Target: Baron McFall of Alcluith, Lord Speaker of the UK House of Lords
Goal: Close legal loopholes that enable continued proliferation of illegal fox hunting.
Nearly 20 years ago, England introduced a law hailed as a landmark achievement for preventing the illegal slaughter of wild animals like foxes. The Hunting Act banned the use of hounds in pursuing and killing mammals. Now, the man in charge of enforcing this law—as well as dozens of advocacy organizations—have condemned the law as ineffective, empty, and have called for immediate change.
Critics claim that hunters are openly and flagrantly violating the law by taking advantage of a loophole that still allows trail hunts to take place. Hunters use animals’ natural scents to lure wildlife during trail hunts. According to advocates, they are treating these hunts as a guise and a “smokescreen” to still carry out illegal hound hunts. Online information and forums that teach hunters how to skirt the Hunting Act are apparently plentiful. One man who was found guilty of such actions even had his conviction overturned recently, despite recordings seemingly confirming his culpability.
Advocates want an urgent update of this deficient law to better protect vulnerable foxes and other wildlife. Sign the petition below to echo their calls for action.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Lord McFall,
Matt Longman of the National Police Chiefs said it simply: “when the Hunting Act came in, and that toolbox was opened, all it really contained was a leaky sieve.” Longman is referring to the apparent continued prevalence of illegal wildlife hunts still taking place under the guise of trail hunts. Dan Norris agrees with this sentiment: “the Hunting Act, which as an MP I was so very proud to help create, now needs urgent updating to reflect modern public opinion and new evidence. The current loopholes that have become blatantly clear need closing and the police must be backed with the resources they require.”
While your colleagues may be able to dismiss other advocates as “ideological obsessives,” you cannot ignore the words of the individuals who know this issue best. Nor can you refute the growing warnings about declining fox populations or the increasing public sentiment that favors strong and enforceable protections for vulnerable wildlife. Please answer these concerns with an updated Hunting Act that truly fulfills its intended purpose.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Tomas Malik
What happened to that civilized Britain we’ve heard about for so many years? This is uncivilized and absolutely deliberate animal abuse, stop these hunts. As a supposed bastion of the ‘rule of law’ you’re not upholding the law or even pretending to, close the loopholes and stop this barbaric hunting.