Hunting is about wildlife management: The function of hunting is to maintain sustainable populations of foxes, hares and deer, in balance with other indigenous wildlife and in numbers acceptable to farming interests. Our concern is with responsible management of populations and not simply with pest control. We therefore aim to maintain and enhance natural wildlife habitats that also benefit other wildlife. Thus we are committed to monitoring the health and fitness of many species of wildlife in the countryside.
 
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Breaking the Law Print E-mail

The CHA cannot condone law-breaking, nor can the hunts, who must do all that they can to ensure their survival as legal entities. Those individuals who, nevertheless, feel compelled to break the law should do so in a spirit of civil disobedience as has been defined by the Hunting Declaration, but they must not expose others to prosecution.

That said there is considerable uncertainty as to what you can and cannot do under the Act, and we refer you to the DEFRA website where some of the questions are answered. In particular, according to DEFRA:

‘innocent bystanders who witness an illegal hunt, farmers whose land is used against their will, or people, including those engaged in drag hunting, whose dogs chase and kill a fox against their wishes will not be guilty of a crime. This is because people will be only hunting when they themselves intend to pursue the quarry animal’.

www.defra.gov.uk

It remains to be seen how Magistrates will read this DEFRA response. As we pointed out at the Regional Meetings, there is a clear distinction between defying the law and testing it – there are plenty of opportunities for the latter. Guidance will be forthcoming as we learn from experience.
 
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