‘We feel abandoned!’ Britons from rural communities hit out at Labour for ‘throwing red meat to townies’

"Oh, definitely," said Devon, a hunt supporter, when asked if rural communities felt "abandoned" by Labour.

Tony, another hunt supporter, accused Labour of "throwing some red meat to their town based supporters."

Speaking to GB News, Tony said: "I think since the ban on chasing foxes, with trail hunts, I don't actually think that it is cruel. It is a way to exercise horses and hounds and it is just a fabulous spectacle."

Devon added: "I really encourage people to come. It's great fun, it has a very nice community feeling, seeing friends and having a drink and watching the all the colours and the horses. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

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Tony said: "it would be a retrograde step to ban it.

"But there's no telling what Starmer and his government are likely to do, because they may be feeling that they're throwing some red meat to their town based supporters."

Labour, which introduced the original ban on hunting with dogs in 2004, has pledged to ban trail hunting as part of its animal welfare measures.

The current government has also confirmed its intention to ban the practice.

A Defra spokesperson said: "This government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious animal welfare plans in a generation and that is exactly what we will do."

"We are committed to a ban on trail hunting, which is being exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares," the spokesperson added.

The League Against Cruel Sports reports 186 foxes were pursued by hunts since August, with 220 suspected illegal hunting incidents.

Tim Bonner highlighted hunting's vital role in rural Britain, particularly in areas where farming is challenging and mental health and loneliness are significant issues.

"It's one of those elements that brings the rural community together and to remove that through an act of spite would be something which I think people would react extremely badly to," he warned.

Joe Emmett, master and huntsman of the South Devon Hunt, emphasised the tradition's importance: "The hunt plays an important role in our local community and meets like Boxing Day are the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors to the area to come together."

While hunting supports hundreds of jobs, Bonner acknowledged it remains a niche activity. The League Against Cruel Sports said polling earlier this year showed more than three quarters (76 per cent) of the British public supported strengthening the Hunting Act.

However, the Countryside Alliance pointed to a more recent survey of over 2,000 people, which found just 5 per cent put hunting in their top three issues for voting in the next election.