Concept
Hunting Act 2004
Overview
The Hunting Act 2004 (c. 37) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.
The act came into force on 18 February 2005. The pursuit of foxes with hounds, other than to flush out to be shot, had been banned in Scotland two years earlier by the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002. Such hunting remains permitted by the law in Northern Ireland, where the act does not apply.
A UK government press release stated on 26 March 2026 that "Trail hunting is set to be banned in England and Wales... – Trail hunting is where hounds follow a pre-laid animal-based scent across the countryside, mimicking traditional hunting. It became popular in the UK after the Hunting Act 2004 became law, as an alternative to traditional fox hunting. This can result in wild animals, including foxes and hares, being injured or killed by dogs, as well as household pets in some cases. The nature of trail hunting makes it difficult to ensure wild animals are not placed in danger as a result of dogs picking up their scent, as opposed to the intended animal-based scent trail."
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
But a wheel-wright, though he has never served an apprenticeship to a coachmaker, may either himself make or employ journeymen to make coaches; the trade of a coachmaker not being within the statute, because not exercised in England at the time when it was made. The manufactures of Manchester, Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, are many of them, upon this account, not within the statute, not having been exercised in…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
States what Hunting Act 2004 is.
This degradation, both in the real and nominal value of wool, could never have happened in consequence of the natural course of things. It has accordingly been the effect of violence and artifice. First, of the absolute prohibition of exporting wool from England: secondly, of the permission of importing it from Spain, duty free: thirdly, of the prohibition of exporting it from Ireland to another country but England…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Close in meaning to Hunting Act 2004; the term itself is not named.
Most crimes were atoned for by money; the fines imposed were not limited by any rule or statute; and frequently occasioned the total ruin of the person, even for the slightest trespasses. The forest-laws, particularly, were a great source of oppression. The king possessed sixty-eight forests, thirteen chases, and seven hundred and eighty-one parks, in different parts of England [p]; and considering the extreme…
David Hume, The History of England, Volume I
Close in meaning to Hunting Act 2004; the term itself is not named.
Philosophers who discussed Hunting Act 2004
Related ideas
- The Independent
- Charles III
- Labour Party (UK)
- The Guardian
- BBC
- Northern Ireland
- The Daily Telegraph
- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Scotland
- England and Wales
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of Roger Scruton.