A charity that has for years campaigned to stop animals being hunted for sport has penned a letter to Cornwall Council leader Julian German requesting the council ban traditional Boxing Day hunts on its land.

The League Against Cruel Sports chief executive officer Andy Knott MBE has penned the letter to councillor German asking Cornwall Council to follow other councils in banning hunts from its land.

Usually, a number of different hunts gather each Boxing Day as per tradition including The North Cornwall Hunt, East Cornwall Hunt, Four Burrows, Western Hunt and Cury Hunt.

One hunt that won’t be taking place in the usual way this year is the Cury Hunt. Each year the hunt gathers in Helston ’s Coinagehall Street on Boxing Day with enthusiastic crowds waving them on their way.

However organisers have confirmed that it won’t go ahead as usual due to social distancing guidelines and a different format will be adopted.

In the letter to Cornwall Council, The League Against Cruel Sports write as follows.

“Dear Cllr Julian German. I am writing to you regarding a matter of grave importance this festive season. Fox hunting.

“As we all get ready to finally spend some time with our families and put 2020 behind us, hunts across the country are gearing up for their traditional Boxing Day and new year meets. But tradition is no excuse for cruelty to animals.

“You may be aware of an explosive exposé aired on ITV in November. It showed senior figures within the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) and the Countryside Alliance seeming to admit in two training webinars that ‘trail’ hunting is a “smokescreen” for the chasing and killing of foxes. Police are now investigating the contents of the webinars.

“In light of these revelations, and the ongoing police investigation, I am writing to seek confirmation that trail hunting, exempt hunting and hound exercise will not be allowed on council land this festive season.

“The “smokescreen” of trail hunting has allowed fox hunting to continue despite it being banned in 2005, with animals fleeing for their life in terror before being torn to shreds and killed. Despite the ban, and a national lockdown, the League Against Cruel Sports has already received more than 300 reports of suspected illegal hunting for the 2020/21 season.


“In light of these new allegations, those who allow hunting to take place on their land may be viewed as being complicit in supporting illegal activity. Major public landowners such as the National Trust, Forestry England and United Utilities have already taken action to suspend the hunts from their land. You would not be the first council to take a stand.

“Just last week, on December 9, Peterborough passed a motion “to do everything within its legal powers to prevent trail hunting, exempt hunting, hound exercise and hunt meets on its land”. It is not the first to do so, and it won’t be the last

“With the webinars dispelling the myth of trail hunting, tensions are running high in the countryside. Boxing Day meets are already a potential flashpoint, so preventing the hunts from using council land would defuse tension over the festive season.

“A recent poll of the British public carried out by Survation showed that 80 per cent of those who expressed a view would like trail hunting banned. Connecting with nature in a positive way has never been more important to the public than during the current pandemic.

"It is a matter of huge importance to the public, and as a public servant, I am very keen to see your response on this and seek confirmation that trail hunting, exempt hunting and hound exercise will not be allowed on council land this festive season.”

In response to the letter by the League Against Cruel Sports, one trail hunting supporter penned a letter, also to councillor German.

It reads: "With an extraordinary lack of objectivity given the huge pressure that local councils, along with everyone else, are under during the Covid crisis, animal rights activists are lobbying local councils to withdraw access for hunts to operate on their land as part of a nationwide campaign. Their campaign uses spurious allegations of law-breaking and cynical suggestions of health and safety issues.

"Many of the country’s 250 registered trail hunts meet in council-owned public spaces either on Boxing Day - or at some other time throughout the year - where hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of local residents turn out to support, either by participating or spectating. Trail hunting - where an artificial scent is laid across the countryside for the hounds to follow - is a lawful activity that is enjoyed by thousands of participants.

"The Hunting Act came into force in February 2005 which restricted traditional quarry hunting with hounds. It therefore does not matter whether one is in favour of traditional hunting or opposed to it when it comes to considering the future of trail hunting on council-owned land. What matters is that people are treated equally and fairly when seeking to undertake lawful activities on public land. There should be a presumption in favour of lawful activity on publicly owned land and the council should be seeking to maximise, not restrict, public enjoyment of any land held as a public asset for everyone.

"The banning of people from council land without evidence of their wrong doing goes against all concepts of justice, where a person is innocent until proven guilty. If any person or group is to be banned from council land it should be as a result of that person or group having been found guilty of some offence. Councils allow - and can only allow - lawful activity and they should continue to do so without discrimination. If there is evidence of unlawful activity by any person or group operating on council land then that is a matter of evidence for the police and courts so should be reported and investigated appropriately.

"Where local councils have been asked to vote on this matter in recent years, evidence and reason have continued to prevail, with the majority of councils resisting the pressure from a small group of activists. Councils across the country continue to permit hunts to meet on their land however there are concerns that some activists are trying to stop these legal activities “through the back door”.

"Health and safety matters are taken very seriously by registered hunts and regular discussions are held between the hunt officials and their local council representatives to ensure they meet the necessary requirements ahead of any meet on council land. There is no evidence to suggest that public safety is at risk by allowing meets to continue in these areas and every effort is made to minimise disruption on the day.

"I am writing to show my support to all the local councils that continue to allow meets on their land and to urge you as a councillor, to the Countryside Alliance (via hunting@countryside-alliance.org) or your local hunt directly if there are any motions proposed which may threaten the future of meets on council-owned or managed land.

"Sadly, this year, due to the impact of coronavirus, hunts have taken the responsible decision to move away from public areas to ensure there aren’t any unlawful large gatherings and to prevent any breach of the legislation however hunts are very much looking forward to enabling large crowds to greet their hounds again in 2021 and I hope to have your support to ensure that can happen."