Tony Blair brought in his restrictions on hunting with dogs in 2004. In the years since then, hunting has never been so popular. However, Blair’s law – dreamed up by animal rights activists – never worked, either for wildlife, for the hunting community, or even for those animal rights activists, who are campaigning to change it. Animal welfare consultant and former head of the League Against Cruel Sports Jim Barrington joins environmental journalist Charlie Pye-Smith to look at the practical effects the law has had. They are undertaking a year of conversations with country people, starting with farmer and president of the Devon & Somerset Staghounds Tom Yandle.
Meanwhile, Jack McConnell’s restrictions on foxhunting with hounds in Scotland are failing as badly as Blair’s. Charlie Pye-Smith talks to Ed Swales of Hunting Kind about his experience on the border of England and Scotland, where hunts have to be ready to change hunting styles as they cross from one country to the other.
