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Across Britain's rolling countryside, rural communities will gather on Boxing Day for the annual fox-hunt meetings, despite the tradition being as divisive as ever, 15 years after the Hunting Act was introduced.

But it remains controversial and emotions can run high whenever those on both sides of the debate meet.

Over the years hunt organisers have had to adapt to carry on their tradition, often blaming uneducated "townies" for being ignorant of the realities of living a rural life.

Protesters, meanwhile, say hunting is an excusable and cruel sport that has no place in modern society, as GloucestershireLive report.

The Hunting Act came into force almost 700 years after fox hunting first began in England and Wales.

It prohibits the chasing of wild animals in England and Wales, including fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting.

However, the Act does not completely ban hunting, as it does not cover the use of dogs to flush out unidentified wild animals.

Drag hunting is also still allowed under the Act, which involves a pack of hounds following an artificially-laid scent.

This can take the form of a material soaked in a pungent substance, such as aniseed, or simply the hounds following the scent of a human who has already walked the course.

Despite this being different and seemingly less harmful than traditional hunting, many anti-hunt protesters believe that drag hunting is just as bad.

People with opinions on either side of the debate can be found everywhere, however, traditionally residents of rural areas were more likely to support hunting as they were more likely to be involved than those who live in cities.

However, as times change and the years go by, fewer people are supporting hunting overall.

Facebook Community Reporter Maisie Lillywhite has met those on both sides to find out why Gloucestershire remains at odds over the subject.

Haydn Jones, joint master of Berkeley Hunt

Haydn Jones grew up on an urban estate, before upping sticks and deciding to move to the countryside.

"People were open minded about hunting on the estate. I was always interested in natural history and the countryside." He said.

Naturally, with these interests, Haydn started hunting at the age of 30, and is still deeply involved at the age of 55. Unlike urbanised areas, where lots of different social events happen each day, Haydn said that hunt gatherings are a good way of getting to meet others in the area, with similar interests.

"People who live in the country don't always have the chance to meet up and discuss the matters of today." Haydn said.

"I think it's a real social event."

But hunting, according to property developer Haydn, is not just beneficial for the social lives of the rurally isolated.

He also argues that hunting helps to preserve the British countryside.

"It's a great way of conserving the countryside and woodlands - it's all about maintaining habitat. Hunting was a way of making space for all sorts of habitat to survive. Before that, it was not easy for landowners to find the space to protect hat species of land.

"The social side is the most important, but farmers like to have diverse land, with woodlands."

Is hunting just pest control?

Just like Haydn, many hunt supporters also agree that hunting controls the pest population in Britain.

Foxes often prey on chickens, lambs and other small farm animals.

However, some say that foxes actually do help farming, as rabbits are often a staple of their diet.

As rabbits can wreck havoc on crops, they can save farmers up to £7m a year.

Although the Hunting Act 2004 makes traditional fox hunting illegal, much of the British public still have a problem with the way hunting lives on.

When asked about people who are opposed to fox hunting in 2019, Haydn said he "is not quite sure what the beef is".

"I understand a lot of people use social media as a way of venting about us." He said.

"The Hunting Act dictates that we only go out trail hunting now anyway. We might go out in strange clothing, but just us standing there seems to antagonise them.

"They do not seem to understand. I would just ask them to understand that we know the law and aim to comply with the law. I would ask them to be open-minded about it."

"I don't understand what harm we are doing."

Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs

The Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs work throughout Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, trying to disrupt hunting practices.

The group of five work to sabotage fox hunting, as well as badger culls, hare hunting and the occasional mink hunt.

Lyn Sawyer, a member of the Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs, says that fox hunting is a "violation of rights" although she did start off as a supporter.

"I'm ex-hunt myself, I used to hunt in my early teens and twenties." said Lyn, 52.

"Then, I became vegan and started sabbing and doing animal rights stuff about 26 years ago."

A lot of anti-hunt supporters hold their beliefs on the basis of animal rights, just like Lyn does.

They believe that the way in which foxes are killed when caught is barbaric, as this sometimes involves the foxes being "ripped apart" by hounds.

"I'm opposed to using living creatures at all, if avoidable." said Lyn, a retired midwife.

"I think it's one thing if you're starving and have no alternative, but I think that a lot of people are hunting foxes and hares for sport, which is against the law.

"There is no excuse whatsoever."

Lyn thinks that hunting disregards the rights of all animals involved.

"First of all, you have the violation of the rights of the animals being hunted, and then the rights of the hounds being used for hunting." She said.

"The hounds are being dragged all over the road and into people's gardens,

"Recently, in Worcestershire, we were at a site where the hounds chased the foxes into a hole,

"We also found a badger shot between the eyes."

The Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs have recently seen a rise in the blocking of badger setts.

They claim members of the hunt often block the setts to prevent foxes from disappearing down them when they are chased by hounds.

What does being a saboteur involve?



When it comes to the act of sabotaging, Lyn says there are several stages involved.

"We approach the hunt first, to show them that we are there." She said.

