Is the local hunt often in your village? Do they come through with their pack of hounds? Do they leave horse and dog faeces in the road? Do they trespass on private property? Do they occupy footpaths, preventing your enjoyment of them? Do they cause a risk to your domestic animals? Do members of the hunt abuse residents? Is their behaviour unacceptable? 

What you can do about it

Here’s a quick summary:

There is legislation to protect you from anti social behaviour. Find out about the legislation by watching our short video below.

To take action against the hunt, you’ll need collect evidence,

The next thing to do is report the incidents to police and local authority. 

Also, talk to your neighbours and find out what they think

And, contact your local councils – Parish, Town, District and County. The set up in your county might be different – please check online.  Finding a sympathetic councillor is one of the best tools you can have. 

Tell us about it (Contact Form below).

COLLECTING EVIDENCE

Take photos and video of:

Unleashed hounds being taken through the village

Hounds coming through the village with no hunter anywhere nearby

Hounds invading private property

Hounds defecating in a public place, and no one cleaning it up

Hunt vehicles – especially quad bikes – coming through the village. If there is more than one rider, or if the number plate is covered in mud – that is an offence. 

Horses and riders taking up the road, and stopping traffic

Road blocking 

Abuse from hunters 

TAKE VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF EVERYTHING THEY DO IN THE VILLAGE. 

REPORTING IT

If you have watched our video, you will have seen that you can report the incidents to both your local authority and the police. For the local authority, you may have to do a bit of a search to find out which one to report it to. It is probably the County Council, but it might be the District Council (if you have one). Google “Anti Social Behaviour + your county. 

Don’t leave it to others to report it. The more reports the better, especially if they come from different people.

what next?

Follow it up, if you don’t get a satisfactory response. Be persistent. Keep collecting the evidence. Keep making the reports.

Tell us about it

Please use the form below to let us know what’s going on in your area. We can probably help by giving you even more ideas about how to keep the hunts out.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is Anti-Social Behaviour?
Any behaviour that is persistent and causes disruption or annoyance to members of the public. It does not need to be illegal.

What is a Community Protection Notice?
A CPN is a little bit of law that is issued to an individual, organisation or business to stop them from engaging in a particular sort of anti-social behaviour. For instance: if a hunt continually invades a village and fails to stop their hounds from running in people’s gardens, the local police might issue that hunt with a CPN.

What is a Public Space Protection Order?
A PSPO is a little bit of law that applies to a specific public location. It is issued by the Local Authority and enforced by the the LA and the police. PSPOs often apply to dogs. A PSPO could potentially prevent all hunts from “trail hunting” in any public area in an entire county. They would be forced to “trail hunt” on private land only.

Why is it important to report hunts for anti-social behaviour?
We are usually looking for prosecutions and convictions under the Hunting Act. But evidence is difficult to obtain and the Hunting Act is weak. The legislation for CPNs and PSPOs is “wide-ranging and flexible”, meaning that practically any behaviour that might be anti-social could be considered. We might be able to keep a particular hunt off the roads, for instance, or even get the police to insist that hunt always wears hi vis vests. Hunts are always being accused of anti-social behaviour; if we don’t report them, we are missing a signficant opportunity.

How do we report the anti-social behaviour?
Use 101 or 999 (if there is danger present), or report online. Make sure you use key words: hunt, hounds, huntsman, quadbike, anti-social. If you know the name of the hunt, state it. Also report the incident to the Local Authority. It is for the LA to decide if they will take action, but your report is the starting point. It is for the police and Local Authority to consider whether a CPN or PSPO is appropriate – our job is to report and keep reporting. If it is an incident on a road or railway, also report to the Health and Safety Executive. Help for doing this can be found here.

What are the punishments for failing to obey a CPN or a PSPO?
Fines or even prosecution.

How do we get the police to issue a CPN or the Local Authority to issue a PSPO?
By reporting each and every incident of anti-social behaviour to the police and the Local Authority. If we don’t report them, nothing will happen.

Can we report anonymously?
Yes, the reports can be anonymously.

Can I find help with reporting?
Yes – AAF will help you. Please fill in the CONTACT AAF form below.

Contact AAF

Please use this form to:

• tell us that you have reported a hunt for anti-social behaviour (of any sort)
• ask us for help with a report
• tell us about a local campaign concerning anti-social hunt behaviour.