BBC caught out over false claim that the Holderness Hunt doesn’t hunt foxes

On 5 January 2026, BBC Look North, the regional programme covering East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, broadcast a report on the Holderness Hunt that contained a serious and misleading factual error.

In the opening statement, reporter Amanda White said:

“These Old English foxhounds have never been fox hunting; it became illegal long before they were born.”

That statement is factually incorrect.

The local monitoring group Hull Wildlife Protectors (HWP) holds extensive video and photographic evidence showing that these same hounds have repeatedly chased, caught, and killed foxes, long after the Hunting Act 2004 came into force.

According to HWP:
• 2019: Holderness Hunt hounds chased and killed a vixen. Despite the strength of the footage, the CPS dropped the case. The video clearly shows the hounds pursuing and killing a fox.
• 2023: The hounds caught and killed another fox.
• January 2024: The hounds were responsible for killing a badger, killing a deer, and pursuing a protected species. This incident has resulted in an ongoing court case, scheduled for 16 and 17 March 2026.
• November 2024: The hounds trespassed into a woman’s garden and reportedly killed a fox. While there was insufficient evidence for a Hunting Act prosecution, police issued the hunt with a Community Protection Notice (CPN).
• February 2025: The hounds caught and killed another fox, reportedly during a Holderness Pony Club meet. Former huntsman Tom Wright has been charged under section 1 of the Hunting Act 2004 for hunting a wild mammal with dogs.
• March 2025: The hounds killed a pregnant vixen. HWP recovered body parts and found foetuses.

HH hounds reportedly kill vixen, fox foetuses are ripped from her womb and left behind.

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Against this record, the BBC’s claim that these hounds have “never been fox hunting” is indefensible.

How can hounds repeatedly kill foxes, while a former huntsman is charged twice with hunting a wild mammal with dogs, yet viewers are told these hounds have never hunted foxes?

At best, the BBC could have accurately stated that the Holderness Hunt has not yet been convicted, but has been charged and is facing multiple court proceedings. That distinction matters.

By presenting an untrue and sanitised narrative, the BBC has misled viewers and minimised a long documented pattern of harm to wildlife.

Why This Matters and What You Can Do

The BBC is legally required to log and assess every formal complaint it receives. These complaints are reviewed against the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines on Accuracy, which prohibit misleading audiences and require corrections when serious factual errors are made. This is not about opinion. It is about media accuracy.

When misinformation is broadcast unchallenged, it becomes accepted as fact. The only way to force accountability is through volume. The more people who submit individual complaints, the harder it becomes for the BBC to dismiss the issue or quietly move on.

We are therefore calling on the BBC to:

• Publicly correct the error

• Issue an apology

• Acknowledge the misleading nature of the report

The more people who submit individual complaints, the harder it is for the BBC to dismiss the issue as minor or isolated. A high number of logged complaints:

• Triggers internal editorial review

• Forces senior editors to examine the accuracy claim

• Strengthens any escalation to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit

• Lays the groundwork for Ofcom intervention if the BBC refuses to correct the record

This is how accountability works in practice.

If the BBC gets something wrong, it should correct it publicly. But that only happens when people take the time, just a few minutes, to formally complain.

If you care about accurate journalism, public accountability, and the reality of wildlife suffering, please take a few minutes to submit a formal complaint.

Make a complaint:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints

Select:

• News

• BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

• Inaccuracy or misleading content

• 05/1/26

• approx 10-15min in

Every complaint must be logged. Every complaint counts.

Suggested Complaint Text (You Can Copy & Paste)

Please feel free to adapt this in your own words, personal variations are encouraged.

I am writing to formally complain about a factual inaccuracy broadcast on BBC Look North on 5 January 2026 in a report about the Holderness Hunt.

In the opening statement, reporter Amanda White said:
“These Old English foxhounds have never been fox hunting; it became illegal long before they were born.”

This statement is factually incorrect and materially misleading. There is documented evidence that Holderness Hunt hounds have repeatedly chased and killed foxes in recent years, and that former huntsman Tom Wright has been charged under the Hunting Act 2004 in relation to these hounds.

Presenting the claim that these hounds “have never been fox hunting” as fact misleads viewers and undermines accurate public understanding of hunting and wildlife crime.

I am requesting that the BBC correct this error publicly and issue a clarification or apology in line with its Editorial Guidelines on Accuracy.

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