Figures show the scale of county’s illegal fox hunting
THE extent of suspected illegal fox hunting in Cheshire has been revealed with the county having some of the most recorded incidents in the country since the recent start of the hunting season.
New figures compiled by leading animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) show the shocking scale of fox hunting still taking place across Britain, 14 years after it was banned.
The figures – released via three speciallyproduced maps – show 126 alleged eyewitness reports of suspected illegal fox hunting in just six weeks since the first hunt meet of the season in late October, of which six were verified fox kills and two related to suspected fox kills.
For Cheshire, there have been seven eyewitness accounts of suspected illegal fox hunting activity in the county since the start of the fox hunting season, according to the LACS data.
The animal welfare charity claims the incidents involved foxes being chased by hounds – an activity that is illegal under the Hunting Act – or being seen on the run by members of the public when hunts were active nearby, with there being one confirmed fox kill in Cheshire.
Chris Luffingham, LACS director of campaigns, said: “How many times do we have to show the scale of illegal hunting that still goes on today before the authorities and the law-makers take steps to tackle it?
“These incidents just relate to the first six weeks of the season – there is still four-anda-half months to go until it closes.
“We need to stand united against hunting and close the loopholes that fox hunts currently exploit, backing this up with an effective deterrent – courts should have the option to jail people convicted of fox hunting offences.”
A Cheshire police spokeswoman confirmed the force has no investigations ongoing at present concerning alleged illegal fox hunting.
The spokeswoman added that officers have had ‘four or five’ reports of suspected incidents, but that when police have looked into it, ‘nothing has come to light’.
The maps show a breakdown by hotspot, by the nearest major town and by county.
The figures also claim 15 cases of badger setts being interfered with on the day of the hunt – also illegal under the Protection Of Badgers Act 2002 – and two artificial earths found blocked on the day of the hunt to prevent foxes from escaping the hounds.
There were also 11 cases of livestock worrying by hunt hounds, according to LACS.
The five counties with the most recorded instances of suspected illegal fox hunting by the animal welfare charity are Dorset with 12, Worcestershire nine, Leicestershire and Somerset eight apiece, and Cheshire seven.
The LACS is calling for three key changes to hunting laws to end fox hunting for good:
The introduction of a recklessness clause, to prevent the use of ‘trail’ hunting as an excuse when foxes are killed by hunts
The removal of the exemptions contained within the Hunting Act so they cannot be abused and used as excuses to continue to hunt with hounds
The introduction of prison sentences for people who are convicted of illegal hunting.
A spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance said: “Hunts are regularly subjected to spurious allegations regarding their legal hunting activities yet packs of hounds within Cheshire operate within the law to comply with the Hunting Act 2004.
“These figures cannot be taken at face value since they were compiled from unsubstantiated reports from members of the public and some were also published on social media with no evidence to support their claims.
“There is absolutely no evidence to suggest these allegations are true.
“Even a Cheshire police spokesperson recently commented that you shouldn’t believe everything you see on social media and confirmed that action can only be taken when evidence exists.”