HUNTS ARE STILL ACTING ILLEGALLY, CLAIM ACTIVISTS
ANIMAL rights activists claim they are monitoring hunts amid fears of illegal Boxing Day activ- ity.
Hunts are expected to set out from around Wales on Tuesday for the traditional Boxing Day meet.
But the League Against Cruel Sports claim information from saboteurs show less than 5% of hunts even attemp to act within the law.
“They say that on around 4% of occasions when hunts meet they actually lay a trail and in 1%, they would say, it is a legitimate trail that a pack of hounds could follow,” a spokeswoman said. “We have the same ongoing concerns around the law on hunting in Wales, which is that hunts claim to be trail hunting and acting in the law.
“But a lot of footage our investigators gather shows otherwise.
“We often see terrier men. Their role is to dig out the animals – so why are they there if they are just trail hunting?
“If they were not setting out with the purpose of hunting a fox there would be no need for terrier men.”
The LACS spokeswoman said hunts were still training hounds to follow the scent of fox urine.
As a result a fox was “often” killed, she said.
“They do that even when they do set a trail,” she said. “The hounds don’t know what the law says. We have come across cases where hounds have accidentally killed a fox. ‘Accidental’ because they would say they were just trail hunting.”
Trail hunting was “providing an alibi” for illegal hunts, claimed the spokeswoman.
“It is difficult for the police and authorities to distinguish at what point hunts have strayed over to becoming illegal.
“The law is still being flouted and we would like it to be enforced stringently and with greater penalties for those who break it.”
A Countryside Alliance spokeswoman said more than 250 registered hunts in England and Wales had “enjoyed more than 250,000 days of legal hunting activities since the Hunting Act 2004 became law” on February 18, 2005.
“Since the Act came into force there have been just 27 convictions involving registered packs, mean- ing over 94% of the total of 454 Hunting Act convictions have not involved hunts,” the spokeswoman said.
“Trail hunting complies with the Hunting Act 2004.
“It does not involve the chasing of live quarry and is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people yet hunts are still plagued by balaclava-clad animal-rights activists who intimidate and harass hunt supporters and landowners.”
North Wales Police has a dedicated rural crime team who investigate allegations of wildlife offences.
Team manager Rob Taylor said: “Our rural crime team will be working throughout the festive period and we will actively investigate all wildlife crime allegations.”
A spokesman for Dyfed-Powys Police said the force would “take positive action in relation to any information provided to us”, adding: “We will work with other partners and agencies to deal with any illegal hunts.”
A South Wales Police spokesman said: “If you become aware of hunts that pursue live animals you should report this to the police.”
A Gwent Police spokesman said they “would encourage” the public to report illegal hunts.