BOXING DAY HUNTS CANCELLED
AVOID CROWDS
HUNTS across Leicestershire and Rutland will not be staging their annual Boxing Day meetings due to the coronavirus restrictions.
The Quorn, Fernie, Atherstone and Cottesmore hunts are able to continue the practice of trail hunting as long as they maintain social distancing and observe other measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
However, the Boxing Day events will not go ahead because they would involve large gatherings of onlookers.
Supporters said it was the first time in many people’s memories the traditional occasion had had to be cancelled.
In previous years, events have gone ahead in extreme weather and, in 2001, despite the foot and mouth disease outbreak.
Chris Parker, a joint master of the Fernie, said: “The Fernie are both disappointed and immensely sorry their Boxing Day meet is not able to go ahead this year.
“But we look forward to welcoming large numbers of supporters back again for the traditional occasion in 12 months time.
“As we won’t have the opportunity to do so this year, we would like to pass on our very best wishes for a Happy Christmas and muchimproved new year to the many people who might otherwise have joined us in Great Bowden on Boxing Day.”
The Quorn said: “This decision has been made so as to prevent any large gatherings forming.
“We know how popular these meets are to our community but the nation’s fight against this virus must take priority.
“We look forward to returning in 2021, when we hope that the country will have recovered from the terrible effects of this pandemic.”
Both the Cottesmore and the Atherstone hunts also confirmed their Boxing Day events would not go ahead.
A spokesman for the Countryside Alliance said: “More than a quarter of a million people usually support Boxing Day meets around the country each year.
“So we fully appreciate that seeing the hounds and watching the spectacle of the meet is often one of the highlights of the annual festive activities for so many in the area.
“It will be yet another disappointment for them in this most difficult of years that the occasions cannot take place given the spread of the virus at the present time.”
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