Blazing a trail
HOUNDS will meet at 30 locations across the country this Saturday (September 14) for hunts to give a demonstration of how trailhunting works. From Cornwall to Norfolk, Carmarthenshire to Northumberland, host packs will welcome subscribers, supporters and members of the public, on foot and mounted, with invitations sent to the police, media and Government by the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA). Meets will be at 11am, with customary hospitality, but no cap will be charged.
The day has been organised in response to Labour’s manifesto pledge that it would ban trail hunting, despite some 250,000 days since the 2004 ban, under often aggressive scrutiny, yielding only 25 successful prosecutions. Hunts maintain and plant hedgerows and coverts, provide a fallen-stock service for farmers, support jobs, sustain a social network that crosses ages and backgrounds and offer the highest standards of care for hounds and horses. Fundraising by hunts garnered £460,000 for 92 different charities in a recent season.
‘Trail hunting is a legal, legitimate and wellregulated countryside activity. A ban... would have a devastating impact on rural communities, leading to the closure of kennels and the loss of the many jobs linked to trail hunting in often isolated areas where employment is scarce,’ points out Olly Hughes, managing director of the BHSA. ‘A ban would tear apart the sense of community trail hunts create.’
Visit www.bhsa.org.uk for details of your nearest National Trail Hunting Day. OP