BHSA_Official

The Government claims to care about animal welfare, yet they are trying to dismantle a system that has care at its very core. Hounds are trained with a duty of care that begins with puppy walkers and continues through mentorship from wise, older hounds. This careful transition from a family home back to the pack ensures every hound is confident, healthy, and ready to do their job. By banning trail hunting, the Government is ignoring the reality of how hounds are raised and the community of people who dedicate their lives to them. They are out of touch with the countryside and the traditions that keep it alive.

Trail hunting provides opportunities for young people in rural communities, and is essential to events like the Badbury Rings Point-to-Point that brings people together. The Government’s trail hunting ban will leave a hole in the fabric of rural communities.

Trail hunting isn’t just about hunts and hounds, there are thousands of rural businesses that rely on local hunts for work. The Governments ban on trail hunting threatens this crucial support for the rural economy.

The Government's trail hunting ban risks the future of point-to-point events. The hunt networks are vital to making these iconic British countryside events possible. Join the Future For Hunting mailing list to receive updates on how you can help and protect the rural way life.

First the pubs, then the farms, now trail hunting. The Government’s plan for the countryside is becoming clearer every day. They want to shut it down. They are trying to force through a trail hunting ban with no regard for the jobs, the hounds, or the rural economy. Our communities can’t afford another blunder from a Government that doesn't understand how the countryside works.

On top of employing over 500 people, hunts across England and Wales take on apprentices - helping to train the next generation of animal welfare specialists. The Government’s plan to ban trail hunting will significantly impact entry level opportunities for careers that are essential to the future of the countryside and the welfare of animals.

Hounds sit at the centre of rural life. Across England and Wales, people from different backgrounds come together for days out with family and friends, built around shared tradition and local connection. That activity sustains a wide network of small rural businesses, from pubs and cafés to farriers, feed merchants and vets, as well as the skilled staff who care for hounds throughout the year. A ban on trail hunting would place that ecosystem at risk, with consequences that extend well beyond the hunt field.

The Government is moving to ban trail hunting, a move driven by ideology, not the facts. Trail hunting causes no harm to wildlife, yet ministers are ploughing ahead with a ban that does nothing to address their own failures in enforcement. This isn't just about a sport, it’s about a government that refuses to listen to the rural communities it claims to represent.

Looking after hounds is not merely a passion; it is a way of life. The Government’s proposed ban on trail hunting places that way of life at risk, creating profound uncertainty for hounds, staff and the communities that sustain them. If you value the future of hounds, sign up to our mailing list and stay informed about how to support and safeguard it.

The Fight That Matters Now The battle we now face is this Labour Government’s plan to ban trail hunting, an election manifesto commitment now confirmed in their January announcement. The immediate fight must therefore be to save legal trail hunting and exempt hunting. If we do not succeed in saving these, our future is in deep peril. There are some in our hunting community who believe we should, at the same time, be fighting to repeal the 2004 Hunting Act. This would be a dangerous mistake for two reasons. The first is that this Labour Government will never repeal the Hunting Act. As we know, they would in fact like to make it even more difficult for the future of legal trail hunting and exempt hunting. Repeal of the Hunting Act will require a change of Government. We cannot win that later battle on our own. A future campaign, once we have secured the survival of trail and exempt hunting, will require the support of independent environmental organisations, animal welfare bodies and wildlife groups, and will depend on proving that quarry species have declined and that the Hunting Act has failed in its aims and should therefore be repealed. For now, though, our task is simple, if not easy: hold the ground we still have. William Astor BHSA Chairman Video credit @rls___photography 👌🏼 #trailhunting #houndproud #bhsa #protectourhounds #protectourfuture

Who wants to still be doing this in years to come?? WE DO!! Sign up to for the campaign to save trail hunting - don’t assume everyone else will or that your vote won’t matter - IT DOES! Copy and paste the below for the CA campaign 👇🏼 https://42ce5.r.sp1-brevo.net/mk/cl/f/sh/1t6Af4OiGsDg0Yu6q18CkSI1CXh8lu/YmrZq3_Q80Fy #trailhunting #houndproud #bhsa #hounds #standtogether

A warm welcome to all our new followers - and there are many of you! 🙌🏼 We’re still filled with a sense of pride seeing how many people turned out in support for this year’s Boxing Day meets and then again on New Year’s Day. The unification across the nation just shows that our beloved sport is cherished AND WE MUST NOT GIVE UP! We simply CANNOT let all we do and everything that is connected to trail hunting be banned. ‘What can I do though?’ you may ask…share your thoughts and opinions online to those that oppose the sport, tell EVERYONE that trail hunting is a legitimate and LEGAL sport and join us (the BHSA) for less than £1 a week to help preserve, promote and protect the future of hounds and hound sports. LETS FIGHT THIS FIGHT TOGETHER 💪🏼 bhsa.org.uk #trailhunting #houndproud #bhsa #hounds #standtogether

Ben Wallace, Campaign Chairman for Future Hunting, has expressed his views in a letter on the Animal Welfare Bill that Labour published at the beginning of this week - the letter in full can be seen on our Facebook page, but below are the points he wishes you to remember:- - Hunting puts at least £100m into the rural economy every year. There are 500 direct jobs attached to hunts. - After 20 years and a quarter of a million days’ hunting, there have been fewer than 50 convictions under the Hunting Act in relation to registered packs of hounds. The data simply doesn’t support the antis’ claims. - The government should focus on the economy and cost of living. The police should focus on rural burglaries, county lines and fly-tipping, not pursuing people conducting lawful trail hunting. Please share the above this Boxing Day to help those that has been misinformed and those that are uneducated in our beloved rural sport. #trailhunting #houndproud #houndlove #bhsa #campaign

Support your local Boxing Day meet this year - let’s make it count #ProtectOurHounds #PreserveTheirFuture #houndproud #bhsa #boxingdayhunt

“Just a little girl, chatting with her pony after a day out trail hunting. Are you going to let that vanish from our countryside forever? Join the BHSA and help defend our 15,000 hounds and heritage. 🌺🐾#ProtectOurHounds #PreserveTheirFuture #houndproud