Pressure builds in the United Kingdom over trail hunting

Tens of thousands of people in rural areas of the United Kingdom have gathered to witness an old tradition – the Boxing Day hunt. Activists claim trail hunting – where a scent is laid for hounds to follow – is being used to conceal illegal fox hunting activities. Fox hunting was banned in 2004 by the then-Labour government. “There are people called hunt monitors who watch hunts and their activities, and they’ve seen, repeatedly, over 300 incidents in the last year alone,” League Against Cruel Sports Chair Dan Norris said. The Ministry of Defence has been accused of turning a blind eye to illegal hunts occurring on their land. “We take our duty of care for all users of the Defence estate seriously, to ensure that those who choose to frequent our land for recognised legal pursuits do not encounter intimidation or have their safety compromised,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.