Reflecting on a busy summer schedule

It has been an incredibly busy summer events schedule for the Alliance; attending regional hound shows, judging at - or being invited to - puppy shows and kennel open days, hosting a series of regional meetings across the country to discuss the future of our packs of hounds, and, of course,  supporting the Festival of Hounds at Peterborough.  

Communicating with our members and supporters through our email networks and membership  magazine, on the telephone and during virtual meetings is essential, but discussing issues face-to face at the many events we attend offers us the greatest opportunity to talk to a wider audience 
about our ongoing campaigning work to protect hounds and hunts.  

Thousands of in-person conversations have taken place over these past few months, with Badminton Horse Trials kicking off our summer outdoor events season in early May, where we were delighted to welcome supporters into our designated hospitality area out on the course on cross-country day. Although a general election was inevitable in 2024, it wasn’t anticipated that it would take place in early July, so discussions at Badminton mainly centred around what the potential threats were for hunting’s future should a Labour government be elected, following on from comments made earlier in the spring by the then-Shadow Secretary of State, Steve Reed MP, about Labour “strengthening the Hunting Act”. At the time, the Alliance coordinated an e-lobby campaign to express concerns about the party targeting the trail hunting community. More than 10,000 of you sent a message directly to Mr Reed and the chairman of the Labour Party, expressing concerns about their priorities and how their plans were misguided and harmful to the countryside.  

As our summer programme of events progressed and the election date was announced, understandably there became greater interest – and concern – from the hunting community 
surrounding what impact any hostile government could mean for our activities, so being out on the 
road and being able to discuss our Action for Hunting initiative became more and more beneficial.

Concerns were understandably heightened following the publication of the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment to “ban trail hunting.” This position was recognised by the League Against Cruel Sports as being that Labour appeared to have rowed back from their more extreme position, thus heeding some of our warnings and highlighting the importance of hunt supporters taking action for hunting when asked.  

The outcome of the election came as little surprise but it was still a stark reality check which resulted in much speculation about what the future may hold for our hounds and our hunts. With questions sure to be asked, our attention focussed upon the King’s Speech scheduled to take place while the hunting community would be enjoying the Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show and Festival of Hounds on 17 July.  

Ahead of the judging of the dog hound championship in the Fitzwilliam Enclosure at Peterborough 
(17 July), our Chairman, Lord Herbert of South Downs, standing alongside Andrew Osborne – vice chairman of the British Hound Sports Association – was cheered following his announcement that there was no mention of hunting in the King’s Speech. He went on to warn that we weren’t out of the woods and that it wasn’t, however, a question of whether an anti-hunting bill would still come forward in this parliament, but that it was a question of when.  

Lord Herbert continued:

"We know that the justification for introducing this measure is that there is a perception that hunting is not abiding the law, so it is their duty that the law must be changed, tightened up. We need to change that perception.

What I want to say to you, is that the Countryside Alliance, working with the BHSA and all of our allies, will do everything in our power to change that perception.”

Despite the last of the main hound shows taking place in unfavourably wet conditions at Rydal today (15 August), the harvest is now well underway and the start of the autumn season is in sight for the majority of packs, so there is much to look forward to over the coming weeks. We will continue to work alongside our colleagues at the BHSA as well as with our members and supporters to ensure that we are prepared should we face any unacceptable or draconian legislation. In the meantime, we always welcome the opportunity to engage with the hunting community and encourage you to get in touch if you wish to discuss any matters relating to the Campaign for Hunting.