Labour call for hunting crackdown as hundreds prepare for Boxing Day meets

Hundreds of the traditional meets are due to go ahead tomorrow, as Sundays are seen as a rest day, but Labour has criticised the Government for granting licences for the hunts and claimed the practice is being used as a cover for illegal fox hunting.

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, said she has written to major landowners to “call on them to end their complicity with hunting”, adding “the barbarism needs to end”.

It comes after National Trust members voted to halt the sport on its land over concerns it was being used as a cover for fox hunting.

Activists claim more than 240 hunting days will have taken place on land owned by the Ministry of Defence this year.

Labour’s shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said: “Allowing hunts to go ahead on public and Government-owned land is completely irresponsible, regardless of whether those taking part are the Prime Minister’s mates.

“The Government must do more to close the loopholes that allow people to break the law and consign hunting to the history books, where the vast majority of us believe it belongs.”

The League Against Cruel Sports has also called on the Government to strengthen the Hunting Act, which banned the hunting of wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales in 2004, to “ensure its loopholes can no longer be exploited.”

But the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance said around 250 packs of foxhounds, harriers and beagles are “still going strong”, 17 years after the introduction of the legislation, and hunters are now looking forward to this year’s festive meets.

Polly Portwin, director of the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, said: “Festive meets such as the hundreds taking place outside tomorrow are hugely popular and well attended by both hunt followers and local communities, for whom the event has become a cherished family tradition.

“While this year many meets are likely to be smaller scale and some people will opt to stay at home, they still provide a big boost both socially and economically throughout the countryside, as does trail hunting throughout the season.

“We would urge those who plan on attending to please take a lateral flow test and not to attend in the event of a positive reading or if you are feeling unwell.”