Hunting Office ready for name change to help repair image

THE Hunting Office is set to rename itself and ditch the word hunting altogether in the wake of a scandal last year that resulted in the National Trust banning hunts from its land.

The office, which administers and regulates fox hunting, has made the proposal as part of sweeping reforms.

If approved by an AGM this month, the office will become known as the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA).

Meanwhile, its disciplinary and regulatory functions will be spun out to a new body known as the Hound Sports Regulatory Authority (HSRA).

The BHSA will be chaired by Viscount Astor, a former master and chairman of the Old Berks Hunt.

The move comes after Mark Hankinson, director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, was found guilty of offering advice on how to carry out illegal fox hunts during a Hunting Officeorganised webinar.

Mr Hankinson had described using trail hunts, which are legal, as “smokescreens” for illegally hunting foxes.

Footage of the webinar was leaked by anti-hunting campaigners who had infiltrated the invitation-only event.

After the case, the National Trust moved to ban hunts from using any of its properties while other institutional landowners were believed to be considering bans.

The new regulator is expected to make use of new enforcement tools such as scheduled and unscheduled inspections, accreditation and mandatory training for those running hunts.

Announcing the proposed changes in April, Andrew Osborne, the chair of the Masters of Foxhounds Association, said the aim was for hunting to be “open and positive about its activities … while offering reassurance to other stakeholders, such as institutional landowners”.

Hunting groups suggested that the regulations would help restore the image of the sport.

Polly Portwin, Director of the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, said: “Hunting needs strong and credible regulation to counter any perception that hunts are not always operating legitimately and to reassure landowners, the police and politicians.”