END OF TRAIL HUNTS

No10 backed on bid to ban 'cruel sport

- BY ALEXANDER BROWN Assistant Political Editor

BOXING Day hunts are facing the axe as the process to ban controversial trail hunting starts next year.The practice, in which a scent is laid out for hounds to pursue rather than a real animal, was brought in as a replacement for fox hunting, which Labour banned 20 years ago.

Campaigners have long warned foxes are still regularly torn to shreds by dogs during trail hunts.

The national police lead on illegal hunting, Devon and Cornwall's assistant chief constable Matt Longman, has claimed trail hunting was often used as a smokescreen for illegal genuine fox hunts.

Now the government is poised to deliver on a ban, expected within this parliament, which comes as part of its animal welfare strategy.

It is due to be published tomorrow.

In the new year ministers will launch a consultation, seeking views on how to deliver a full ban.

Shooting hares in England is also expected to be banned for most of the year, as part of the changes.