‘£100m may be lost, plus jobs and homes, from rural economies’ due to trail hunt ban
Trail hunt campaigners say more than £100m will be lost from rural economies, jobs and homes lost and the lives of 12,000 hounds and 6,000 horses put at risk if a government proposed ban goes ahead.
At least 500 people directly employed by hunts will be left without jobs and homes, but the knock on effect will be felt by rural businesses from farriers to pubs and local butchers.
It comes as the countryside still reels from farmers’ inheritance tax relief rows, taxing of rural pubs and businesses with greater National Insurance and increased business rates, the scrapping of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme and extra layers of bureaucracy surrounding shotgun licenses, which will impact the game shooting sector.
Organisations, such as the Countryside Alliance (CA) and the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA), are trying to rally members to make their objections and concerns surrounding the proposed Animal Welfare Bill known.
Polly Portwin, the CA’s director of the campaign for hunting, said: “For us as an Alliance and people involved in that, it comes as no surprise, but it has been a real shock to the majority of our community who are not as politically aware.
"We have been prepared for quite a long time and knew it was coming.
“The key for us is getting our community together, engaging, making sure they respond and the government is aware of the impact.”
In particular, the CA and BHSA want to raise awareness of the impact a ban on hunting would have on people and animals.
There are 228 packs registered with BHSA, which is the equivalent to around 11,500 hounds. More than 8,000 horses are used directly for hunting with many unable to be re-purposed.
Ms Portwin said: “What are the government going to do with 12,000 hounds. These hounds have been bred for hundreds of years and live as pack animals.
"People will say ‘I have rehomed one’ and it is not impossible, but this is 12,000.
“We know dog rescues are full of dogs people bought in lockdown. The government is creating a problem, so what is their alternative?”
Hunts also carry out a fallen stock service for farmers, collecting dead or stillborn livestock from farms and disposing of the carcass or using it for hound feed.
BHSA says this service saves farmers, the government and local authorities £1.4m each year.
The impact on social isolation is also a concern for the hunting community.
Aside from the money hunting puts into rural hospitality and country businesses - feed merchants, tack shops and clothing stores for example - BHSA argues it does as much to combat mental health and social isolation.
A spokesperson for BHSA said: “It brings a community together in winter months which can be pretty miserable within that September to February period.
"There will be social events like craft fairs, wreath-making, coffee mornings, bingo.
“It is not just people riding across the countryside, it is everything which comes with it.
"The hunt will go out and then go to the pub, when on a Wednesday night do you get 80 people going to a country pub in January?”