Seventeen years ago today, the Hunting Act 2004 was enacted in law, meaning that it has been 17 years since fox hunting was outlawed. It has been 17 years of protection for foxes, deer and other British wildlife… or has it?
Ironically, now is the season of new life in wildlife – badger cubs are reliant on their caring mothers, fox cubs await the day they can frolic in fields and the time for brave little nestlings to spread their wings is almost here.
New life for wildlife, but little do they know of what cruelty awaits.
The deception of ‘trail hunts’
Week after week, we still see hunts out apparently ‘hunting within the law’. However, the conviction in the R v HANKINSON trial in October 2021 showed the whole country the true extent of the deception of so-called ‘trail hunts’ and how fox hunters attempt to bypass the laws of the hunting act 2004.
The conviction shook the hunting community, and the momentum of exposing the truth associated with fox hunting continues today.
- Hounds abused and mercilessly killed
- Foxes ‘accidently’ mauled to death
- Stags harassed to exhaustion
- Pets ambushed
- Rural communities left in fear.
We continue to support our colleagues at organisations like League Against Cruel Sports and Keep the Ban on the campaign to get more landowners to see the horror of the truth, and ban hunts from their land, as well as petitions such as Mini’s Law (protecting pets from becoming victims too).
Seventeen years is too long to wait for change
The barbaric end of animals at the hands of these perpetrators is sickening, and we have had enough.
Our wildlife has every right to live free of fear of persecution by man, free of fear from being ripped apart by dogs and free to nourish our natural environment as they do so much. Seventeen years is far too long to wait for genuine change.
What are we doing to protect our wildlife, and strengthen the Hunting Act 2004?
Join us at the Enough is Enough event
I will be on the panel at the upcoming League Against Cruel Sports, ‘Enough is Enough’ discussion event in Cheltenham on Friday 25th February 2022. The events are a series of panellist discussions with the public, debating hunting with dogs, and the strengthening required to combat the ongoing issue.
The debate is so important to me, as our wildlife doesn’t have a voice, but we do and whilst there remains daily occurrences of barbaric cruelty to our wildlife, we must be that voice for them.
I’d love to see as many people there as possible to hear your voices, hear what you really think and to hear what we can all do to prevent another 17 years of misery. The more we talk about what happens, the more people know just how much brutality really takes place in our countryside.
Get your FREE ticket to the event.
Make Wildlife Count
We’re currently running a campaign calling on the Minister of State in the Home Office, Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, to value wildlife and make it count.
Currently, wildlife crimes in the majority are recorded by the police, under the instruction of the Home Office, as ‘miscellaneous’ offences. This means they’re lumped in with other offences and the true data to enable effective policing is non-existent.
How do you know how much of a problem it is if it’s not even measured?
We believe that wildlife crimes are just a short glimpse of the true criminality that trails perpetrators, such as county line gang, drug dealing and domestic/child abuse. The link between animal abuse and domestic/child abuse is so obvious to most, yet the government fail to appreciate the true value of looking at these crimes holistically, with genuine data.
Please support our ‘Make Wildlife Count’ campaign – remember that without your voice for our wildlife, there is nothing but silence.
We will continue to investigate those that hunt wildlife with dogs, provide educational resources to our younger generations on the importance of kindness to animals and many other avenues of our work to advance animal welfare.
We will continue the fight against hunting wildlife with dogs. It is 2022 and there is absolutely no place in society for such disgusting behaviour. Seventeen years ago, I was a clueless teenager – I don’t want to wait to see what another 17 years of abuse will do to our British wildlife.
Enough is enough.
Written by Kate Parker, Wildlife Crime campaign manager
