Labour delaying the reform of the Hunting Act is now putting the public at risk of harm

Protect the Wild has released a report on the 2024/25 hunting season in England and Wales. It reveals that hunts were involved in 1,620 anti-social incidents during the season, ranging from driving offences and causing havoc on roads to physical and verbal assaults on people and widespread trespassing. This dangerous behaviour by hunts and their supporters poses a clear threat to public safety. Protect the Wild urges the UK government to bring in its promised Hunting Act reforms in haste to protect the British public.

The Hunting Act: not fit for purpose

Protect the Wild’s 2024/25 hunting season report is the third of its kind, with the organisation’s first report being compiled in 2022/23.

In this latest edition, Protect the Wild has reviewed publicly available information across the period July 2024 to April 2025 to gather statistics and data. As with earlier season reports, much of the information comes from reports published by hunt saboteur and monitor groups. In addition, messages from members of the public, information from the police, and data provided directly to Protect the Wild, have informed the findings.

The annual hunting reports have a dual focus. Naturally, they assess the scale of wildlife persecution by hunts. Like the previous two years, the 2024/25 report shows that persecution is rife. There were over 700 incidents of hunts chasing or killing wild animals, namely foxes, deer, and hares.

This figure should be seen as just the tip of the iceberg because most hunt meets are not observed. Based on the witnessed incidents targeting foxes during the season, for instance, Protect the Wild estimates that 3,772 of these wild animals were potentially persecuted across the July to April period.

Shocking behaviour

The annual report also documents levels of anti-social behaviour by hunts. This analysis shows that such behaviour is currently off the scale, with 1,620 witnessed incidents. The breakdown of these incidents is as follows:

• 439 driving offences, such as driving vehicles without number plates or with illegal loads.
• 367 road havoc incidents, whereby hunts dangerously disrupted public highways.
• 245 minor attacks on people, such as physical and verbal assaults.
• 11 major attacks that resulted in people being seriously physically harmed.
• 332 instances of trespass on both public and private land.
• 137 incidents of interference with badger setts, which is against the law.
• 89 disturbances of or attacks on non-quarry animals, such as dogs, cats, sheep, and horses.

A risk to the public

As these eye-watering figures make clear, hunts’ current behaviour poses a significant threat to people’s safety and wellbeing. Their recklessness on roads risks traffic accidents. Their lack of hound control also puts people’s companion animals and other kept animals at risk.

Meanwhile, the extreme levels of verbal and physical abuse metered out by hunts, mainly at wildlife protectors who follow meets to stop hunts persecuting wild animals, is wholly unacceptable. Even worse, 63 of the 143 hunts observed during the season were connected to some form of verbal or physical attack. This shows that violence runs through the veins of the hunting industry, rather than being confined to just a few ‘bad apple’ packs.

Considering this, it is unsurprising that communities are beginning to take matters into their own hands by declaring areas off limits to hunts. As the report highlights, residents of George Nympton, Devon, collectively agreed to make their village a “hunt free zone” in May.

Put simply, the hunting industry is rotten to the core and unlikely to change its ways voluntarily. So, for the sake of everyone – people, wild animals, and kept animals – it is imperative that the government reforms the Hunting Act.

Reform of the Hunting Act is needed now

Ahead of being elected in 2024, the Labour Party said it would ban trail hunting. Reports since have also highlighted that it is considering other Hunting Act reforms. But almost a year has passed, and the government has yet to make good on its promise to the British public.

Further delay will only put the safety and wellbeing of more individuals at risk. The time for action is now.

Protect the Wild founder Rob Pownall said:

This report makes one thing absolutely clear:  hunts are out of control, and the government’s failure to act is putting people in harm’s way. From dangerous driving to physical assaults and widespread trespass, hunts are causing chaos week after week and getting away with it.

The Labour Party promised to ban trail hunting and strengthen the Hunting Act. That promise must be honoured now. Every day of delay is a day the British public remains at risk.

Featured image via Protect the Wild/Hunt Saboteurs Association