Labour closes in on outlawing trail hunting: Government warns practice is being used as a ‘smokescreen’ for killing foxes and hares_Nhy
Labour is risking another countryside clash by pressing ahead with its manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting.
As thousands gather for traditional Boxing Day meets, the Government has confirmed it will outlaw the practice of hounds and riders following an animal scent laid across the countryside.
The Department for Environment, Rural Affairs and Food (Defra) claimed trail hunting is being used as a ‘smokescreen’ for illegal activity, 20 years after the previous Labour government banned fox hunting.
A spokesman told the PA news agency: ‘This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in a generation and that is exactly what we will do.
‘We are committed to a ban on trail hunting, which is being exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares.’
Emma Judd, head of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, agreed, saying: ‘It’s 20 years since the Hunting Act was passed but, since then, figures we compile consistently suggest hunts still chase and kill foxes as they did before the ban.
‘Hunts may claim they are following a pre-laid animal scent trail, known as trail hunting, but this has been shown to be nothing but a smokescreen to conceal old-fashioned illegal hunting.’
Labour MP Dan Norris, who chairs the anti-hunting group, urged ministers to ‘listen to the majority view, including in rural areas, to close the legal loopholes that allow needless cruelty to animals, and implement a proper ban on hunting once and for all’.
Members of the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt take part in the annual Boxing Day trail hunt, as they head towards Chiddingstone Castle, Britain, December 26, 2023
Protesters hold placards criticising the hunt and the hunt supporters during a 2023 demonstration
The Government has confirmed it will outlaw the practice of hounds and riders following an animal scent laid across the countryside.
But Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, claimed trail hunting was irrelevant to most people and it would be ‘extraordinary’ for Labour to focus on it given the anger among rural voters over its inheritance tax raid on farms.
He said: ‘Given where the government is in its relationship with the countryside already, frankly it would seem extraordinary that they’d want to double down on an issue which really doesn’t matter.
‘It’s one of those elements that brings the rural community together and to remove that through an act of spite, if that was to happen, would be something which I think people would react extremely badly to.’
Joe Emmett, master and huntsman of the South Devon Hunt, said: ‘The hunt plays an important role in our local community and meets like Boxing Day are the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors to the area to come together.’
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Mauritius demands more from Britain in deal for Chagos Islands – as Labour desperate to sign it off before Donald Trump enters White House
Mauritius is demanding more from Britain in the deal for the Chagos Islands with Labour desperate to sign it off before Donald Trump gets into the White House.
Ministers were accused by a senior member of the Mauritius government of ‘trying to make’ it sign an agreement after it rejected the original one and ‘quibbling over a small amount’.
It is another embarrassment for Labour as it tries to seal the treaty promptly in case Mr Trump decides it risks the security of an Anglo-American military base on one of the islands.
Under the terms of the deal announced in October, the UK will give up sovereignty of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius but maintain a 99-year lease for the Diego Garcia base for an undisclosed price.
According to the BBC, Mauritian deputy prime minister Paul Berenger said on Sunday: ‘They are trying to make us sign and quibbling over a small amount.’
He has admitted his country needs funds ‘but not under any conditions’.
Labour is desperate to sign it off on the deal as soon as possible (Pictured: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer)
Labour want the deal to be done before Donald Trump gets into the White House
As part of the arrangement with Mauritius, the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia – the largest of the islands – will remain operational for at least 99 years
Last night the Friends of the British Overseas Territories charity said: ‘There was never any need for a 99-year lease.
‘The Chagos Islands are British sovereign territory and any capitulation is ridiculous.’
The Mail has previously reported the deal could amount to tens of millions of pounds a year for the duration of the lease.
The Foreign Office declined to comment on the latest claims.