"We turn up with cameras, so they feel like they need to behave themselves. We have had a great deal of success with this when it comes to them blocking badger setts,

"If we can't deter them, then we try and get between the fox and hounds to stop them from killing."

Lyn says that her and the other saboteurs will often use citronella spray to try and mask the scent of the fox, in order to deter the hounds.

According to Lyn, the citronella spray is very diluted, and does not cause harm to the dogs if the saboteurs accidentally spray it in their eyes, as the anti-hunt group spray it in their own faces first.

Although Boxing Day is a peak time for hunt saboteurs to act, Lyn says that The Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs will not be demonstrating.

"Boxing Day is also family time, and our families live away, so often there is not very many of us around to do anything." She said.

"We will probably be checking badger setts - nothing too exciting,

"On New Year's Day, we may be doing a demo in Stow-on-the-Wold."

One of the other members of the group, Emma Phipps, says that a lot of people are unaware that traditional fox hunting, where foxes are killed, still takes place.

"A lot of people think they can support it on Boxing Day because they do not think the hunt still kills foxes, as it is illegal now." The 32-year-old said.

"They are unaware that fox hunting goes on regardless of prosecutions."

Although the group want fox hunting to stop completely, Emma says that they stay civil with the local hunts.

"I think the hunts are aware that we are quite friendly." Emma, who is a carer, said.

"We give first aid to hounds and horses who get stuck in wire, so we have a good reputation,

"We are also in contact with pro-hunt groups, who give us information on what is going on."

Emma said that although The Three Counties Hunt Saboteurs take a lot of responsibility for disorganising hunts, they also "empower people to do things themselves".

In the areas they operate, the saboteur group have a few local residents that take matters into their own hands.

Emma said that these people will often go out pretending to be dog walkers or hikers, to monitor hunts and check on badger setts.

Jim Barrington, Welfare Consultant at the Countryside Alliance

The Countryside Alliance is an organisation that advocates for rural issues, from keeping post offices in villages open, to getting rural houses connected to broadband, to campaigning for fox hunting.

Although the Countryside Alliance is a pro-hunt group composed of many hunters, Welfare Consultant Jim Barrington did not grow up hunting.

He hated it.

In fact, he used to oppose the hunt so much, that he actively sabotaged them and was Executive Director of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS).

Jim was interviewed on an edition of BBC's 'Discussion Point' in 1984, whilst he was working for the LACS.

"[Hunting] is an activity which is totally unnecessary, there is no proven evidence that these animals must be hunted and killed in this way." Jim said, 35 years ago.

"It should be abolished."

(Image: Countryside Alliance)

After years of being a hunt saboteur, Jim changed sides to become a hunt supporter in the mid-1990s.

The crossover to the other side of the spectrum came from Jim realising that "the use of dogs in wildlife management is really important.", as he says that fox hunting helps to maintain a "diverse and healthy" ecosystem.

"I totally understand why people are concerned about it as an animal rights issue, as I was at one time but they see things in very emotional and simplistic terms." He said.

"Ripping animals apart is awful - at one level it is very easy to see that,

"But take humans out of the picture, people like to watch wildlife films about coyotes hunting. It's virtually the same thing."

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During a hunt, Jim says that the hounds simulate the process used by wild canines.

He says that hunting, from the hound's perspective, is all about scent, not the chase involved.

The hounds tend to seek out the most vulnerable animals, who may be old or ill, which is what wolves do in the wild.

"It's an all or nothing outcome, and importantly there is no injury [caused to the fox when it gets caught]."

When it comes to his former friends, the anti-hunt side of the argument, Jim said that people who think badly of the hunt need to "look at the Act" which they support, as he says it has done nothing to prevent the fieldsport.

"The Act is not an animal welfare piece of legislation, it's unprincipled illogical nonsense." The 67-year-old said.

"Look at the consequences of the law - there is very little information on what it has actually done,

"The fox population has reduced by a third, and when the act came in, farmers shot thousands of hares because they were seen as pests,

"We have moved from a community conservation based process to a more commercial or pest control position, which is done more with individuals."

Will a repeal of the Act happen anytime soon?

With the Act being introduced by Tony Blair's Labour Government, and the later Conservative Governments proposing for a vote on the Act, a lot of hunt supporters are Conservative voters.

After the Coalition government came into power in 2010, David Cameron wanted to give MPs a free vote on the Act again, as he said he always thought it was "a bizzare piece of legislation".

However, the free vote under Cameron's parliament never happened.

Whilst campaigning in the run up to the 2016 General Election, Theresa May told crowds that she "has always supported fox hunting".

With this in mind, she also promised a free vote to MPs to amend the Act.

However, during an interview with Andrew Marr in 2018, she said that she received a "clear message" that repealing the Act was not in public interest.

Despite current Prime Minister Boris Johnson also being a Conservative, he is not in the same boat as his two predecessors when it comes to legalising the controversial sport.

In fact, in their General Election 2019 manifesto, a bullet point at the end of page 43 reads: "We will make no changes to the Hunting Act".

Therefore, for as long as Boris is Prime Minister, no repeal is set to take place, and traditional fox hunting will remain illegal.