Labour peers warn trail hunting ban risks further rural backlash

Senior Labour peers have publicly challenged the government’s plan to ban trail hunting, warning it risks further alienating rural Britain and distracting ministers from their core priorities.

The proposed legislation has drawn criticism not only from countryside groups but from within Labour’s own ranks, as concerns grow about the political and economic impact on rural communities.

Sir Keir Starmer’s administration has already faced accusations of pursuing a “war on the countryside” following a string of contentious rural policies, including changes to agricultural taxation and proposals affecting lawful shotgun ownership. The planned ban on trail hunting has now become the latest flashpoint.

Trail hunting involves following a pre-laid scent rather than chasing a live animal and was widely adopted after the 2004 Hunting Act prohibited traditional fox hunting.

Recent ORB polling suggests unease extends beyond Westminster. Two in three voters (65%) believe Labour unfairly neglects people living in the countryside, while 64% think the government does not care about rural communities.

The backlash intensified last week during a House of Lords debate on the government’s Animal Welfare Strategy.

Baroness Hunter of Auchenreoch, a former political adviser to Tony Blair, cautioned ministers against repeating what she noted was one of the former prime minister’s most regretted policies — the 2004 hunting ban.

She asked: “What plans do the government have… to avoid being distracted from their priorities, and not repeating Sir Tony Blair’s admission… of being insensitive to countryside interests?”

She also pressed ministers on whether there would be “swift consultation with the rural community” over the potential economic consequences and what transitional support might be offered.

Baroness Mallalieu echoed those concerns, focusing on the practical role hunts play in rural areas through the fallen stock scheme.

“In my rural community and many others, if you have dead stock on your farm… you ring the hunt kennels,” she said, explaining that trained staff operate “24/7” to end suffering and remove carcasses.

She argued that banning lawful trail hunting was “not about animal welfare but about dislike of people”, and questioned what system would replace the services currently provided by hunts.

The government has previously indicated that strengthening animal welfare standards forms part of its broader policy commitments, though it has yet to set out detailed plans on how ancillary rural services would be replicated.

Polly Portwin, Director of the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, said it was vital ministers recognised the political risks of proceeding.

“It’s imperative that the government recognise the mistake they are making in pursuing a ban on lawful trail hunting,” she said, noting that the last Labour government spent “700 hours of parliamentary time” on banning hunting and “destroyed their relationship with the countryside for a generation”.

She added that “senior Labour voices are warning the government not to repeat its mistake”, urging ministers to focus on national priorities and to “legislate for rural communities, not against them”.

The growing unease among Labour peers suggests the proposed ban could become a fresh flashpoint between Westminster and the countryside in the months ahead.