Jane Charnley
HUNTS will escape prosecution if they defy the ban on their sport, the Government admitted yesterday as senior police officers warned the new law is unenforceable.
The embarrassing admission from Home Secretary Charles Clarke that the hunting ban will not be a priority for hard-pressed police forces came as hunts across Yorkshire said they would be riding out with hounds as usual – and using loopholes in the law to do so legally.
Their pledge to carry on came as it was revealed the Association of Chief Police Officers had warned the government that policing the ban would be a nightmare, and could not be regarded as a priority.
Thousands of defiant hunt supporters across Yorkshire plan to meet lawfully on Saturday – two days after the ban comes into force – in a bid to keep the centuries-old tradition alive.
Most hunts say there are enough options open to them within the legislation to allow foxes, hares and deer to be legally chased by hounds, though guns may need to be used for the kill.
Many hunt masters remained tight-lipped about the exact form their day will take and one claimed there would definitely be some who would break the law.
Documents from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have highlighted the possibility that these would escape arrest because of the low priority attached to the legislation in the National Policing Plan, and reminded police chiefs that it "confers a power to arrest, not a duty".
While local forces say they will try to enforce the law as any other, the ACPO stance is likely to enrage anti-hunt campaigners and Labour backbenchers who pushed through the ban in November.
But Home Secretary Charles Clarke yesterday backed the move, saying: "If you look at the priorities police have to deal with – dealing with drugs, people trafficking, crime, all kinds of issues – I don't expect fox hunting to be very high on the priorities of any particular police force."
Three options will be available to hunters at the weekend, unless there is an eleventh-hour reversal of the ban by the Court of Appeal in response to a challenge of November's Hunting Act by the Countryside Alliance.
They can use two hounds to "flush out" a fox which must then be shot with a gun, they can exercise a pack of hounds or they can trail or drag hunt, which means the dogs follow a pre-laid scent. But hunts warn it is highly likely a pack of exercising hounds could divert to chase a real fox and any legal action if the fox were killed would rely on prosecutors proving the owners went out with "intent" to hunt.
The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFA) confirmed that animals would be killed on Saturday.
"I don't think anybody would be naive enough to suggest that throughout this entire process that hounds who are behaving legally will not at some stage head off for a fox," said Tim Easby, Yorkshire representative of the MFA and master of the West of Yore hunt.
"I don't believe the police or anybody else would expect that to happen. Accidents will happen. Almost certainly, foxes and hares will be killed on Saturday.
The 42-year-old beef farmer and ex-soldier added: "I'm absolutely certain there are people who are going to break the law but none are known to me."
West of Yore was considering all options, he said, including trail hunting with a natural fox scent. "We will hunt within the law but people need to keep close counsel."
Holderness head huntsman Robert Howarth warned there would be a "tremendous amount of operational difficulties" and said the law was unworkable.
Holderness is one of the biggest hunts in the region, with three hound packs and thousands of acres of North Yorkshire of land at its disposal, from Pocklington to the east coast.
"These hounds are trained and bred to hunt for hundreds of years," Mr Howarth said. "If I'm on hound exercise and we come across a fox and the hounds go for it, technically we're not breaking the law because we aren't going out with intent. If it means we have to wait for the next Conservative government to get back in, we will, but we will continue."
Those riding out on Saturday will run the gauntlet of anti-hunt campaigners keen to catch law-breakers. The League Against Cruel Sports said it had "monitors" who would work with police to spot crime across the country – but admitted none were available to attend Yorkshire hunts this weekend.
The Hunt Saboteurs' Association said, that in addition to spoiling tactics such as sounding horns, undercover activists would be working in Yorkshire to record evidence on video and camera.
South Yorkshire police chief superintendent Dave Turner added: "Practically, where possible, officers will be making contact with masters of hunts and organisers to discuss and negotiate. Our approach will be evidence gathering whilst maintaining responsibility for the prevention of harm to people involved."
Hope hasn't gone – but foxes may: Page 5. Comment: Page 10.