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By JAMES S F HART Introduction The Hunting Act 2004 is littered with exemptions, these exemptions make what would be unlawful hunting become lawful hunting. Many in the industry would say that these exemptions are loopholes, abused by hunters so that they can continue their hunting as it…

DOES THE HUNTING ACT 2004 INFRINGE THE RIGHTS OF THE PRO-HUNT FRATERNITY? THE ANSWER IS NO. By JAMES S F HART It has been said many times by the likes of the Countryside Alliance and others that the Hunting Act 2004 breaches the fundamental rights of those who…

In 1914, the Humanitarian League published “Killing for Sport“, a collection of essays that set the bar for intellectual discourse against blood sports. Edited by the formidable Henry S. Salt, this volume was a masterclass in dismantling pro-hunting sophisms. Salt, it seems, could write novels about his opponents’…

Applying the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to Stag Hunts: Exploring Temporary Control Under Section 2(B). By JAMES S F HART Introduction For years Stag hunts have operated precariously on the boundary between exempt and non- exempt activities under the Hunting Act 2004. However, in recent times, substantial evidence…

The British Hound Sports Association, which replaced the scandal-ridden Hunting Office, misleading interview on the life of foxhounds.

By JAMES S F HART The National Trust claims that they do not allow fox hunting on its land. They state that the “law does allow what is known as trail hunting to continue” although worryingly it seems the national Trust are confused as to what the law…

EXPLORING THE DEFINITION OF “HUNTING” UNDER THE HUNTING ACT 2004 By JAMES S F HART Introduction 1.There have been many issues with the idea as to whether “searching” for an unidentified or unidentifiable wild mammal could be classed as hunting under the Hunting Act 2004. It has also…

Jaine & Simon Wild, Skirmishes with Savages. The Wild years 1980s and beyond, 2023. Paperback, 108 pages. There will be two diverse groups of readers of this book. Those in the know who have followed this couple’s lifework for wildlife protection and have participated themselves either to a…

Vets for Hunting came to prominence for their efforts to block the passing of the Hunting Act 2004. They then changed their name to the Veterinary Association for Wildlife Management (VAWM). The name change was unsurprising: as one commentator said, calling your organisation Vets for Hunting is rather…

The Wildlife Guardian enjoyed an amazing visit to UK Wild Otter Trust in Devon courtesy of the award winning founder Dave Webb. The otter photograph is the lovely ‘Tolga’ the only permanent resident as all the others are heading for a release back into the wild. It was…

A joint investigation by Wildlife Guardian and the National Anti Snaring Campaign into the notorious grouse moor. Ruabon Moor has historically held the record for the greatest number of grouse shot per acre in the UK and is currently home to by far the largest population of black…

A new series of occasional articles looking at the law relating to fox hunting As a new season of fox hunting begins with the especially abhorrent and secretive practice of cub-hunting, a Solicitor friend of Wildlife Guardian looks at a series of legal topics relating to hunting. The…

In March 2022 the now redundant League Against Cruel Sports Investigation Team carried out covert surveillance on the kennels of the infamous deer hunters the County Down Staghounds in Northern Ireland. Over two days of filming they obtained footage of a large herd of Red Deer held captive…

So, what now for the disbanded League Against Cruel Sports Investigations Team of England & Wales? Some of us are still out there doing jobs local to us. Most of us were experienced volunteers before the League, so we can still be effective. We are joining forces with…

By Leslie Gilbert Pine (1907–1987) I think that four main classes of persons may be distinguished among those who actively pursue blood sports. First we have those who enjoy bloodshed for its own sake, or who loving a particular form of activity, are completely indifferent as to whether…

In 2016 HIT exposed animal cruelty at the South Herefordshire Hunt kennels. A long-serving police constable was asked if he would investigate the offences. Over the following three years he and his family were subjected to the most stressful time of their lives in a series of bizarre…

Tim Bonner tries to stop hunt saboteurs filming the activities of hunts.

Ben Bradley’s (the Conservative Party candidate for Mansfield) campaign is being supported by members of a hunt recently convicted of a criminal act.

Penny Little responds to the claim by Peter Lewis, Chief Executive of the Crown Prosecution Service, that it is wrong to imply that the CPS is “reluctant to, and does not, prosecute hunting offences”.

Alan Kirby of Protect Our Wild Animals explains the background to the successful RSPCA prosecution against David Cameron’s favourite hunt and the failings of the British justice system.