Fox Hunting ban is 5 years old. Has it worked?

Fox hunting with dogs has now been banned for 5 years and many are saying that nothing has changed

With this ban, the question is, has the suffering been stopped or reduced.? If the answer is “No”, there can be no conceivable justification for retaining a ban, according to the MFHA.

A ban on hunting has not reduced the number of foxes killed and, in some areas, has resulted in an increase in the number killed by alternative less acceptable means. As Lord Burns said in the debate in the House of Lords on the 12th March 2001 “If hunting was subject to a ban, I have little doubt that at least an equivalent number of foxes, deer and hares would be killed by other methods. The number of deaths is not likely to be reduced by banning” (col: 532). Death itself is not a welfare issue but the manner of death may be. As Lord Burns recognised (para 6.59) “None of the legal methods is without difficulty from an animal welfare perspective”.

The effectiveness of control, and particularly management, should be judged on maintaining sustainable population levels of foxes that are acceptable to human interests (primarily livestock farmers) and the overall balance of other wildlife. Effectiveness should not be judged merely on the numbers killed.

So given the need for control and management of populations of foxes and recognition that death will inevitably occur, the issue is not whether they should be controlled but how. To gauge the welfare effect and management consequences of banning hunting it is necessary to look at the alternative methods of control. However, the MFHA recognises that no single method is adequate or suitable for all circumstances. Indeed, a combination of methods is often a requirement.

So,the problem seems to still be that people are hunting foxes but now are using traps and guns rather than Horses and Dogs. If the ban has not reduced this problem, should the Government look to removing the ban and setting inplace a more widely placed 'controlled culling' animal management.

According to the IFAW, some Hunts are still flouting the ban.IFAW has a number of specific concerns that are currently being pursued with the enforcement authorities. Too many hunts are claiming 'accidental' kills of foxes while trail hunting, a form of hunting in which the scent of a dead fox or fox urine is used to lay a route for the dogs.Acording to the IFAW website, 'out-of-control dogs have also chased and attacked pets and livestock and even invaded homes and gardens. This would not happen if hunts were to adopt drag hunting, in which an artificial (ie. non-fox) scent is followed.'

'Regrettably', the IFAW state, 'it seems that some hunters have replaced the thrill of the chase with the thrill of trying to get round the law. As convictions for illegal hunting mount it will be interesting to see how long the thrill will last'.

So 5 years on, it seems that Hunts have survived and the rural pursuit loved by many an equestrian and country dweller has continued albeit it a different form