News Beat
Hundreds attend Boxing Day hunt despite being told they are ‘not welcome’
Hundreds of hunting supporters defied opposition from Chris Packham and the local council in Tiverton to gather for the annual Boxing Day meet – despite being told they are “not welcome”.
The television presenter had branded the event “ethically and morally bankrupt” as he urged councillors in the Devon town to vote against the historic meet earlier this month.
However the event went ahead despite Tiverton Town Council voting to back a motion declaring: “The hunt meet is not welcome in Tiverton on Boxing Day, or any other day.”
Hundreds turned out to support the Tiverton Foxhounds, who have met on Boxing Day outside the Half Moon pub in the town square for around 200 years.
Addressing the crowd from horseback on Friday, Kelvin Thomas, of Tiverton Foxhounds, vowed to meet again next year and told Mr Packham to stay out of rural affairs.
He said: “He’s been very, very vocal about joining the lobby who are not going to welcome us here today. So, despite the fact several of his bosses at the BBC have already jumped over the side, hopefully he won’t be too far behind.
“Better if he just left rural issues to us and he got on with his job and the urban Government got on with theirs, we’d all get along, no issue. Apparently we’re not welcome and you’re not welcome – but nice to see you anyway.”
Around 50 protesters, holding placards and a cardboard cutout of Mr Packham, also gathered in the town before the huntsman blew his horn at around 11am.
It comes as hunt supporters vowed to fight Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to ban trail hunting as thousands attended traditional Boxing Day meets across the country on Friday.
The government announced its plans to crackdown on the sport, claiming trail hunting – where packs of hounds follow a scent laid for them – was too often being used as a smokescreen for illegal foxhunting.
The Countryside Alliance has defended trail hunting, introduced to comply with the Hunting Act 2004’s ban on pursuing foxes. The group claimed hunts contribute more than £100 million a year to the rural economy.
The pressure group this week warned Starmer had “alienated rural people”, with a poll suggesting 65 per cent of voters think the Labour administration unfairly neglects country communities.
Despite a partial U-turn, there is still lingering resentment among farming communities over changes to inheritance tax breaks.
Will Bryer, joint master of the Duke of Beaufort Hunt, said the countryside was “under assault and siege”, and said the government would have a “fight” on its hands.
Addressing thousands of spectators at the major trail hunting meet near Badminton, Gloucestershire, on Friday ,he said: “I just wonder whether our government would have made that announcement had they predicted a turnout like this.
“It is somewhat ironic, is it not, that the government choose to announce their intentions to destroy trail hunting just at a time of year when we reaffirm our beliefs.
“So just ask yourselves: Why did you come today? Was it because you believe in a connection to the land and to your farmers?
“Was it because you believe in preserving British cultural heritage? Was it because you believe in hunting?
“So, we’re under assault, we’re under siege and like all fights it’s going to get messy. But we must, we must stand united.
“So, because of my age, I’m going to say take the words from that 1980s super-ballad, take the words from Journey’s song, Don’t Stop Believing. Hunting has a future, hunting will endure.”
The Grove Rufford Hunt gathered in the main street in Bawtry, South Yorkshire, before more than 100 riders set out for the nearby village of Scaftworth.
Speaking outside The Crown Inn, chairman and master Jane Bowen pleaded for the government to “please leave us alone”.
She added: “We are misunderstood. They refuse to engage with us on any level.
“And, if they come to visit the kennels, of which anybody is welcome at any time, and actually see and understand what we do, then I think they’ll have a different view.
“We all have different views, that is the choice of a democracy, or was. And we choose to do this, and we do it legally, as we have for 20 years. So, please leave us alone.”
The proposed ban, Labour election manifesto pledge, was celebrated by animal rights groups after years of clashes over whether genuine trail hunting takes place.
A public consultation on the ban is due to launch in early 2026.
Protect the Wild’s Rob Pownall said: “Boxing Day hunts are deliberately staged as tradition and spectacle, designed to normalise behaviour that would be unacceptable on any other day of the year.
“Resisting them isn’t about disrupting celebrations, it’s about refusing to let cruelty towards wildlife be rebranded as culture.
“When the law is weakly enforced and suffering is hidden behind ceremony, peaceful resistance becomes both legitimate and necessary.”
