National Trust backs down on plan to publish hunt routes after police warning

THE National Trust has been forced into a climbdown after it abandoned plans to publish the routes of legal hunts following police safety advice.

The organisation acknowledged that going through with the controversial scheme could “create a climate of confrontation”.

In August, the Trust provoked anger when it imposed new licences requir- ing tenants to publish the precise time and locations of hunts over their land online in advance.

Hunting enthusiasts argued that revealing such details would “paint a target” for saboteurs and risk serious violence.

The Trust has now said it will significantly water down the terms of the new licences, meaning the date and general area will be published but not the exact route. It said the decision was taken “following advice from the police … after concerns were raised over public safety and the potential for disorder”.

Last night the Countryside Alliance welcomed the news but lamented a lack of consultation.

Trail hunting, where a hunt employee lays a scented trail in advance, has been the practice of most hunts since Labour banned traditional foxhunting in 2005. Sixty-seven hunts in England use land owned by the National Trust, whose membership narrowly voted against banning the sport altogether two weeks ago.

Polly Portwin, head of hunting at the Countryside Alliance, said: “We welcome the news that the locations of meets will not be published on the Trust’s website, therefore reducing the risk of the Trust’s tenants being harassed and intimidated by animal rights activists. It is just a shame the Trust didn’t consult with the police and the associations that represent the individual licence holders before publishing their revised trail-hunting policy.”

A National Trust spokesman told The Guardian the new rules would provide “the level of transparency our visitors need to make an informed decision over whether or not they want to avoid a hunt in that area on certain days of the year. However, we do not want to encourage or create a climate of con- frontation between trail hunt followers or protesters.”

Also under the proposed new licences was a clause banning hunts from laying fox scent to attract the hounds. Anti-hunting campaigners have argued the measure is necessary to avoid the accidental killing of foxes, but enthusiasts say hounds would not be able to follow an artificial scent.

It is understood not one of the 67 affected hunts has yet signed a licence.