Analysis by Protect the Wild has found that over 500 incidents involving neglect and mistreatment of hunting hounds occurred in the first half of the current hunting season. The organisation has been compiling evidence on these incidents to provide much needed data on the welfare challenges that hunting dogs face. Hunts claim that they care about their hounds, but these shocking figures tell an entirely different story.
Hunting hounds welfare: a groundbreaking piece of research
Hunting hound welfare has been a subject of concern for years. But meaningful debate on the issue has been stifled by a lack of data that quantifies the welfare challenges these dogs face. Protect the Wild already compiles an annual report of hunt incidents, such as instances of wildlife persecution and trespassing, that hunt saboteurs and monitors record when they attend meets. Now, the organisation is compiling similar information on hound incidents to fill the data gap when it comes to their welfare.
By analysing reports published by hunt monitors and saboteur groups between 10 August 2024 and 20 January 2025, Protect the Wild identified 537 incidents concerning the welfare of hunting hounds. The incidents span 75 hunts and cover a range of minor to severe welfare issues.
Protect the Wild has categorised the incidents into eight different groups. Hounds being stranded is one of them, of which there were 53 incidents. Stranding puts the dogs at risk of threats like dehydration, harsh weather, and traffic accidents. A further 39 incidents involved hounds having visible injuries, minor and severe, that occurred during the monitored meet. Dogs also became stuck in fencing in 34 incidents, leading to potential injuries and distress.
Additionally, reports show that hounds were hit or kicked (12 incidents) and roughly handled (18 incidents) by their caretakers lifting, restraining, or throwing them inappropriately. In 10 incidents, hounds were hit by vehicles, which resulted in minor injuries, serious injuries and in some cases fatalities.
Different standards
The most common incident by far was hounds being lost or out of control, which happened on a massive 287 occasions. Out-of-control and lost hounds can be a risk to themselves, as well as to others, such as wildlife and farmed animals, or private property.
There were a further 84 miscellaneous incidents of varying kinds, such as hounds falling from heights, becoming trapped in dangerous conditions like deep/flowing water, being taken out during severe weather warnings, and running dangerously on roads.
These findings reveal that the hunting community is being held to a dramatically different standard to the rest of the British public when it comes to the welfare of kept animals. Citizens face stringent regulations regarding dogs deemed “out of control,” yet hunts consistently evade scrutiny despite the clear welfare risks to their dogs and negative impacts on affected members of the public.
To shine a light on this double standard and give the issue of hunting dog welfare the attention it sorely needs, Protect the Wild will continue this work and produce comprehensive reports covering hound incidents in each hunting season spanning 2022, 2023, and 2024.
In light of the government’s promised ban on trail hunting, Protect the Wild is also calling on hunts to cease breeding hounds and put a strategy in place to rehome existing individuals.
Hunting hounds suffer too
Presently, hunts across the country are weaponising hounds to oppose a hunting ban, claiming it would leave their future uncertain. This is nothing more than a fearmongering tactic, as rehoming is an entirely feasible option. Protect the Wild’s Rehome the Hounds campaign makes this abundantly clear, by showcasing rescued foxhounds who are living their best lives in homes.
In all of its hound-focused work, Protect the Wild aims to ensure foxhounds are treated with the care and respect they deserve while shedding light on practices, and the hunts, that are failing them.
Protect the Wild’s Charlotte Smith, who compiled the figures on hound incidents, said:
While public concern has focused on the suffering of foxes, it’s vital to recognise that foxhounds suffer too. Particularly with the hunting ban on the horizon, there is growing concern that hunts may attempt to manipulate animal lovers by portraying foxhounds as victims of this ban, while ignoring the welfare concerns these animals already face.
Foxhounds often endure injuries, abandonment, and dangerous environments, during hunting, with even less public transparency regarding how they are bred, trained, or cared for when injured or no longer deemed useful. The welfare of foxhounds can’t continue to be easily hidden and weaponised by hunts when it suits them. It’s time to demand greater care, accountability, and transparency, from the hunts responsible for their welfare.
Featured image via the Canary
