By Robbie Marsland

JUST before Christmas, the League Against Cruel Sport’s field workers filmed a pack of hounds streaming across an open field with their heads down, tails high and barking excitedly. All the classic signs of a traditional fox hunt. If 2022 is the 20th anniversary of the so-called Scottish ban on fox hunting, then why do hunts still look like they’re hunting as if the law doesn’t exist?

Over the last seven years, the public, a law lord review, Police Scotland, a sheriff and now the Scottish Government have all agreed, one way or another, that the present law just doesn’t work and needs strengthening. The only people who want the law to remain the same are the members and representatives of the 10 mounted fox hunts who still go out two or three times a week between September and March.

At the end of last year, the Government held a six-week consultation seeking views on measures to strengthen the law. The results of the consultation and a draft bill are expected imminently. The League Against Cruel Sports has many years of experience in fox hunting and fox hunting legislation and we will scrutinise the proposed legislation to make sure there are no accidental loopholes which would once again allow traditional fox hunting to take place.

The pro-hunting lobby often resort to complaining about all the parliamentary time that is put into their so-called “sport”. They also accuse anyone who voices opposition to chasing and killing a wild animal with a pack of hounds of being “political campaigners”.

If the Scottish Government gets the new law right, and the Scottish Parliament supports it, we have a proper chance of really banning fox hunting in Scotland. There will be no more reason for parliament to spend another hour on this cruel, outdated and repugnant activity. As to the charge of “political campaigning” – how else does social change happen?

Meanwhile, back in that field just before Christmas, the League captured on film what in our view appeared to be a blatant breach of the law, with a hound in close pursuit of a fox. A provision in the law allows hunts to use packs of hounds to flush foxes to waiting guns. When we filmed, there was no sight or sound of a shotgun, which you would expect if this was really “flushing to guns”. Police Scotland have been informed and the full evidence is being sent to them. It will then be up to a sheriff court to decide if what we saw was illegal hunting. From past experience, there’s no guarantee that the well-documented problems with the present law won’t scupper a successful prosecution.

If the new bill emerges swiftly there’s a chance that the new legislation will be in force in time to stop the 2022 fox hunting season in its tracks. Twenty years on from the first attempt, we may finally be able to say that Scotland has really banned fox hunting – for good.

Robbie Marsland is Director of the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland