The aim of this petition is to ban trail or drag hunts. This is because although fox hunting is illegal most hunts have continued under the pretence that they are trail or drag hunting. By banning trail or drag hunting, It would give illegal hunts less opportunity for the crime to be committed the first place and hopefully improve conviction rate.

Trail hunting did not exist before the Hunting Act 2004 and is a activity which involves a pack of hounds following an artificially laid, but animal based scent. Drag hunting involves an artificial scent. Hunts claim that they are trying to replicate pre-ban hunting as closely as possible and so the scent is laid in such a way as to mimic live quarry hunting. Many hunters do this in the hope that the Hunting Act would be repealed.

Currently the law does allow the trail and drag hunts to continue. Most illegal fox hunts have continued under the pretence that they are trail or drag hunting.  Hunts in Devon sometimes claim to be hunting a trail. However, there is not any evidence that they actually do and there is plenty of evidence of them hunting live foxes. Most of them are quite blatant about this and some even admit to doing so. Many hunt members will gloat about their recent kills and boast about getting away with breaking the law.  Hunts are witnessed breaking the law every week of the hunting season, with prolonged chases, dig-outs and kills.