RECENT data from a report shows that Somerset sits among the top three worst counties for hunting incidents.

According to data found in a report by Protect the Wild, nearly 600 wild animals were chased or killed in England and Wales during the 2023/2024 hunting season.

Nature and Wildlife safety organisation, Protect the Wild, is calling on the Labour government to replace the Hunting Act immediately.

Protect the Wild commissioned Advocates for Animals to prepare a new draft bill in 2023 to replace the Hunting Act.

The resulting Hunting of Mammals Bill can give Britain’s wildlife the much-needed protection it needs from the ongoing persecution outlined in this report. 

The data within the report covers the period July 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024 across England and Wales and is based on 2,312 reports published by monitor groups, newspapers, and members of the public.

In the report, it was discovered that there had been 223 registered hunting incidents in Somerset during the 2023/2024 season, with only Dorset (251 incidents) and Gloucestershire (218 incidents) also having over 200 reported incidents.

The Hunting Act came in 2004, and it is the law which bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales.

This means that fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting are all illegal, as they all are cruel sports based on dogs chasing wild mammals.

In the report, data showed that there were 364 cases of fox hunting across the season, with hunts chasing 335 foxes and killing a further 29 individuals.

Highlighted within these statistics was Somerset’s Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt – which accounted for 12.83% of the total reported fox chases and kills.

Rob Pownall, found of Protect the Wild, says: “The evidence is there for all to see.

“Until this government works to bring about legislative change then we will continue to see the illegal persecution of wildlife across the country.

“It’s time for a new proper ban on hunting with hounds.”