'Every hunt' will be out on Boxing Day despite ban over trail laying seminar

Every hunt in the country will come out on Boxing Day, the head of the Countryside Alliance has vowed, in the face of bans imposed by the National Trust and the Forestry England.

Tim Bonner was defiant after National Trust said it would also suspend licences for trail hunting on its properties after hunting backers were heard in a leaked webinar discussing how to create a “smokescreen” for their activities.

Mr Bonner said those hunts affected by the suspension would simply move their activities elsewhere.

"As long as the weather is not awful, every hunt in the country will be out on Boxing Day,” he said.

While hunting has been put on hold by the national lockdown, Mr Bonner said he anticipated groups being able to meet outside under new tier restrictions.

Since hunting mammals with dogs was outlawed in 2005, hunting groups have pivoted to ‘trail laying’ activities, during which they lay a scent for hounds to follow in a way that mimics hunting.

Anti-hunting groups say trail laying is merely a cover for fox hunting groups to continue their activities.

Several individuals can be seen during leaked footage of a webinar organised by the sport’s governing body, The Hunting Office, discussing how to avoid hunt saboteurs and police involvement in their work.

In one section of edited footage posted on social media, one one of the participants can be heard saying "It's a lot easier to create a smokescreen if you've got more than one trail layer operating,” before adding: “and that is what it's all about, trying to portray to the people watching that you're going about your legitimate business."

The move by National Trust and the Forestry England was welcomed by animal rights activists, including Chris Packham, who yesterday called on others including the Ministry of Defence, to follow suit.

Mr Bonner said only a handful of hunts would be affected and he expected the ban to be short-lived.

Yesterday National Trust said it had no plans to lift the suspension in the future.

“'We are aware of videos circulating on social media showing two Hunting Office training webinars earlier this year,” a National Trust spokesperson said.

"As a result, we have taken the decision to pause trail hunting on National Trust land and will not be granting any new licences for the remainder of the season. We do not currently have a date when this will be reviewed."

The Hunting Office yesterday said: “The purpose of the webinars held in August was very clearly to facilitate legal hunting and any allegation that they were organised for any other purpose is completely incorrect.

“We will cooperate fully with the police and welcome the opportunity to clarify the situation.

“We understand that although this decision by the National Trust is difficult for those packs affected, there has only been one pack granted a licence so far this season so it doesn’t impact on the majority of the other trail hunting packs.”