Labour ‘alienating rural people’ with trail hunting ban, claims Countryside Alliance

Boxing Day hunts have gathered across England as opponents of a planned ban on trail hunting claimed that Keir Starmer’s government had “alienated rural people”.

- Ben Quinn Political correspondent

‘The warning came from the Countryside Alliance, a pressure group which said tens of thousands of supporters had joined gatherings in the morning, as it released a poll suggesting 65% of people think the Labour administration unfairly neglects country communities.

Provisions for a ban on trail hunting are included in the government's animal welfare strategy, which was published on Monday. The practice, which involves hounds following a scent rather than a live animal, was introduced to comply with a ban on pursuing foxes introduced in the Hunting Act 2004.

The ban is likely to cause further friction between the government and farming communities after the recent row over changes to inheritance tax breaks, which led to a partial U-turn by the government on Tuesday. A consultation on how to implement the ban will be launched in 2026.