A report by the League Against Cruel Sports (Cheshire) highlighting the hazards faced by motorists from hunting hounds. Second Stage Evidence to the Burns Inquiry in Hunting 2000.

Background

Fox-hunting in Cheshire is believed to date back beyond 1763. Cheshire has two fox-hunting packs, the 'Cheshire Foxhounds' and the 'Cheshire Forest Foxhounds'. Hunting takes place from August to October (cub-hunting) then November to March, main season (fox-hunting).

Foxes live at the top of the food chain, their numbers being controlled by food availability. Throughout evolution foxes have never been chased or killed by anything, because if they are chased they simply go down the nearest hole to escape. Fox-hunting takes place by thwarting this natural escape mechanism. The night before the hunt, people go out and block up all the fox-earths, badger-setts and drains in order to keep the fox running above ground, causing the fox to run unnaturally long distances .The chase is very fast initially, the pack of hounds (30 to 40) are slower but have superior stamina so that it extends the chase. Hunting is contrived to extend the suffering as long as possible for the benefit of the riders. When the fox is to exhausted to continue it will be caught and bitten to death by the pack.

Should a fox be fortunate enough to escape to ground it will be either left, or the hunts terriermen will take over, who then put terrier dogs into the foxes refuge, to try and flush it out. Often the fox will not leave the earth and both dogs fox and terrier will fight a savage underground battle causing death or injury to one or both animals. A great deal of digging takes place in this situation to locate the two animals. If the fox is still alive after this ordeal it will normally be killed by the terriermen.

Fox-hunting takes place over farm land, some farmers who are tenant farmers for the large estates often have no say as to whether they allow the hunt on the land or not. Some farmers do themselves hunt and a number do not hunt but allow the hunt on their land to reap the benefit of having any of their fallen stock taken away free of charge by the hunt, which is then fed to the hounds.

The League Against Cruel Sports, campaigns legally and peacefully for legislation to protect wildlife. It campaigns on a very simple moral question, that being, 'Is it right, particularly in this day and age that people should derive entertainment from an activity which involves the suffering and death of wild animals'. The RSPCA, IFAW and numerous other animal welfare bodies oppose and lobby against fox-hunting. Thirty seven County Councils have banned the hunting of wild animals with hounds on their land, including Cheshire. Twenty seven County Wildlife Trusts prohibit hunting on their land, a clear indication that hunting is not compatible with conservation. The Labour Party the Liberal Democrats and a growing number of Conservative MPs are opposed to hunting. A Labour Government has pledged to make Parliamentary time available for a free vote on the abolition of fox-hunting, deer hunting, and hare coursing with dogs. Tony Blair's personal position is that he is opposed to these forms of hunting and he would vote for their abolition, thus supporting the views of 80% of the population who wish to see it outlawed.

Since 1994 the League Against Cruel Sports has through it's Cheshire Support Group deployed Hunt Monitors in Cheshire, who have recorded, collected and collated information to expose the truth about what actually takes place at fox-hunts to strengthen the League's argument against such activities and expose these findings through the media. League monitors in Cheshire do not demonstrate or protest at hunt meets, neither do they disrupt such activities, they simply record events, peacefully and legally, they have however been the subject of much threat and abuse from hunt followers.

Although the hunting fraternity say their activity takes place on (invited) private land, hunting is by nature chaotic because hounds chase a quarry which is unpredictable in it's direction, which can and has led them through, residential gardens, across railway lines and main roads. This local report aims to highlight the growing problem of hunting hounds being out of control on public highways in Cheshire. The League in London has also just published a report 'Track Record' which highlights the dangers of hounds on roads and railways nationally. (Copy enclosed). As well as putting forward proposals, we seek to generate discussion and action to eliminate the problem, before a member of the public is killed or injured because of this totally avoidable hazard.

Hazard on the Highways!

Over the last two years LACS monitors have attended numerous hunt meets in Cheshire and as well as seeing first hand the suffering inflicted on wildlife, we have been appalled and concerned at the number of times hounds run on to public highways, in particular the counties busy (A) roads, endangering not just fox and hounds but innocent road users.

Before Monitors attended hunt meets, incidents of hounds on roads were rarely reported unless an animal was killed such as in 1990 when a hound was struck by a vehicle on the main A51 at Duddon and had to be destroyed.

Hounds enter on to public highways in two distinct ways. Under control and not under control.

Hounds are assumed to be under control on public highways when they are being escorted, usually from one hunting area to another, by the huntsman and the whippers-in. (three to four persons on horse back ) They supervise the pack, shepherd them together, under control, to hopefully ensure they are not loose in such a way that they could endanger motorists or other road users. However even in this instance it is debatable whether it is safe to have 30 to 40 dogs in such a fashion on major roads.

Hounds are not under control when they are away from the huntsman and whippers-in, during the actual pursuit of a live quarry, who's very unpredictability in the direction it runs, often takes itself and the pursuing hounds across, even along public highways, endangering motorists and other road users, sometimes with tragic consequences. Due to this unpredictability of the direction the quarry and hounds will run and the speed with which they travel, the huntsman and whips are often unable to keep up with the hounds, particularly when they are unable to take the same route, for example, no permissible access to certain areas of land, physical barriers, fenced areas etc. Even when they are in close proximity of the running hounds, it is extremely difficult, even impossible to stop a pack of forty hounds in full flight, pursuing their quarry.

