Why foxes should not be hunted

Fox hunting also relies on terriers to chase foxes underground. This so-called terrier work leads to painful injuries to both the dogs and the foxes. During the hunting season individuals, often terrier men will be out early in the morning prior to a hunt meet, blocking up badger setts.

This is to stop the quarry, usually a fox from escaping down the hole and ruining the chase. If a fox does escape into a badger sett during the hunt, then often digging out will take place. Digging out is where members of the hunt, usually terrier men, dig out the fox so the chase to continue. Not only is this cruel but it is also illegal as badger setts are protected by law.

If you are out in the countryside and witness anybody attempting to block a badger sett please dial if the crime is in progress. On discovering a blocked badger sett call and report to the Badger Trust.

You can also report any suspected crime to our Animal Crimewatch. Hunts can cause havoc in the countryside when the pack of hounds picks up the scent of a fox. Anyone suffering from hunt havoc can contact our Animal Crimewatch team. Hunting wild mammals with dogs for sport was banned in Scotland in and England and Wales in These are fantastic achievements!

However, the battle to stamp out hunting in the UK is not yet won as these bans have not been properly enforced, the attempts to eliminate or weaken them continue, and hunting is still legal in Northern Ireland. There were two attempts by the Government to weaken the Hunting Act, most recently in July The League was at the forefront of the campaign to ensure that this attempt to bring back hunting by the back door did not succeed.

In September we teamed up with respected explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes to educate MPs attending the Conservative Party conference about the realities of hunting, resulting in Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom to drop mention of repeal from her speech.

As a key player in the hard-fought battle to get hunting with dogs banned in the first place, the League Against Cruel Sports is working hard to ensure the Hunting Act in England and Wales, and the Wild Mammals Protection Scotland Act in Scotland are properly enforced and strengthened to remove any exemptions.

We are also working to achieve a ban on hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland, which remains the only jurisdiction in the UK where it is still legal. After 95 years of campaigning to both bring about and enforce a hunting ban with hounds for sport, we remain ever-vigilant in defence of the ban and will tirelessly campaign to both secure and strengthen it.

Contact your MP and ask them to urge their party to keep and strengthen the fox hunting ban. Join one of our supporter groups to help us raise awareness that fox hunting still takes place. Those opposed to the ban argue that otherwise law-abiding members of society are a persecuted minority, and public support for the hunts remains strong. At Boxing Day hunts in , held just two years after the law went into effect, more than , people showed up to watch and participate in the hunts [source: Associated Press ].

Some fox hunters have turned to drag hunting, which still involves dressing up in the traditional clothing and engaging in all the pre-hunt revelry. When it comes time to hunt, however, there's no fox to be seen. Rather, hounds follow a scent, such as fox urine. Drag hunting, as you might expect, is seen as much less thrilling as a real fox hunt; for one thing, the scent is spread in advance, leading to a much more controlled and less spur of the moment sort of feeling [sources: Yazigi , Lyall ].

And even when drag hunting, it seems a fox can inadvertently cross the hounds' path. It remains to be seen if the British ban will have any effect on the rest of the world. As we mentioned, the goal of fox hunts in the United States has always been just to chase the fox, and not to kill it.

But after the debate in the United Kingdom, fox hunting is a sport with some serious image issues. Follow the lead of your foxhound, who's sniffing out more great information on hunting topics, to the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots.

Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Outdoor Activities. Hunting Principles. What's so bad about fox hunting? Is fox hunting bad? This painting by Peter Paul Rubens captures the chaos at the moment the fox is captured.

Fact vs. Fiction - the myths surrounding the Hunting Act We debunk some of the myths surrounding the Hunting Act. Donate to help animals Give whatever you can and help give animals in need a second chance. Puppy trade. Breed Specific Legislation. Stun before slaughter. Sentient beings. Farm Animals. Cheap chicken. Tougher sentencing. Make Wales kinder for animals.

The Westminster Government's inquiry into Hunting With Dogs, concluded: The overall contribution of traditional fox hunting, within the overall total of control techniques involving dogs is almost insignificant in terms of management of the fox population as a whole. Fiction: Foxes are dangerous to people and pets! Fact : This is simply scaremongering. Fiction: Hunting is humane, foxhounds are trained to kill with a nip to the back of the neck Fact : You don't need to be a scientist to know that chasing a mammal, often to the point of exhaustion and allowing a pack of dogs to rip it apart, in the name of 'sport', is inhumane.

Fiction: Hunts target old, weak and sick animals to maintain the health of the population Fact : This is nonsense.

Fiction: Nobody has the right to ban a sport, this is an issue of civil liberties Fact : There's no human right to be cruel to an animal in the name of 'sport' or otherwise.

Campaign for animal welfare We aim to prompt political and behavioural change on a range of animal welfare-related issues. Fox hunting How hunting has changed since the Hunting Act banned fox hunting.