National Trust ‘is aiding hunt saboteurs’
Hunt masters accuse charity of ‘painting targets’ on them by publicising their meets
THE National Trust was embroiled in a row with countryside campaigners last night over its decision to publish details of hunts in the run-up to a vote to ban the sport on its land.
The trust was accused of effectively “painting targets” on people who hunt by posting on its website the times and locations of legal trail hunts on its land.
Hunt supporters said such information would be invaluable to saboteurs and animal rights activists, increasing the risk of violent disruption.
The charity is preparing to hold its annual general meeting next month, when it will vote on a motion tabled by the League Against Cruel Sports for an outright ban of all hunting on National Trust land.
The trust unveiled new rules last week, including the publication of hunts, which prompted concern among country sports enthusiasts. It comes after a series of clashes between the trust and its land users in recent years.
The Countryside Alliance said last night the National Trust’s leadership was being influenced by a social media campaign orchestrated by anti-hunt campaigners masquerading as members. Tim Bonner, the alliance’s chief executive, said the row was “another example of an organisation that has drifted an awfully long way from its roots”.
The trust insisted it was not “in the pocket” of anti-hunt activists and was impervious to the influence of social media, adding it “deplored” intimidation and abuse.
A stand-off is now likely, with people who hunt and tenant farmers, who host the meets, saying they would prefer to hunt unlicensed than advertise their presence online.
As well as the risk of physical confrontation, participants and local business such as pubs and B&BS fear “trolling” and other online reprisals if they are publicly connected to the sport.
Richard Williams, joint-master of the Eryri, which hunts on National Trust land in Snowdonia, said: “There are lots of people who use National Trust land but I feel we’re being picked on, having to jump through all these hoops.
“It’s unjustifiable. We’ll been harassed by anti-hunting people. The National Trust is giving in to them. We have a workable relationship at the moment, but now I’m hugely concerned.
“There is a chasm between the attitude of the trust and what they think is going on in the work. They spend most of their lives on their iphone.”
At its AGM next month, the National Trust will debate the motion tabled by the League Against Cruel Sports.
The call for a ban is supported by an online petition signed by 136,000 people, although nearly 68,000 are reportedly based outside the UK. Mr Bonner
said: “There is a lack of understanding of hunting and hunting people at the National Trust. There has not been any consultation with hunting associations.
“There has been social media campaign going on which is influencing the trust. They think what happens on Facebook is a reflection of what is going on in reality. Social media use among the rural community is limited.”
Since the ban on traditional hunting in 2004, large numbers of hunts have adopted trail hunting, where an animal scent is laid for a pack of hounds to follow. Those wanting to operate over National Trust land are required to enter into a “licensing” agreement.
The trust said yesterday that the terms of the licences had not been reviewed for several years and that it had “lost confidence that everything possible was being done to ensure that the law was everywhere being upheld”.
Among the new requirements is a ban on using “animal-based scents” in trail hunting. Critics say this will effectively make hunting impossible as foxhounds are brought up to follow these scents. Historic fell packs in the Lake District, which hunt on foot, are likely to be particularly affected by the new rules.
Eric Taylforth, a National Trust tenant farmer in the Langdale Valley who hosts four hunt meets a year, said the website requirement would “paint a target” for saboteurs. “It can be very intimidating,” he said.
A National Trust spokesman said hunts had always been required to provide details of their meets, when asked, under the terms of the licence. “The proposal to put the information in one place, where those who wish to avoid running into a hunt – of which there are many – or those who wish to watch the spectacle can find out the details, is a response to a malfunctioning system.”