What is the law in the UK in relation to the sport of fox hunting?

Fox Hunting

What is meant by fox hunting?

Fox hunting is a sport in the UK which dates as far back as the 15th century and involves the chasing and killing of a fox by horseman with a pack of hounds.

Is fox hunting illegal?

In 2005 following severe pressure from animal rights campaigners fox hunting was made illegal in England and Wales by the creation of the Hunting Act 2005. A ban on hunting in Scotland had been passed in 2002; however, hunting in Northern Ireland still remains legal.

The Hunting Act 2005

What does the law say?

Under the Hunting Act a person will commit an offence if he hunts a wild animal with a dog unless his hunting is exempt.

What is meant by hunting?

A person will be deemed to be hunting if he engages or participates in the pursuit of a wild mammal, and one or more dogs are employed in that pursuit – whether the dogs are employed by him or whether or not they are under his control is an issue which needs to be examined also.

What is meant by mammal?

A wild mammal is defined by the Hunting Act as including any mammal living in the wild and any wild mammal bred or kept in captivity and then released.

Does this include rats or rabbits?

Rats and rabbits are excluded and a hare may be hunted by any number of dogs if it has been shot.

Clearly the sport of fox hunting fails squarely within the definition of hunting which is expressly prohibited by the Hunting Act.

Exceptions under the Hunting Act

What are the possible exceptions for hunting under the Hunting Act?

There are various exemptions which are prescribed by the Hunting Act, they are as follows:

Up to two dogs may be used to stalk or flush a wild mammal from cover for defined purposes
One dog at a time only, may be used below ground to stalk or flush a wild mammal for the sole purpose of preventing or reducing serious damage to game birds or wild birds being kept or preserved for shooting

Defined Purposes

What is meant by defined purposes?

Defined purposes include the following:

The protection of game birds, wild birds, fisheries, crops and livestock
Obtaining meat
Field trials

To qualify as exempt the above activities must always be done with permission and reasonable steps must be taken for the purposes of ensuring that as soon as possible after being found the wild mammal is shot dead by a competent person and that the dog is brought under sufficient control that it does not prevent the achievement of the objective.

Preventing or reducing serious damage

In this case the person using the dog must carry written permission from the landowner or evidence that he himself is the landowner, which he must produce if asked by a police officer. Accordingly reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that as soon as possible after being found the wild mammal is shot dead by a competent person and that the dog is brought under sufficient control that it does not prevent the achievement of the objective.

Clearly the sport of fox hunting does not fall within any of the exceptions providing for by the hunting act and is therefore a criminal offence.

Will I be liable to prosecution if caught fox hunting?

All offences defined by the Hunting Act will be punishable by a fine of up to £5,000.

Furthermore, dogs, vehicles and equipment used in a hunting offence may be confiscated and if deemed appropriate destroyed.

What will happen if I refuse to pay the fine or comply with a confiscation order?

Any individual who refuses to pay a fine or comply with a confiscation order may be liable to further prosecution and may even be handed a custodial sentence.

Will I be liable under the Hunting Act if I allow fox hunting to happen on my land?

If an individual knowingly permits land which belongs to him to be entered or used in the course of the commission of a hunting offence will themselves be guilty of the offence of assisting hunting under the Hunting Act 2005.

Have there been any challenges against the legality of the hunting act?

Following the inception of the Hunting Act in 2005 supporters of fox hunting in the UK have claimed that the Act is in contravention to the Human Rights Act 1998. In particular they felt that the act contravenes the following rights:

Article 8 – the right to respect for private and family life
Article 11 – the freedom of assembly and association
Article 14 – prohibition of discrimination

A legal challenge was also sought to be brought on the grounds that the Hunting Act may have been in breach of the European Union laws in relation to the free movement of goods.

Both of these cases were rejected by the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Has the Hunting Act been a success in preventing fox hunting in the UK?

Many campaigns in relation to the Hunting Act have felt that the law is confusing and that it is aimed directly at prosecuting people rather than in fact protecting the rights of the animals. Fox hunting is a practice that continues throughout the UK within the parameters of the law as huntsmen are shooting the foxes which is not deemed a criminal act under the Hunting Act 2005.

Furthermore many feel that policing such things as hunting in the countryside is taking valuable police resources away from other important areas of policing in the countryside such as the use of illegal drugs and theft from the elderly.


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