LEADING animal welfare charity, the League Against Cruel Sports, has recently appealed to councillors across Somerset to back measures to end fox hunting and deer hunting in the county.

The charity has written to all 169 councillors representing both Somerset Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council, expressing their concerns over the extent of fox hunting in the region.

The letters were sent to Councillor Bill Revans, Leader of Somerset Council, and Councillor Sarah Dyke, Lead Member for the Environment and Climate Change, to name a few.

It has asked for a meeting with council leaders to establish how best to end fox and deer hunting in the county to help protect local populations.

Fox hunting has a long history within the UK, and is still treated as tradition amongst many.

Thousands gathered on Boxing Day 2022 in the area to take part in trail hunting, in which the dogs follow an artificial scent instead of a real animal, since active fox hunting was banned in 2004.

John Petrie, the League Against Cruel Sports regional campaign manager, said: “Somerset is sadly a hotspot for suspected illegal hunting and anti-social behaviour by fox and deer hunts despite the ban on hunting with dogs.

“It’s time for change and for the council to take a stand against this sordid activity by hunts which blights rural communities and the lives of local people, and brutally kills the wildlife that lives in the countryside.”

Polling commissioned by the League and conducted independently by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus showed three quarters of the Somerset electorate (75 per cent) were in favour of strengthening hunting laws.

Local residents are being urged to sign a petition calling on policy makers to do all in their power to end hunting in Somerset.

John Petrie added: “We urge Somerset council leaders to sit down and discuss how we can work together to end barbaric deer and fox hunting in the county for good.”

A spokesperson from Somerset County Council said: "We are not aware of trail hunting taking place on land that Somerset County Council controls.

"Hunting foxes with hounds is illegal under the Hunting Act 2004. If anybody suspects illegal hunting activities in Somerset they should report the matter to Avon and Somerset Police.”