The tide is turning against hunting but, despite this the hunt still assumes the right to hunt everywhere and anywhere and it is down to landowners to advise the local hunt they don’t want hunting on their land - in fact I only just found out this was even possible!  Now, despite several emails to this effect, my local hunt has yet to reply so I would like to suggest the law is changed.

This ‘opting in’ would help landowners who don’t really want hunting on their land but are reluctant to proactively ‘stick their neck out’ in a small community and notify their local hunt to keep out. It would also help people prosecute when the hunt ‘strays’ onto their land and traumatises or kills livestock or pets such as cats. 

Only in January this year hounds ‘strayed’ into the Celia Hammond Animal Trust local cat sanctury resulting in 60 of the 130 cats fleeing into the woods and hounds running amok in the santuaries 80 acres for over an hour before they were brought under control - not all cats were recovered. 

I strongly believe the end of hunting is in sight but until then let’s ensure they can only go where they have written permission to hunt.