Most people know that fox hunting is illegal in England, Scotland and Wales. It is still legal in Northern Ireland.

It was banned by the Hunting Act 2004 in England and Wales, and originally by the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 in Scotland. But while these were both welcome and hard-fought pieces of legislation, what the general public is beginning to understand it that overwhelming evidence suggests both are either being ignored or exploited by hunts on a regular basis.

So much so, in Scotland ministers have passed the Hunting With Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 in an attempt to properly outlaw the practice.

It’s now time for change in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

While hunting is still legal in Northern Ireland, hunts in England and Wales invented the activity of trail hunting after the fox hunting ban came in. This claims to be a non-lethal sport where the hunt simply follows a pre-laid trail made from animal scent rather than searching for and chasing a fox. However, years of evidence shows that hunts are using trail hunting as a cover for illegal fox hunting. Policing and prosecuting the hunts is incredibly difficult, as the hunts can claim foxes are killed “by accident” rather than design. This is why trail hunting has been described as a “smokescreen” for old fashioned illegal hunting.

Hunts cause havoc in the countryside when the pack of hounds picks up the scent of a fox. It is common for the hunting dogs to maraud through farms, disturb and kill livestock or pets, and often be seen crossing major roads and railway lines – all of which helps to prove that the pack is not following a pre-laid trail.

Hunts in England and Wales also exploit exemptions to the Hunting Act. These were designed to allow certain types of pest control or scientific research but are used by the hunts to give them an excuse to carry on hunting foxes.

If you are opposed to hunting, then you are in the majority. Polling consistently shows the vast majority of the public are opposed to hunting, regardless of whether they live in urban or rural areas. The most recent polling on the issue, conducted by FindOutNow, shows nearly eight out of 10 people are opposed to it.

Hunting is an issue of animal cruelty, nothing else.

Some argue that hunting should continue because it’s a British tradition. However, bear baiting and bull baiting were also traditions, now rightfully consigned to the history books.

Scientific evidence shows that the animals targeted in fox hunting suffer physical and mental stress when chased by a hunt, whether or not they are eventually killed.

The Burns Report produced in the year 2000, ahead of hunting with hounds being banned in 2004, stated that: “There is a lack of firm scientific evidence about the effect on the welfare of a fox of being closely pursued, caught and killed above ground by hounds. We are satisfied, nevertheless, that this experience seriously compromises the welfare of the fox.”

That is one of the reasons hunting with dogs for sport was banned in Britain nearly 20 years ago.

Foxes naturally escape predators by going underground, but hunts employ staff to block up these escape routes the morning before a hunt meet, forcing an unnaturally long chase. If someone is found guilty of blocking a badger sett, it is often done for this reason.

If a fox does succeed in escaping underground, hunt followers send terriers down the hole to trap the fox while they dig it out and then shoot it. Again, the Burns Report concluded that the inability to escape dogs underground causes the fox ‘extreme fear’ and is a ‘serious compromise of its welfare’.

Autopsies reveal hunted foxes are not killed quickly, but endure numerous bites and tears to their flanks and hindquarters - causing enormous suffering before death. Foxes forced to face terriers underground can suffer injuries to the face, head and neck, as can the terriers.