YouGov examines support for measures announced in the government’s new animal welfare strategy
Key takeaways
- By 50% to 29%, Britons support a ban on trail hunting
- 81% support keeping fox hunting illegal
- 50% of Britons living in rural areas say trail hunting should be banned
- 51-58% in rural areas say hunting is not important socially or economically to rural communities
- 61% support banning use of snare traps
- 78% back the proposed ban on puppy farms
- 72% support prohibiting the use of electric shock collars on dogs
Shortly before Christmas, the government made a raft of new animal welfare announcements, the most headline grabbing of which was a ban on the practice of ‘trail hunting’.
Trail hunting is effectively a realistic simulation of traditional fox hunting, with hunt organisers laying a scent trail using a rag soaked in animal scent for hounds and riders on horseback to chase. Advocates say this allows people to simulate hunts without actually harming an animal, but critics (including the government in its justification) say it is sometimes used as a smokescreen for actual hunting.
Now a new YouGov survey shows that 50% of Britons would support a ban on trail hunting, compared to 29% who are opposed.
This compares to 81% who are opposed to the practice of fox hunting, a figure which has been consistent for at least six years of YouGov tracking data.
More than six in ten Labour (62%) and Green voters (64%) support a trail hunting ban, while the Lib Dem figures almost exactly mirror the wider public’s. Reform voters are slightly more likely to support banning trail hunting (45%) than to oppose it (40%); it is only the Conservatives who are generally opposed (by 47% to 30% who back a ban).
Ahead of the announcements, the British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) said trail hunts are "vital" to rural communities as they not only bring in money into the rural economy, but also support mental and physical wellbeing. Nevertheless, half of Britons who live in rural areas (50%) say they too support placing a ban on trail hunting, with the number opposed only slightly higher than the national rate, at 35%.
Indeed, when asked how important hunting is in rural communities, Britons living in the countryside tend to say it is not. Half (51%) say that hunting is not important socially to rural communities, while 58% say it isn’t important economically.
Around a quarter of those in rural areas say hunting is important economically (28%), with 38% saying it is important socially – these figures include similar numbers who deem it “very important” (10-13%).
Britons support banning snare traps
The announcements also included a ban on snare traps in England, following bans in Wales in 2023 and Scotland in 2024. Six in ten adults in England (60%) support such a ban, while 22% are opposed.
Britons support banning puppy farms and electric shock collars for dogs
Away from agriculture-related proposals, the government’s animal welfare strategy also announced a ban on puppy farming, as well as a consultation on prohibiting the use of electric shock collars on dogs.
Both such measures receive strong support from the British public, with 78% supporting an end to puppy farms, while 72% back a ban on shock collars for dogs.
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Photo: Getty
