Vote to ban trail hunts
NATIONAL Trust members yesterday voted to ban trail hunting on land owned by the charity.
It will now be up to the trustees to decide whether to uphold the decision.
League Against Cruel Sports boss Andy Knott branded trail hunting “a smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”.
He added: “The trust must ban trail hunting on its land for good.
“Other landowners should take note and immediately follow suit.”
The National Trust is one of the UK’S largest landowners, with 620,000 acres.
In 2016/17 it issued 79 licences to 67 fox hunts to engage in trail hunting, which involves laying an artificial scent for hounds.
The motion to ban the practice was passed by 76,816 votes to 38,184.
Hunting with dogs was made illegal in Britain 17 years ago.