Buckinghamshire's rural sector hits back at government trail hunting ban consultation

Trail hunting is a legitimate and lawful recreational activity involving a scent being laid across the countryside for packs of hounds to follow. Any pursuit of wild mammals is already subject to the provisions of the Hunting Act 2004, under which prosecutions are brought where there is evidence of illegal activity. Participants act within the legal framework, contributing to local economies, sustaining rural employment and supporting a wide network of small businesses.

In Buckinghamshire, where the Chilterns, the Vale of Aylesbury and the north of the county sustain a rich network of hunting-related activity, a ban would cut directly into the livelihoods of farriers, saddlers, feed merchants, country pubs and equestrian suppliers who depend on the sector. From Aylesbury and Buckingham to Winslow and the villages beyond, the economic ripple effects would be felt across the county.

Ben Wallace, chairman of Future for Hunting, said: "When the government should be focused on delivering for rural Britain, choosing instead to prioritise an ideological attack on a lawful countryside activity sends a troubling message about where its true priorities lie. This is clearly a misguided approach from government, coming at a time when all their focus should be on cost of living and mitigating the escalating fuel prices, an issue that disproportionately affects Buckinghamshire and the wider countryside and the wider countryside. The countryside deserves better than policymaking driven by prejudice rather than practical reality."

A spokesperson for the British Hound Sports Association said: "A ban would have serious and immediate consequences for jobs, livelihoods and animal welfare. Thousands of people are directly and indirectly employed through hunting-related activity, and around 12,000 hounds are currently maintained and cared for by hunts. Ministers have yet to explain what provision would be made for those hounds, or for the rural workers whose incomes depend on this sector."

Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, warned: "At a time when the countryside is on its knees as a result of misguided government policies and a cost of living crisis heightened by war, the government has again chosen to attack rural communities. A ban on trail hunting is unnecessary, unjustified and unfair. This is nothing more than the government attempting to distract from the real problems facing British people. Voters care about the countryside, the food on their table and cheaper energy bills, not toxic culture wars. With two in three voters believing that the government does not care about the countryside, Sir Keir Starmer is running the very real risk of causing a permanent schism between Labour and the countryside."

Campaign groups in Buckinghamshire have called on the county's MPs to make clear their opposition to the proposals and to stand up for the rural communities they represent.