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• 97% of convictions since the Hunting Act came into force relate to poaching or other casual hunting activities, including at least seven people who have been convicted of hunting rats
• In 2010, six police forces cautioned 11 individuals under the Hunting Act - not one was for an individual associated with a registered hunt. 16 police forces also proceeded against 49 individuals under the Hunting Act in 2010. Yet only 4 were individuals associated with a registered hunt.
• In 2010, 33 individuals were fined under the Hunting Act by local courts. But only one was for an individual associated with a registered hunt. 36 individuals were convicted under the Hunting Act in 2010, only one of these convictions was for an individual associated with a registered hunt.
• Since 2005 – the year the Hunting Act came into force – a remarkable twelve police forces covering hunt areas, including Devon and Cornwall, Warwickshire, Bedfordshire, Dorset and South Wales, have not issued a single caution, and have not proceeded against, fined or convicted any individual associated with a registered hunt. 
• Although the total number of hours and days of police time that have been expended in the past year pursuing registered hunts cannot be properly counted, the statistics above reinforce the fact that the Hunting Act is unworkable and police forces are wasting time and effort pursuing law-abiding hunts.  

 

Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said:

“With the opening meets of the hunting season just around the corner, these statistics are a damning indictment of the expensive and failed Hunting Act. As a piece of legislation it is has been condemned widely – including by those who created it, yet law-abiding hunts are still forced to go about their daily lives under the threat of harassment and intimidation from saboteurs who then waste police time pursuing cases that never see the light of day. The evidence is now overwhelming: the Hunting Act must be repealed.”

A Police Officer's nightmare

Philip Davies, a former Chief Inspector, said:

“The Hunting Act is a police officer’s nightmare. It is hugely time-consuming, a massive distraction and produces very poor results. There are already an abundance of laws that combat poaching, but the Hunting Act compels police forces to investigate law-abiding hunts with little or no success. The strain on resources is totally out of proportion to the results achieved.”

While opponents of hunting continue to claim the Hunting Act has been a roaring success, in reality the number of people associated with hunts registered with the Council of Hunting Associations (the body representing more than 330 hunts and over 70 clubs) that have been cautioned, proceeded against in court, fined and convicted under the Hunting Act has been consistently low since the Hunting Act came into force in 2005, and 2010 is no exception.

Fewer than 10 per cent of people who have been dealt with by the authorities under the Hunting Act since it came into force in 2005 have been associated with a hunt registered with the Council of Hunting Associations. Geographically, most convictions under the Act have been secured in areas such as Merseyside and Humberside, which are not hunted over by registered packs. Traditional hunting areas such as Dorset, Leicestershire, Devon and Cornwall have seen no convictions whatsoever.