PETITION TARGET: U.K. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dame Angela Eagle
No fox should have to run in terror from a pack of hounds, desperately trying to escape before they are caught, injured, or killed. Yet that can happen during a trail hunt in England and Wales — only for the chase to be dismissed as an accident.
After England and Wales banned hunting foxes with dogs in 2005, hunt groups adopted trail hunting as an alternative. During the activity, organizers lay an animal-based scent across the countryside for hounds to track, while riders follow the pack. But the dogs can still pick up a live fox’s scent and give chase, allowing organizers to characterize the pursuit as unintended and skirt the ban.
Those dangers are far from hypothetical. Between August 2025 and March 25, 2026, the League Against Cruel Sports recorded 488 reports of foxes being pursued and said they were even deliberately targeted. In addition, its monitors saw scent trails laid at just 4% of the gatherings advertised as trail hunts.
The U.K. government has committed to banning trail hunting in England and Wales, but key details of the legislation have yet to be decided. To protect foxes, the law must clearly define trail hunting, bar animal-based scents in dog training, and prevent unsubstantiated claims that a trail existed or a chase was accidental.
Sign our petition urging U.K. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle to ban trail hunting in England and Wales and close loopholes that could allow illegal fox hunting to continue.
