Tim Bonner: A critical moment for hunting

This weekend marks the 18^th anniversary of the implementation of the Hunting Act which prohibited hunting with hounds in England and Wales. Back in 2005 no one could have predicted the resilience of the hunting community, the success of post-ban hunting or the maintenance of the infrastructure of hunts, however, hunting remains a totemic political issue and that success also brings challenges.

There remains, for instance, a significant anti-hunting lobby in the Labour Party which will not rest until all hunts are consigned to history and which persuaded Jeremy Corbyn to adopt a commitment to 'strengthen' the Hunting Act in the last Labour manifesto. On Boxing Day last year, Shadow Environment Secretary, Jim McMahon, restated that it was Labour policy to "strengthen the Hunting Act" and "end trail hunting".

This was disappointing and suggests that Labour has not fully moved on from its prejudiced approach to some rural issues which, as our work with the Fabians and others has revealed, has skewed its rural priorities and made it largely unelectable in the countryside.

Jim McMahon justified the policy of further legislation to end trail hunting by saying that it was "often accused of being a 'smokescreen' for illegal activity". Whilst prosecution statistics show that there have been a vanishingly small number of prosecutions involving registered hunts and that there have been vastly more convictions of casual hunters and poachers, we do need to be honest that the political, police and public perception of the activities of hunts is increasingly challenging.

Incidents like the video of the Avon Vale Hunt which was published across the national media last week provide exactly the ammunition hunting's opponents need to drive their campaign for further legislation and cloud all the social and environmental benefits of hunting with hounds. We must also be honest that this incident is not a one off and that there have been a number of such extremely unhelpful news stories over recent years.

There is political change in the air and Labour are currently hot favourites to win a general election in 2024. This represents a critical moment for hunting so now, more than ever, it is crucial that we are able to show that the operation of registered hunts is legitimate and that they are operating to the highest standards.

Whilst legislation does now seem likely if Labour forms the next government, the shape of that legislation will still be influenced by the operation of hunts and the image that hunting portrays over the coming years. Meanwhile, high standards and robust self-regulation are increasingly a requirement for any activity involving the use of animals whoever is in government. Hunting has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by raising its game and showing the world that it is addressing those who bring it into disrepute.

The threats and challenges we face are very real, and only with your help can we safeguard our way of life now and in the future, so join us today.