A report from British nonprofit Protect the Wild revealed over 300 incidents of “hunt cruelty, chaos, and criminality” before the start of this year’s hunting season. These incidents included animal deaths, violence, and wildlife persecution observed by hunt saboteurs and monitors. During the pre-season period, hunts chased and killed foxes, hares, and deer, in addition to interfering with badger sets.

Despite the illegality of hunting mammals with dogs for over 20 years, Protect the Wild’s reports highlighted ongoing incidents of hounds chasing foxes. The reports also documented various offenses, attacks on activists, and nearly 600 wild animals being chased or killed during the 2023 to 2024 hunting season. Protect the Wild emphasized that these actions are not indicative of decent behavior and called for increased accountability and enforcement of hunting laws.