Hunting Act to reduce the incidence of foxes being killed; and what steps he is taking to ban trail hunting on Government-owned land.
Answered on
3 February 2022
Our manifesto was clear that no changes will be made to the Hunting Act. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.
Issuing a license or giving permission for trail hunting is an operational matter for the landowner and those organisations with a land lease or agreement in place for Government land.