Two major landowners act to ban trail-hunting

The National Trust and Natural Resources Wales have both said packs will no longer be able to hunt over their land

- ELEANOR JONES

THE hunting community has been hit with a double loss of country as the National Trust and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have been “bullied into” banning trail-hunting on their land.

The Trust announced on 25 November that it would issue no more licences to hunts, following a members’ vote at its AGM on 30 October (news, 4 November). The news came a week after the NRW board decided not to renew its agreement with the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA).

Countryside Alliance CEO Tim Bonner said the Trust’s decision, based on a vote involving less than 2% of its membership, “breaks a fundamental principle”.

“The charity claims to be ‘for everyone, for ever’ but by prohibiting a legal activity it has decided it is actually just for those its board approves of,” he said. “The inability of trustees to differentiate between legal use of hounds and the governance of hunting is extremely regrettable and breaks the basic principle of access to National Trust land.”

The Alliance said it is ready to work with the Trust “to ensure that everyone can have confidence that all hunting activity is open, transparent and legitimate”.