AN INDEFINITE ban on ‘trail’ hunting in the Lake District National Park has been hailed as a 'milestone' moment by opponents of fox hunting.
Among those welcoming the move are former Carlisle MP Eric Martlew, who for years was a leading campaigner against what he said was a 'cruel' tradition that should have no place in any modern society.
The Lake District trail hunting ban follows a landmark court case last year when a former director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association was convicted of encouraging others to commit an offence under the Hunting Act 2004.
The judge in the case dismissed trail hunting as a 'fiction' and 'smokescreen', often used as a 'cover for old-fashioned illegal hunting'.
The News & Star invited comments from several Cumbrian hunt groups, but none was prepared to go on the record, with one declaring that there would now be few people prepared to publicly defendant the tradition.
“I’d say this is the end of hunting – certainly in the Lake District,” said Mr Martlew, pointing out that trail hunting is now prohibited not only by the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) but also by the National Trust, and Forestry Commission.
“To chase an animal for miles, causing it immense stress, and then to tear it to pieces – it’s cruel,” said Mr Martlew.
“The other thing that they would do was to go ‘cub hunting,’ taking out their hounds in September or October to get the cubs. They call this – allowing dogs to rip a live animal apart – sport. I've always been against it."
A spokesman for the League Against Cruel Sports charity said the LDNPA decision felt like a “milestone moment.”
The ban follows the pausing of trail hunting on the authority's land in November 2020 after the leak of a webinar involving prominent members of the fox hunting world in which they described trail hunting as a ‘smokescreen’.
Chris Luffingham, director of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The brutal and squalid world of fox hunting has taken yet another blow with the announcement of this milestone decision.
READ MORE: Call for hunts to show 'that their activity is legitimate' amid suspension
“We welcome this move to ban trail hunting at Lake District National Park and look forward to it being rigorously enforced by the authority.” Trail hunting is now banned or suspended across three million acres of land across England and Wales.
The League is calling on other major landowners such as the Ministry of Defence to follow suit. Mr Luffingham added: “Enough is enough. Despite being banned in 2005, the chasing and killing of foxes is still routinely occurring in the countryside with nearly 200 fox hunts still operating.
“Fox hunting is abhorred by the vast majority of people in both rural and urban areas and should be consigned to the history books – it’s time for responsible landowners to ban trail hunting and end this charade for good.”
According to the charity, the most recent opinion polls show that 85 per cent of people are opposed to fox hunting.
READ MORE: Calls for the end of trail hunting on public land over ‘smokescreen’ fears
An LDNPA spokesman said: “The Lake District National Park Authority has confirmed its intention to suspend trail hunting licences indefinitely for activity on land owned by the LDNPA.
“Officers made the decision and at a briefing members expressed support for their decision. This continues the suspension which has been in place since November 2020. We will continue to liaise with fell packs, landowners and other stakeholders, including Cumbria Police."
The Cumbrian fell packs affected are:
- Eskdale & Ennerdale Foxhounds
- The Melbreak Foxhounds
- Ullswater Foxhounds
- The Blencathra Foxhounds
- Coniston Foxhounds
- Black Combe and District Beagles
- Cumbria Beagles
- Cumberland Foxhounds
For a summary of the landmark case referred to by the League Against Cruel Sports, go to this link, providing a transcript of the judge’s comments in the prosecution of Alan Hankinson.
* Labour politician Eric Martlew was the MP for Carlisle between 1987 and 2010, when he stepped down.
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