Two recent hound, road incidents, Nov 2nd 1995 Cheshire Foxhounds and Dec 24th 1995 Cheshire Forest Hunt, (See enclosed press clips),have once again highlighted the dangers of hounds out of control on public highways. The huntsman and whips being only able to catch up with the hounds after they had run across busy main roads. Sadly with tragic consequences during one incident, with a hound being killed. It was only by sheer good fortune that no motorists were killed or injured during these chases.

The hunting fraternities own published hunting reports, clearly demonstrates how hunting a wild animal in such a manner, brings fox and hounds onto public highways and even railways. The following are just a few extracts from numerous reports detailing hounds on roads.

Cheshire Foxhounds Hunt reports, (Extracts)

From meets at Saighton, Nr Chester

From a meet at Whitegate, Nr Northwich

Recommendations

The danger to motorists from hounds on roads is very real and is not going to go away completely until parliament legislates to outlaw such practices. It's replacement will be draghunting, the humane alternative where hounds follow a pre-set trail safely across the countryside. There are twenty packs of drag-hunts already, Cheshire has two. So hunting will not actually be given up, the tradition, the stirrup-cup, the associated employment will all be maintained. The only thing lost will be the kill. Although it is envisaged that a switch to drag-hunting will greatly increase the popularity of this Field sport, being somewhat more consumer friendly than fox-hunting!, because it is controllable, there would be no threat to motorists or animals and in 100 years of drag-hunting there has never been a single recorded incident of a hunt getting out of control and causing havoc.

in the meantime, until legislation is brought about to abolish the hunting of wild animals with hounds, immediate action needs to be taken to safeguard motorists. The situation appears to be getting worse and this would appear to be, not because the hunts are going on roads any more than they have in the past, but because of the increased density and speed of traffic on Cheshire's (A) roads. The problem is being further intensified by the numbers of new fast link roads and by-passes that have been constructed.

As a partial solution which we feel would reduce considerably the risk to the hunted the hunters and motorists, we propose the following.

POLICE ACTION

In 1993 we wrote to the then Chief Constable David Graham expressing our concern at hounds on roads after a near miss incident on the A51, requesting that he should contact local hunts to point out the inherent dangers of their activities near roads, with regard to road safety. Since then nothing appears to have changed and after the incident on November 2nd 1995, when a hound was killed on the A49 and a disaster was narrowly averted we wrote to the present Chief Constable Mervin Jones to highlight the dangers once again. Assistant Chief Constable John Dwyer acting on the Chief Constable's behalf took a very positive and sensible line on this and held discussions with the hunts and in a letter to us dated 15th November 1995 commented "My expectations are that a hunt comes to a halt when it approaches a main road. I can confirm that in the course of my recent discussions with responsible hunt members they have stated they share my expectations."

On Christmas Eve less than six weeks after the expectations expressed in the letter, hounds from the Cheshire Forest hunt ran out of control in pursuit of a fox across the busy A54 at the notorious Ashton Lane end accident black-spot. Traffic which travels at very high speeds on this stretch of road coming down the Kelsall by-pass was brought to a complete standstill and to say that it was fortunate that a serious accident did not occur, would be an understatement. (See enclosed press clip)

It is clear the expectation that hunts come to a standstill when they reach a main road, ie the riders, is perfectly feasible. However the expectation that the fox and hounds come to a standstill is not and is indeed totally unworkable, hence the Christmas Eve incident.

Therefore in a further letter to the Chief Constable (January 1996) we asked that consideration be given to the following proposal.

'As a solution may we suggest that hunts do not attempt to hunt a live quarry within the close vicinity of (A) roads (Say a 1 mile exclusion zone). In practical terms this would mean an end to putting hounds into woods, copses, spinneys, pit holes, or any other natural structure where hounds could flush out and pursue a live quarry, within one mile of an (A) road. This would have the effect of allowing the hunts to still move along public highways in an orderly and controlled manner from one hunting area to another, but dramatically reduce the risk of hunted wildlife and pursuing hounds running across these busy highways. We do not know what powers the police have in enforcing such a suggestion, if any, or whether it would simply be a case of the hunts heeding police advice. But they would do well to take heed before a member of the public is killed or injured, whilst the existing practice continues.'

County Council Action

Section 31 (1) of the Road Traffic Act 1972 gives local authorities in England and Wales the power to designate roads and make it an offence to permit a dog to be on such a road without being on a lead. Designation is often applied to main and busy roads and there should be some form of notice on lamp-posts indicating that the road is so designated.

There are exceptions for dogs used for a sporting purpose under control and driving cattle or sheep

As there are exceptions for sporting dogs under control but not out of control as is so often the case during hunting a live quarry with hounds, we have written (January 1996) to Cheshire County Councils Chief Road Safety Officer John Moss to ask the following

(a) Are any roads in Cheshire currently designated as per the above Act? If there are could you supply a list of such roads.

(b) Who would be responsible for implementing a prosecution under the Act.?

(c) Does Cheshire County Council have the power to designate roads as defined in the Act, in particular the sections of the A54 and A49 where the two most recent incidents occurred.

Mr Moss has contacted us and expressed his concern at the hazards faced by motorists and has passed our questions on to the authorities legal dept.

Assuming the council has the power to designate roads in such a manner, this would indeed be an extremely positive and sensible course of action to reduce the hazards posed by hunting dogs out of control on public highways.

League Against Cruel Sports (Cheshire)