Petition calls for ban on trail hunts on ALL public and council land in Cornwall
It has had more than 10,000 signatures and will be debated by officials on Tuesday
Last updated 18th Jan 2022
A petition calling for Cornwall Council to ban trail hunt meets on council owned and public land is set to be debated at County Hall next week.
The petition collected more than 10,000 signatures in support of the call from Action Against Foxhunting Cornwall.
It is set to be debated by Cornwall councillors at their full council meeting which is being held on Tuesday.
The original petition stated: "Action against Foxhunting Cornwall note that in January 2019 Cornwall Council declared a Climate Emergency and pledged, amongst other commendable policies, to protect our wildlife for future generations. We would therefore request that the Council stand by this pledge and now ban all meets of Trail Hunts on public space and council owned land".
Deborah Hall, who set up the original petition, said she was glad that councillors would have the opportunity to debate the issue.
She said: "We want to stop these hunts from having these meets and going across public land. By supporting this call the council will also be showing that they do not support the hunts.
"Wildlife is in decline and the council has recognised this by declaring a climate emergency and ecological emergency. These hunts damage wildlife habitats by sending packs of dogs across wildlife areas – this is not the best way to protect wildlife.
"Many people support this – most people thought that the hunting ban stopped all this happening and when we explain that the meets still take place they are surprised. They expected it to be illegal when it was banned but it is still going on.
"We believe that a lot of them do go across public land and could be going across council owned farms. If the council supports this ban it will show that they do not condone this action".
Deborah said that supporters of the petition would be addressing the council online during the meeting and explaining the basis of the call.
She added that other councils elsewhere in the country have backed similar bans for hunts to access public land.
"When we go out onto the streets to talk to people about this they are always surprised, we were delighted to get so much support for the petition – we never expected so many signatures.
"We believe that the council will be following the opinion of the majority of the public if they support this call".
However countryside campaigners have criticised the petition, calling it “anti rural”.
In addition a report on the petition prepared by council officers ahead of the meeting has been criticised by supporters from the League Against Cruel Sports.
The Countryside Alliance, in criticising the petition, has also questioned the validity of some of those who have signed it, claiming that some are from as far away as South Africa.
The online petition, which was first started by Action Against Foxhunting (AAF) Cornwall, gathered more than 10,000 signatures and was submitted to Cornwall Council.
It is calling for the council to support a ban on trail hunts from being allowed to run across council owned land – it is believed this would mostly affect farms owned by the council.
Polly Portwin, director of the campaign for hunting at the Countryside Alliance, said: "Cornwall is a predominantly rural county, which has a number of hunts that operate and contribute to the local economy. For many, trail hunting is important part of countryside life and it would be anti-rural to ban a legal activity.
"We will be making that case to local councillors, as will the local hunts. In the event that councillors are asked to vote, we sincerely hope they reject this divisive petition.
"There are a number of outstanding questions in relation to this petition which we will be pursuing. We will want to know what checks are in place to ensure that signatories meet the specific criteria. It would be bizarre for any local petition to be debated which has relied on signatories from outside a specific area. An email address in itself, clearly does not substitute for a physical address in Cornwall.
"In the interest of balance, it would also only be right for the hunting community to feed into any report so the council is not led by any one particular side".
The Countryside Alliance added: "Trail-hunting involves laying of a scent across the country which a pack of hounds then searches for and follows using their noses. The season starts in the autumn and continues throughout the winter, with most packs finishing during March. When the Hunting Act 2004 was enforced in February 2005, many hunts wanted to retain their infrastructure so took up trail-hunting with their hounds to comply with the new law that had banned traditional foxhunting.
"There are five trail hunting packs based in Cornwall – as well as other packs based on the county borders – which are understood to access council-owned land in Cornwall. It is not clear what overall impact a potential ban on using council land could have on their lawful hunting activities but it could potentially have an impact not only on the hunts themselves and the industries within Cornwall those who the hunt support, but also on the tenant farmers, some of which rely upon the fallen stock services provided by some of the hunts.
"Nationally, there are over 250 registered packs of hounds conducting more than 12,000 days of trail hunting each year. Hunts, including those in Cornwall, employ professional members of staff whose priority it is to maintain high standards of animal welfare for their hounds and horses in their care. Not only do hunts provide direct employment, but they also utilise other local businesses and professional services which contribute to the local economy".
The League Against Cruel Sports has criticised the report which goes to councillors today, saying it is "flawed".
Chris Luffingham, director of external affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We do have concerns over the accuracy of the information in the report, and we were very surprised the recent conviction of a top huntsman for teaching more than 100 hunt representatives how to use trail hunting as an excuse the break the law wasn’t included.
"It’s our hope that these issues will be covered in a full debate at Cornwall Council, and the executive and leader will reflect the council’s commitment to the environment by banning trail hunting on its land".
The League said that in the 2019/20 hunting season it recorded 41 incidents relating to illegal hunting in Cornwall, including seven incidents of hounds trespassing into nature reserves, and six of hounds straying onto major roads.
The League says if the hunts were following a pre-laid trail, which is what they claim trail hunting is, the hounds would not have been in these places, causing disruption and potentially collisions on roads, and disturbing wildlife.
Chris added: "Other organisations have said enough is enough when it comes to hunts using their land, and we urge Cornwall Council agree and ban this excuse for old fashioned illegal hunting".
Cornwall Council will meet on Tuesday at 10.30am to discuss the petition.