The government plan to hold a vote on amending the Hunting Act this year, with insiders saying this could happen as early as next week.
When this happens, the government aim to change the act to make flushing out foxes with an unlimited number of dogs LEGAL - as it is in Scotland - whereas at the moment only two are permitted in England and Wales.
During traditional hunts, foxes are tracked down by packs of dogs and men on horseback, eventually being either ripped apart by the dogs - dying a slow and painful death, or being shot.
Despite the fact that many pro hunting activists use the argument that hunting foxes is 'pest control,' there is no doubt that hunting foxes over a prolonged period causes unneccessary pain and fear for the animal.
The Director of the League Against Cruel Sports, Robbie Marsland, said: ‘This is nothing but sneaking hunting in through the back door. By amending the Hunting Act like this, the government are deliberately and cynically making it easier for hunts to chase and kill foxes, and harder for them to be convicted when they break the law. This is not about hunting foxes for pest control. It’s about hunting foxes for fun.
“David Cameron pledged to hold a free vote on bringing back hunting but clearly they know they couldn’t win. So now they are using deception to fool the public.
“What will this change actually mean in reality? It means bringing back hunting, as simple as that. There have been over 400 convictions under the Hunting Act so it is clearly working.
“Eight out of ten people in this country want hunting to remain illegal. By introducing an amendment to the law, the government are laughing in their faces. MPs voting on this need to understand that the vast majority of their constituents are against bringing back hunting, so we expect them to vote accordingly.
“What the government is proposing will make the law in England the same as it is in Scotland. They are allowed to use a full pack of hounds to flush and guns, which means in theory they can use the dogs to chase a fox out of cover so it can be shot. But just a few months ago the League Against Cruel Sports filmed half of the Scottish hunts hunting for foxes exactly as they were before it was illegal – and not a gun was in sight! This is what will happen in England. The hunts don’t want to shoot the foxes, they want to chase them and see them ripped apart by hounds.”
With this in mind, we have teamed up with the league to launch their I am Fox campaign - where we are asking everyone who wants to block the ban being lifted to take a selfie with the fox, hare or deer pictures and share to their social media pages.
Visit the website here to learn more about the issues and the campaign.