Hunting industry cries crocodile tears for its hounds

Unconvincing claims by lobbyists that hunts care for their dogs

Doomsday for hunting with dogs took a step closer with the Labour landslide in last Thursday’s General Election. Prior to winning, the new government pledged to strengthen the hunting ban, closing the ‘trail hunting’ loophole that has undermined the Hunting Act 2004.

"As we set out in our manifesto, the next Labour government will strengthen the Hunting Act to end trail hunting that is used as a smokescreen for the illegal hunting of foxes, deer, and hares." Labour Party, June 2024

It's no surprise then that the hunting industry is trying to pull at the public's heartstrings when it cries crocodile tears of "what will happen to all the hounds? Do you want them to be put down?"

What about the dogs?

On 28 June, the Countryside Alliance (which speaks on behalf of a dwindling band of so-called ‘countryside sports’ fanatics) released a video on social media. They used a small child - who says that he takes beagle puppies for walks - to try to suggest to the public that hunting is an affectionate rural pastime for the pleasure of humans and hounds alike.

The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), meanwhile, wailed that it "WILL NOT GIVE UP" (capital letters are the BHSA's) as it opposes Labour's "mean and vindictive assault on the countryside in general and on hounds in particular."

And the Chair of the BHSA, William Astor - a Tory member of the House of Lords, and former Master and Chairman of the Old Berkshire Hunt - penned his own piece for The Telegraph on 15 June.

He said:

"Hounds are pack animals, difficult to rehome. They are more likely to eat a sofa than sit on one. Does an incoming Labour government really want to be responsible for the unnecessary euthanasia of 12,000 animals?"

His argument was a predictable one, used by the hunting industry time and time again. It is a simple tactic, to appeal to a speciesist public - which tends to care far more about dogs and cats than it does other animals - that the end of hunting would mean the inevitable murder of thousands of hounds.

The industry’s ‘dark secret’

Don't be fooled by Astor's narrative. Incontrovertible evidence over the years has shown that hunts routinely abuse their hounds - despite their social media posts gushing about their adorable canine friends.

We know that before the start of each season hunts kill any hounds they deem useless - that is, too old, too slow, or too unpredictable. Former huntsman Clifford Pellow admitted back in the late 90s that “out of a pack of 60 animals, eight to ten are disposed of every season” - approximately 15% of hounds in a pack killed.

Pellow said:

“Those [pups] that fail to make the grade get the bullet; they are taken round the back and shot.

Dogs past their prime (generally, older than five or six years) are also killed.”

And the Countryside Alliance admitted during the Burns Inquiry, which concluded in the year 2000, that:

“The hounds that are put down are those that are unable to keep up with the rest of the pack.

No hunt can afford to keep any hound that is prone to “riot” (hunting non-target quarry). Some toleration can be afforded to young hounds in their first year of autumn hunting. Persistent offenders have to be put down, but in practice they are extremely rare.”

Anti-hunting group Protect Our Wild Animals (POWA) has previously estimated the number of hounds killed per season. Protect the Wild's Glen Black wrote of the findings:

"POWA's calculations suggested between 4942 and 7302 foxhounds killed per year across 195 packs, with approximately 3250 to 4500 of those in English and Welsh hunts. These approximate to 15% of hounds killed per pack. For one specific example, Hunting Leaks’s 2020 documents from the Mendip Farmers Hunt describe the hunt having killed 6.5 couple, or 13 hounds, between April and June of that year. This translates to roughly 16%."

Protect the Wild has previously funded undercover investigations by the Hunt Investigation Team (HIT), exposing how hunts treat their dogs. One investigation revealed harrowing undercover footage showing the notorious Beaufort Hunt shooting dead four of its hounds.  The videos show men shooting the animals and carrying them off for disposal in wheelbarrows. This was the first time that a hunt had ever been caught on camera shooting their hounds, but this is not to say that the incident was a one-off.

In November 2020 Herefordshire Hunt Sabs posted a photo on Facebook of a dead North Herefordshire Hunt hound in a bin, and Wildlife Guardian has posted archival images of shot hounds belonging to the Cambridgeshire Hunt and Ludlow Hunt.

HIT also filmed footage over the winter of 2022/23 of the Border Hunt's kennels. The team captured videos of frightened hounds in filthy conditions, proving that despite their claims on social media, as far as hunts are concerned ‘their’ dogs are not ‘loved’ or ‘looked after’ – they are little more than tools to chase and kill wildlife.

There are multiple news stories, too, of hounds being killed on roads, knocked down on railway tracks, and even repeatedly falling down a mineshaft.

If hunts truly cared about the welfare of their dogs we wouldn't see these headlines again and again.

The Forgotten Foxhounds’ Animation

Investigations like those above and the data on the number of hounds being killed led to our commissioning of an animation, ‘The Forgotten Foxhounds’. Narrated by Chris Packham and released earlier this year, the animation has now been viewed millions of times. Audiences have reacted to it strongly, many saying that they had no idea that hounds were being treated this way.

A shorter version has been posted below - for the longer version please go to the Animations page on our website.

No overnight ban

It’s true that were the new government suddenly to ban hunting with dogs there would indeed be a huge number that needed rehoming. But there is no chance at all that hunting will be banned overnight.

While the strangling grip of hunt-enabling and supporting Tory MPs has been removed, no one is seriously suggesting that ridding the countryside of hunts will be top of the new government’s agenda. At their first cabinet meeting the day after taking power, Sir Keir Starmer stressed that the priority will be to ‘rebuild Britain’: delivering economic stability, cutting NHS waiting times, and creating Great British Energy. Much as we would like to see ‘wildlife issues’ at the fore, getting the country back on an even keel after years of chaos and greed-driven politics was always going to take precedence.

No matter the intention or the size of the majority, it will take months of wrangling in both the Commons and (especially) the Lords for any change in legislation to pass anyway.

Besides which hunts can’t say they haven’t been pre-warned. A proper ban on hunting with dogs is going to happen, and if hunts truly loved their hounds they would stop breeding more of them and take the steps necessary to find homes for the hounds they have now. Have no doubt, a great number of animal welfare campaigners would be happy to take on the challenge of giving a home to a dog who has been exploited and mistreated by the hunting industry their whole life.

Whatever they may claim, the evidence is unconvincing that hunts really do care for their dogs…

It would probably be inaccurate to say that hunts don’t care about hounds at all. They put a lot of resources into raising and sustaining their packs, and take a strange pride in their lineage and history, but they view these dogs as tools not as companion animals. Without hunting, they have no need for them.

• We must shut down the abusive and exploitative hunting industry. Together we can make that happen. Join almost 120,000 people and sign our petition calling for a proper ban on hunting and for Labour to bring in new legislation that would close ALL loopholes for good. Add your signature here.

---

Help us protect foxes!

By adopting a fox with Protect the Wild you will help us support monitors and sabs working in the field’ to tackle illegal hunting, and also support our campaign efforts to stop the MOD from issuing so-called ‘trail hunting’ licences.

As an adopter you can also choose to receive an exclusive Protect the Wild adoption pack including cuddly toy, glossy photo, and an information fact sheet. And we will keep you up to date by email on our latest campaigns and the important work we’re doing to safeguard wild foxes.