A DAMNING new report has revealed how Warwickshire residents have been among the most frequent victims of alleged antisocial behaviour from fox and deer hunts.
Animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports says its report – ‘Hunt Havoc: the human cost of hunting with hounds’ – is based on eyewitness reports which reveal the disruption hunts are causing across the British countryside.
Warwickshire was the fourth-most affected county out of 53 included in the report, with 21 reported incidents of hunts seen chasing and killing animals, intimidating individuals and communities, hunting on railway lines and roads, and chasing and sometimes killing livestock and pets since 2018.
Chris Luffingham, director of external affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The report clearly shows how hunts impact people’s lives, their livelihoods and communities, simply for their own sordid entertainment – every single week during the hunting season we are getting reports of hunt havoc occurring across Britain.
“We urge members of the public to get in touch if they have been the victim of a hunt to help us document their behaviour so we can strengthen the Hunting Act and end hunting with dogs once and for all.”
Hunting was banned in February 2005 with the introduction of the Hunting Act, but hunting with dogs still continues, and ‘trail hunting’ – where a scent is laid for hounds to follow – is permitted.
New polling commissioned by the League and conducted by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus showed 76 per cent of voters in Warwickshire backed moves to strengthen the Hunting Act.
More than half of respondents in Warwickshire said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate in the next general election who pledged to strengthen the Hunting Act – with only six per cent saying they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate.
Chris added: “It’s time for change. It’s time for hunting with dogs to be stopped for good and the Government needs to strengthen the Hunting Act to achieve this.”
The Warwickshire Hunt has not responded to a request for comment.
