Town council bans hunt’s ‘outdated’ Boxing Day meet

The council of Wymondham, Norfolk, has banned the annual Boxing Day meet, saying it has “strong links to terrorising wildlife under the guise of tradition”. 

The Dunston Harriers have met in the town since the 1960s and meets are attended by thousands of people. Suzanne Nuri-Nixon, mayor of Wymondham, said: “This outdated practice rightly belongs in the past. The world has moved on.” 

The Dunston Harriers practise trail-hunting – an activity that is entirely legal and harms no animals. According to the British Hound Sports Association, over the past 20 years there have been only 25 convictions for breaches of the regulations, from almost 250,000 days’ hunting across the country. 

Farmer and hunt follower Patrick Leigh-Pemberton told Shooting Times: “It is a shame that elected representatives should be so ready to use such emotive language to describe a law-abiding group of people. 

“Describing the activities of a trail-hunt, which as far as I am aware has not once been accused of breaking the hunting ban, let alone convicted, as ‘terrorising wildlife’ is a shameful example of allowing prejudice to drive decision making,” he added.