GOOD NEWS: 2026 is looking bleak for fox hunters

And Brown Hares may finally get some protetction

As 2025 draws to a close, the coming year is looking bleak for supporters of hunting with hounds. Baroness Hayman of Ullock, the Minister for Animal Welfare, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening the ban on ‘trail hunting’. Labour has released its new animal welfare policy, which sets out its intention to prioritise implementing a ban on the killing of Brown Hares during their breeding season, and to criminalise the use of snares.

Meanwhile, in a move reeking of desperation, the pro-hunt British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has advised UK hunts to separate so-called terrier ‘work’ from ‘trail hunting’. This about-face from the BHSA shows that the hunting lobby is worried about what the future holds. Wildlife defenders have been calling for an end to the horror of terrier ‘work’ for more years than we care to count. The Association’s surprise move is an attempt to pre-emptively save face ahead of the public consultation on a renewed ban on trail hunting, which is scheduled for early 2026.

Labour pledged in its 2024 election manifesto to enact a new ban on ‘trail hunting’. However, the party has been dragging its feet since promising a consultation on a renewed ban earlier this year. In late October, Dame Angela Eagle, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, confirmed that the consultation on the new ban would take place in early 2026.

Now, Baroness Helene Hayman, Minister for Animal Welfare, has reiterated Labour’s commitment to enacting a ban. She said:

“In our manifesto we said we would ban trail hunting, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.

There are concerns that trail hunting is being used a smokescreen for the hunting of wild animals, and that’s not acceptable.

We are working out the best approach to take the ban forward and will run a consultation to seek views in the new year.”

Her statement was rebuffed by Conservative politician Kevin Hollinrake (MP for Thirsk and Malton) and by the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage. Never one to baulk at blatant hypocrisy, Farage called the government “authoritarian control freaks”. He ranted on social media (missing the point entirely):

“Labour wants to ban trail hunting. You might as well ban walking dogs in the countryside as they chase rabbits, hares, deer and foxes.”

Ban on shooting hares during breeding included in Labour’s animal welfare policy

Amongst other measures in its new animal welfare policy, the government says it will finally prioritise banning the killing of Brown Hares during their breeding season - a measure which has long been demanded by wildlife defenders.

Labour Nature Minister Mary Creagh said:

“Brown Hares are a cherished part of our countryside, an iconic British species, and it’s simply wrong that so many are shot during breeding season. I am determined to stop the decline of this wonderful animal.”

The government’s stated intentions to restrict the killing of hares by creating a “closed season” are, of course, welcome. However, we would like to see an outright ban on shooting hares. Hare populations have declined in the UK primarily due to agricultural intensification which has removed diverse food and shelter and created monocultures poor in biodiversity, but they still face intense persecution from shooting, coursing, and hunting by beagle and basset packs. It’s high time we put a stop to the cruelty once and for all.

According to the Born Free Foundation:

“Numbers of brown hares…have reduced from perhaps as many as 4 million in the late 19th century, to less than 600,000 in 2022 based on British Trust for Ornithology Surveys. That’s something like an 85% decline in a century and a half.”

Labour’s animal welfare policy also includes its intention to enact a ban on snare traps. Check out Protect the Wild’s petition to demand an immediate ban on these cruel devices.

The British Hound Sports Association’s desperate bid to distance hunting from ‘terrierwork’

During the leaked Zoom webinars held in 2020, Mark Hankinson (then Director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association) described terriermen as the “soft underbelly“ of so-called trail hunting. Hankinson used the phrase because it is impossible to justify the presence of terriermen - whose traditional role is to “dig out” foxes - during a “trail hunt”. As the government’s consultation on ‘trail hunting’ draws closer, the BHSA has just got a conscience about terrier ‘work’.

The Association has released advice stating that:

“Hunts and Masters are responsible for ensuring that no terrier work or terrier-related activity is associated with a day’s trail hunt.”

The BHSA says that hunts will be suspended from ‘trail hunting’ if they break the rules. The Association says that in the future ‘trail hunts’ should not be seen going out equipped for terrier ‘work’ with quads and terriers and that hunt staff should not wear masks (as terriermen typically do to avoid identification and prosecution) except for “safety purposes” or during “severe weather”.

At Protect the Wild we see this as a purely cosmetic move by the BHSA, which is intended to influence the upcoming consultation and is unlikely to be followed through in any meaningful way.

Terriermen are part and parcel of fox hunting. They can be seen following the hunt on quad bikes, wearing balaclavas and carrying spades. Their role is to dig foxes out who have gone to ground or to send dogs into their hiding places to flush them out. When they have been dragged out, the terrified creature is typically thrown to the hounds - as was the case with the Coniston Foxhounds and Teme Valley Hunt which angered the public after being caught on video doing their dirty work last month. Lake District Hunt Saboteurs’ video of the brutal killing went viral, triggering a police operation. 16 arrests have been made so far.

The Hunt Saboteur’s Association (HSA) responded angrily to the BHSA’s announcement, pointing out the obvious loopholes which would allow for the regulations not to be enforced:

“The latest reaction by the BHSA appears to be a ploy to try and legitimise themselves and portray a law-abiding stance. However with four times convicted ex-huntsman Julian Barnfield as the executive director, we expect this statement will disappear into the ether, along with their false threats of repercussions for hunts who do not abide by these rules.

For every point they’ve made in the statement there’s a loophole, and these hunts have been functioning for twenty years thanks to loopholes in the current law.”

The HSA pointed out that the BHSA statement contains a get-out clause whereby hunts and hunt masters can avoid repercussions as long as they claim that the terriermen present were not part of the hunt. Bearing in mind that investigations by the BHSA’s regulatory arm, the British Hound Sports Regulatory Authority (BHSRA), are essentially hunters investigating themselves, we wouldn’t hold our breath for them to take action.

• Please check out Protect the Wild’s campaign to end ‘terrierwork’ here.

• While parliament is debating a renewed ban on ‘trail hunting’ and the tightening of loopholes on other bloodsports, wildlife is still in peril on a daily basis. Please consider joining your local group of hunt saboteurs or monitors in the New Year.

• Take a look at Protect the Wild’s factsheet on the Brown Hare.

• Sign our petition calling for a proper ban on hunting, and check out our proposal for a workable ban on the hunting of mammals with hounds.

• Use Protect the Wild’s automated tool to email your MP and demand that they ensure that Labour follows through with enacting a proper ban on hunting.

• Check out Protect the Wild’s 2025 report, ‘The True Face of Hunting with Hounds’.

Image of fox nursing her cubs via Jeremy Hynes/Unsplash. Photo of hare shoot in Banham, 15 February 2025, courtesy of Norwich Hunt Saboteurs. Image of terriermen out with the East Kent with West Street Hunt via screenshot/YouTube.

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