Editing Fox hunting (section)

=== Trespass ===
In its submission to the [[Burns Inquiry]], the [[League Against Cruel Sports]] presented evidence of over 1,000 cases of [[trespass]] by hunts. These included trespass on railway lines and into private gardens.<ref name=burns/> Trespass can occur as the hounds cannot recognise human-created boundaries they are not allowed to cross, and may therefore follow their quarry wherever it goes unless successfully called off.  However, in the United Kingdom, trespass is a largely civil matter [[William Capel (cricketer)#Landmark foxhunting court case|when performed accidentally]].

Nonetheless, in the UK, the criminal offence of 'aggravated trespass' was introduced in 1994 specifically to address the problems caused to fox hunts and other field sports by [[Hunt sabotage|hunt saboteur]]s.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Free Beagles |url=http://freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-21.html |title=Legal advice for activists |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029052548/http://freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-21.html |archive-date=29 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name=stokes/> Hunt saboteurs trespass on private land to monitor or disrupt the hunt, as this is where the hunting activity takes place.<ref name=stokes/> For this reason, the hunt saboteur ''tactics manual'' presents detailed information on legal issues affecting this activity, especially the Criminal Justice Act.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Hunt Saboteurs Association |title=Legal advice on Public Order and trespass |url=http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/legal.html |access-date=3 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124125412/http://hsa.enviroweb.org/tactics/tactbook/legal.html |archive-date=24 November 2007 }}</ref> Some [[Hunt Monitors|hunt monitors]] also choose to trespass whilst they observe the hunts in progress.<ref name=stokes>{{cite web |author=Stokes, Elizabeth|title=Hunting and Hunt Saboteurs: A Censure Study |website=University of East London |year=1996|url=http://www.uel.ac.uk/lss/staff/elizabethstokes/elizabethstokes/|access-date=20 December 2011|archive-date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413173710/http://www.uel.ac.uk/lss/staff/elizabethstokes/elizabethstokes/}}</ref>

The construction of the law means that hunt saboteurs' behaviour may result in charges of criminal aggravated trespass,<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Crown Prosecution Service|title=Trespass and Nuisance on Land: Legal Guidance|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/trespass_and_nuisance_on_land/#Aggravated_Trespass_Charging|access-date=11 September 2010|archive-date=22 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122114101/http://cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/trespass_and_nuisance_on_land/#Aggravated_Trespass_Charging|url-status=dead}}</ref> rather than the less severe offence of [[Civil law (common law)|civil trespass]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Countryside Alliance and the Council of Hunting Associations|title=Hunting without Harassment|year=2006|url=http://heythrophunt.com/picts/huntinghandbook.pdf|access-date=20 December 2011|publisher=Countryside Alliance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131104120/http://heythrophunt.com/picts/huntinghandbook.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2012}}</ref> Since the introduction of legislation to restrict hunting with hounds, there has been a level of confusion over the legal status of [[Hunt Monitors|hunt monitors]] or saboteurs when trespassing, as if they disrupt the hunt whilst it is not committing an illegal act (as all the hunts claim to be hunting within the law) then they commit an offence; however, if the hunt was conducting an illegal act then the criminal offence of trespass may not have been committed.<ref name=stokes/>