Overview
- The government launched a public consultation Thursday that runs until 18 June to design legislation that would ban trail hunting.
- Trail hunting uses a pre‑laid animal scent for hounds to follow, and Defra says dogs can switch to live animals and harm wildlife or pets.
- Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, who leads hunting policy for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, has called trail hunting a smokescreen that lets illegal fox hunting continue.
- Ministers say drag hunting and clean‑boot hunting, which use non‑animal scents or a human runner, will stay legal to support rural jobs and events without risking wildlife.
- Animal‑welfare groups welcomed the move and urged tougher laws, while the Countryside Alliance called it unnecessary and warned of economic harm, and some reports suggest a ban could be ready before the autumn season though the government has not set a final timetable.