The official fox hunting season begins on Saturday but the atrocity of ‘cub hunting’ has been going on for several weeks.

The ‘sport’ of chasing and killing wild mammals with dogs was ‘banned’ by the Hunting Act 2004, yet many organised hunts still ride roughshod over the spirit and letter of the law, just as many thousands of hunters pledged to before the Act was passed.

The ex Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service recently reported,”traditional fox hunting remains ‘business as usual’... Extensive flouting of the law risks bringing Parliament, the police and prosecuting authorities into disrepute.”

He urged the RSPCA to press for the law to be strengthened to ease enforcement. Protect Our Wild Animals has long argued for that and enhanced deterrence.

Evidence from people observing hunts nationwide confirm many still regularly terrorise and slaughter wild mammals, but they almost always escape even investigation by exploiting weaknesses in the Act, often hiding behind the pretence of ‘trail hunting’.

Even with video evidence, it is extremely hard to get legal action initiated, let alone prove hunting was intentional. Claims of ‘accident’ normally suffice to exonerate hunts.

The current Prime Minister wants, but has failed, to fully re-legalise this barbarity. Hopefully, the next parliament will see the need to finally rein in the lawless hunters, and our case for this is at CampaigntoStrengthentheHuntingAct.com.

A graphic DVD illustrating our arguments has been sent to many potential decision-makers, but our still suffering wildlife needs the help of your readers, the great majority of whom dislike the cruelty of traditional hunting. By telling MPs and candidates they want the Hunting Act strengthened, they can help ensure that our society is truly freed from the disgusting ‘sport’ of hunting wild mammals with hounds.

Alan Kirby M.Sc, Protect Our Wild Animals www.powa.org.uk