Something isn't adding up

A series of claims are made in the League Against Cruel Sports' end-of-hunting-season report but there is more to the numbers than meets the eye, as Jim Barrington explains

- Jim Barrington explains

NEW FIGURES claiming to show the scale of havoc caused by hunting have made headlines on the internet in recent weeks. No doubt Field readers have seen such reporting appearing on websites and in various local newspapers around the UK. But look a little closer and you will find that there is virtually no verification of those findings. The articles are based on little more than a press release taken directly from an activist group.

The claim comes from an end-of-hunting-season report produced by the League Against Cruel Sports, citing almost 1,600 incidents across England and Wales. Its release seems to be timed to influence MPs, given that the Labour Government has a manifesto commitment to ban trail hunting.

As a former director of the League, I know how it works. The aim is to create an atmosphere and a perception in the minds of the media, public and politicians that hunts are breaking the law in vast numbers. Hunting stories make good copy, and publications (or more and more these days social media and online outlets) that have the resources or inclination to question sources and verify facts are becoming increasingly rare.