Despite the ban on fox hunting, Gloucestershire has been identified by animal welfare campaigners as the county with the highest number of fox hunting incidents in England and Wales. Data from the League Against Cruel Sports reveals that during the most recent fox hunting and preceding cub hunting seasons, which concluded in March, a total of 488 foxes were observed being chased nationwide.
Alarmingly, over half of these incidents—234 in total—occurred in the West Country, with Gloucestershire alone accounting for 75 of the reported incidents. Following Gloucestershire were Dorset with 61, Somerset with 55, and Devon with 36 incidents respectively.
The West Country also saw 552 incidents of so-called ‘hunt havoc,’ representing 45% of the country’s total 1,220 reported cases. These incidents include trespassing, chasing non-target wildlife such as deer, livestock worrying, hounds running onto railway lines, and causing road traffic accidents.
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The League Against Cruel Sports has released these figures amid a 12-week government consultation to ban trail hunting, a practice often criticized as a cover for illegal fox hunting.
Emma Slawinski, Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, emphasized the urgency for tougher fox hunting laws: “These startling figures demonstrate that fox hunting remains a brutal blood sport in the West Country, despite the ban. The public now has the opportunity to help end it by participating in the government consultation to outlaw trail hunting.”
Particularly notorious was the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, based in Gloucestershire, which reportedly chased 44 foxes and was involved in 70 ‘hunt havoc’ incidents alone.
In response, Jim Barrington, former executive director of the League Against Cruel Sports speaking on behalf of the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, questioned the validity of the data. He argued, “These figures come from unverified reports by biased activists and should not form the basis of policy decisions that affect rural communities. Since the Hunting Act’s enactment 20 years ago, there have been 250,000 days of lawful hunting but only about 50 convictions. The police enforce the law where evidence exists, and most hunts comply.”
Gloucestershire Police have also been contacted for comment.