Stop Forestry England granting licenses for Fox & Hare hunts
The Parliament petitions site records 104,705 signatures for this petition, which closed on 6 April 2021. The Government responded on 7 December 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 25 April 2022.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Stop Forestry England granting licenses for Fox & Hare hunts
For the most recent hunting season, Forestry England gave hunting licences for 34 fox & hare “trail hunts”. Despite hunting wild mammals with dogs being illegal, two of the licensed/previously licensed trail hunts have been associated with convictions under the Hunting and Animal Welfare Acts.
Other licensed fox hunts have recently been in the press for alleged trespass, killing foxes, losing control of their dogs & for another criminal conviction. A saboteur was severely injured at a hunt in early September that ordinarily receives a licence from Forestry England.
It is only a matter of time before more convictions and more bans will have to be implemented. The answer is simple and effective – stop granting licences to hunts that are continuing to use the myth of ‘trail hunting’ to chase and kill wildlife.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 7 December 2020; the petitions site lists the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as responsible. Its summary:
Trail hunting is a legal activity. Forestry England permits trail hunting under an agreement with the Masters of Fox Hounds Association. It has the power to suspend or withdraw any permission.
The response in full:
The Government responded to a petition on this issue on 10 September 2020 and the position remains the same. The full response can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300634
Trail hunting in the nation's forests is currently suspended in response to confirmation that the police are investigating webinars hosted by the Hunting Office.
Forestry England has no plans to end the granting of permission for trail hunting where the hunts concerned can meet the terms and conditions of the permission which are themselves kept under regular review.
The Government will not amend the Hunting Act 2004.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 505, came from Isle of Wight.
103,058 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,647 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Isle of Wight | 505 |
| St Ives | 370 |
| Wells | 352 |
| Camborne and Redruth | 341 |
| Somerton and Frome | 339 |
| Brighton, Pavilion | 328 |
| Torridge and West Devon | 328 |
| Hove | 323 |
| Stroud | 311 |
| Hastings and Rye | 308 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 16,671 |
| South West | 13,857 |
| North West | 11,703 |
| East of England | 10,390 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 8,769 |
| West Midlands | 8,667 |
| East Midlands | 8,191 |
| London | 6,471 |
| Scotland | 5,610 |
| Wales | 5,476 |
| North East | 4,568 |
| Northern Ireland | 883 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 25 April 2022. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/552017.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
2b7a3026d25022d3… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.