Why trail hunting deserves a better reputation
SIR – I was very pleased to read about the forthcoming introduction of an improved regulatory structure for trail hunting (report, May 6).
In March 2003, over 400,000 people marched through the streets of London to protest against the proposed ban on hunting, and these people have not gone away. Instead, they have become a trail-hunting community, and have probably increased in size since then.
I joined this community in 2009, following a full career in the Army, several years after the Hunting Act came into force. I felt at home immediately and have travelled throughout the country following trail hunts, where I have encountered a common thread of friendliness, common sense and courtesy. I have yet to meet anyone who is cruel to animals or who wishes to break the law.
I hope that this new initiative is successful, and that licensed trail hunting can continue to be a force for good, providing the glue that helps to bind rural communities together.
These people truly understand conservation and the countryside, and come from all walks of life. It is a community far larger than many imagine, and an entire economy is built around its activities. It is time for its tarnished image to be rehabilitated.
Major John Carter (retd)
Bream, Gloucestershire