Call to action - let's end fox hunting forever.
Easy Actions - all in one place
hunting is on the brink of being banned properly, but there is still work to do.
Did you think hunting with dogs had already been banned? Yes, it was (in 2005) but the Hunting Act just didn’t do the job. Hunts continued to chase wild mammals and kill them despite the ban, and by and large, they got away with it. The main reason they got away with it was because the hunts called themselves ‘trail hunts’ rather than fox hunts, and made out that they were trail hunting (following an artificially laid trail) and not fox hunting. Of course, all of that was a lie. It is universally acknowledged that hunts are hunting wild mammals, as if the Hunting Act didn’t exist. Things are changing however.
The Government has promised to strengththen the Hunting Act, and they are sticking by that promise. They are starting a consultation later this year.
But there is work to do and if you have a few minutes, you can help. Please browse through our actions below and give one or two of them a shot.
Much of it can be done from home.
Government Consultation Concerning Hunting
Take action FROM HOME, send emails – 10 mins
Pending the change in the law, the Government has said that they will be circulating a consultation to all stakeholders. We don’t know the contents yet. However, we need to be ready for it.
The MOST USEFUL thing you can do for now is let your MP know that you are interested and you hope that they will be too. If you know your MP is a pro hunter, write anyway. Even Conservative MPs are starting to regret their stance during their time in Government. Simon Hoare, for instance (though there is no doubt he has no personal moral objection to hunting) has said “things that were accepted in the past are unacceptable now”.
The Consultation is coming out in the autumn, so we need to get busy now.
Here is a TEMPLATE LETTER
Here is a link to find out who your MP is.
letters to the paper and how to do it
Time needed – about 1 hr
You’ll need access to the Internet, or a hard copy of the local paper. You can email the paper, or send them an actual letter.
Anyone can write to the paper about hunting. All you need to do is find the website for your local paper, find the email address for the editor or the newsdesk, and send them an email. It’s a powerful way to inform lots of people about what is going on.
Here is a TEMPLATE LETTER. It’s a good idea to adapt it for your local area.
If you are not sure of the arguments, or what is currently going on, check out the links above and do a bit of self-training. If you have any other questions, email me info@actionagainstfoxhunting.org
knowing the hunters’ arguments to keep trail hunting
There are no good reasons to continue to allow trail hunting, but the hunters still keep on coming up with them. Our list is a ‘work in progress’ and more will be added.
landowners and access to land to hunt on
Take action FROM HOME – 10 mins
Prep – 30 mins
You’ll need a PRINTER, an ENVELOPE and a STAMP
Many landowners are fed up with the hunts. However, many others are still allowing hunts to use their land. Our Landowers Letters (letters which explain that a landowner could end up in court for allowing illegal hunting on their land) are ready for you to use.
Sending a Landowners Letter couldn’t be easier. You can do it in AAF’s name – no need to reveal your own.
Here’s more information.
focus on stag hunting
Take action FROM HOME: educate yourself – 45 mins
If the Government outlaw trail hunting, but leave the exemptions intact, stag hunting will continue. Stag hunts are openly chasing and killing stags every time time they go out in hunting season. The stag hunting season is much longer than the fox hunting season.
Police are not challenging the stag hunts – we can only guess at the full reasons – because the stag hunts are trying to look as if they are obeying the law by using only two dogs at a time to chase the stag. The exemptions in the Hunting Act allow the use of two dogs in some cases. For more detail and a greater understanding of what is going on, please click here and take a look at our sister page, Action Against Staghunting.
Whenever you take any action concerning the new law (letters, Social Media comments etc) MENTION THE STAGS. Let’s not forget them.
Influence defra the decision makers
Take action IN THE STREET
Prep – 30 mins
Action – up to you. Our outreaches are usually 3 hrs
For some time now, we have been getting signatures on our “Cards to Defra”. We have been campaigning in the streets to make sure that the public knows about hunting and the change in the law.
Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) will be the ones to write any new law. Steve Reed MP is the minister. Also in the Department is Baroness Sue Hayman (from the Lords) who is an animal rights activists.
For more information about our cards, and how you can help, please click here. The more cards we hand out in the streets, the better.
Boxing Day and New Year’s Day campaigns
Take action FROM HOME, and IN PERSON (if you can)
Learning all about it – 1 hour
Local research – a couple of hours
Contacting councils – impossible to say, depends on response
I always puzzled about this: Fox hunting is illegal and the majority of people oppose it. So, why has it carried on for so many years? Why has it been so difficult to get police, MPs and anyone else with authority to do something about it? The answer is simple (fairly).
It’s because hunters have successfully presented themselves as pillars of the community. In particular, there are MANY local councillors who are hunters.
In the effort to maintain respectability, the hunts make a very big deal of their public events. Boxing Day meets often take place in the middle of towns. To any passer-by, it looks like some sort of official, civic event, backed by the Town Councils. In reality, it is more complex than this.
We have sucessfully shut down and limited a number of Boxing Day meets, but need more action by locals.
If you join AAF, you can also come to our monthly online meetings: Boxing Day Focus Group, where you will find all the support and help you need. We screen all requests to join our group.
For more information about how to challenge a meet, click here
social media: comments and posts
If you have your phone, you can do this from anywhere at all. The time it takes will depend on you.
You’ll need – access to Facebook and (or) X, time to find the anti-hunting and pro-hunting pages and accounts. You might need to join a few anti and pro groups. Local pages are also useful.
Hunts make BIG USE of Social Media. We need to be on it, but we must stay factual, and courteous at all times.
To know your facts, have a look at these links:
Pro Hunting Arguments and Why They are False
Questions the Public Asks, and the Answers
Unfounded reasons not to ban trail hunting