Labor leaders have publicly challenged the government’s plans to ban trail hunting, warning it risks further marginalizing rural England and distracting ministers from their core priorities.
The proposed legislation has drawn criticism from rural groups as well as from within the Labor Party, amid growing concerns about the political and economic impact on rural areas.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government is already facing accusations that it is pursuing a “war on the countryside” following a series of controversial rural policies, including changes to farm taxation and proposals to affect the legal ownership of shotguns. A planned ban on trail hunting is now the latest flash point.
Trail hunting, which involves following pre-placed scents rather than following live animals, was widely adopted after traditional fox hunting was banned under the Hunting Act of 2004.
Recent ORB polling suggests that anxiety extends beyond Westminster. Two in three voters (65%) think Labor unfairly ignores people living in rural areas, and 64% think the government doesn’t care about rural areas.
The backlash intensified last week during a House of Lords debate on the government’s animal welfare strategy.
Baroness Hunter of Oakenleoch, a former political adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair, has warned ministers against repeating the 2004 hunting ban, one of the former prime minister’s most regretted policies.
she asked: “What plans does the government have to avoid being diverted from its priorities and repeating Sir Tony Blair’s admission that it is insensitive to rural interests?”
He also pressed ministers on whether there would be “rapid consultation with rural communities” about the potential economic impact and what transition support would be provided.
Baroness Murrieux echoed these concerns, highlighting the practical role that hunting plays in rural areas through her Stock Decline Plan.
“In my rural community and many others, when there is a carcass on a farm, we call the hunting kennel,” she said, explaining that trained staff work “24/7” to end suffering and remove carcasses.
She argued that the ban on legal trail hunting was “not for animal welfare, but for hatred of humans” and questioned what systems could replace the services currently provided by hunting.
The government has previously suggested that tightening animal welfare standards is part of a broader policy commitment, but has yet to provide detailed plans for how supplementary rural services will be replicated.
Polly Portwyn, head of hunting campaigns at the Countryside Alliance, said it was important ministers recognized the political risks of the process.
“It is essential that we recognize the government’s mistake in pursuing a ban on legal trail hunting,” she said, noting that the last Labor government spent “700 parliamentary hours” banning hunting and “destroyed our relationship with the countryside for a generation”.
He added: “Labour leaders are warning the Government not to repeat their mistakes” and urged ministers to focus on national priorities and “legislate for rural communities, not against them”.
Growing anxiety among Labor members suggests the proposed ban could become a new flashpoint between Westminster and the provinces in the coming months.
