Majority of people now think trail hunting should be illegal, polling suggests

MAJORITY of people across the political spectrum and in both towns and the countryside think trail hunting should be illegal, polling suggests.

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Labour pledged in its manifesto to ban trail hunting, a practice in which a scent is laid across the countryside for hounds and riders to follow as an alternative to banned fox hunting, but which has been criticised as a “smokescreen” for illegal activity.

An announcement last month on animal welfare reforms outlined the Government's plans to ban the practice, but animal welfare campaigners are frustrated at its failure to launch the consultation on doing so.

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of more than 2,000 people polled for the League Against Cruel Sports thought that trail hunting should be illegal, compared to a quarter (24%) who thought it should be legal.