Although fox hunting in England and Wales was banned by the Hunting Act 2004, campaigners, celebrities and leading police officials believe that loopholes in the law mean that wild animals are still being hunted illegally. The legislation came with the creation of ‘trail hunting’, a method of laying an artificial scent for hounds to follow. Many foxhound packs claim to use trail hunting but it has also been condemned. In 2025, Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman publicly stated that trail hunting is largely believed to be a “smokescreen for illegal fox hunting”. Effectively, hunts are able to continue as they did before the 2004 Act.
Despite the ban being in force for the last 21 years, hunts continue to operate weekly across the country. Evidence of hunts regularly flouting the law has been collected and shared by the Hunt Saboteurs Association
When shown drone footage of the Coniston Foxhounds in the act of digging out a fox, presenter and naturalist Chris Packham said: “I feel sick. Sick. What sort of psychopaths do this and more importantly why are this government allowing them to get away with it?”
The Grove and Rufford Hunt
In Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire the Grove and Rufford Hunt is the focus of the Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs group. It has previously made news headlines when its 2025 Boxing Day meet in Bawtry led to police appealing for information on a large number of illegal quad bikes attending the meet.
The Grove and Rufford Hunt also appears to have scant regard for the residents of the villages that the hunt passes through, including allowing their dogs to foul public areas – an offence under The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 in England and Wales. Four such incidents were recorded on a hunt saboteur’s vehicle dashcam at a meet on 4 October 2025 at Laxton, Nottinghamshire. The local parish council decided to take no action, although it does have the right to issue instant fixed penalty notices of up to £100 or pursue action against the dog owner/s, so the incidents have been passed to Newark and Sherwood District Council for review.
A spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: “For 20 years, hunts have flouted the law. The government is finally acting because the evidence is overwhelming, and cannot be ignored. Hunts have had 20 years to act within the law, and so far have largely got away with breaking it. Complaints about job losses and hound retraining simply don’t wash anymore.”
Is a hunting conviction a badge of honour?
Huntsman, Jacob Whalley of the Grove and Rufford Hunt pleaded guilty to offences under the Hunting Act in July 2025 for actions during his time at the Fitzwilliam Hunt in Peterborough.
A Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs spokesperson said: “Whalley is a perfect example of how the current Hunting Act is ineffective. Although he holds a recent Hunting Act conviction, he has secured a job at a new hunt. If the Grove and Rufford were truly trail hunting, they would not employ a convicted criminal. We need the law to be tightened, and the loopholes closed. Whalley’s 2025 case wasn’t a one-off, foxes are being deliberately chased and killed across the country several times every week in hunting season, not just when the cameras are rolling.”
Consultation on banning trail hunting
On 26 March 2026, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs released a public consultation on trail hunting. In response, campaigners have been urging ministers to bring forward tough new legislation without delay.
Rowan Hughes, Spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: “This is our chance to make change. It’s taken far too long to get to this point, for 20 years we’ve had an inadequate law, but now we’re on the brink of a real hunting ban. It’s too late for the myriad foxes, hares, otters, deer, and other animals who have lost their lives to hunting over the last 20 years, but we’re fighting hard for the lives of the next generation of wildlife.”
A Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs Spokesperson added: “This is your chance to have a say. Please fill in the consultation if you care about wildlife, or if you’ve had the hounds through your village, or causing chaos on the roads. If you’ve had a dog walk spoiled, or your animals have been scared, this is how we stop it, but it needs us all to act.”
The Hunt Saboteurs Association is urging all members of the public who are opposed to the continuation of trail hunting to complete the consultation, which is open until 18 June 2026.
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