Editing Fox hunting (section)

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Daniel Gardner Sir William.jpg|thumb|The Rev. William Heathcote (1772–1802), on horseback (son of the 3rd Baronet); Sir William Heathcote of [[Hursley]], 3rd Baronet (1746–1819), holding his horse and whip; and Major Vincent Hawkins Gilbert, M.F.H., holding a fox's head. The Heathcote's family seat was [[Hursley House]]. [[Daniel Gardner]] portrayed the three gentlemen on the hunt in 1790.]]

Fox hunting is prohibited in Great Britain by the [[Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002]] and the [[Hunting Act 2004]] (England and Wales), passed under the ministry of [[Tony Blair]], but remains legal in [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hain lambasted over website backing hunting|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2360161.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070404204148/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2360161.ece|archive-date=4 April 2007|last=Hookham|first=Mark|date=15 March 2007|access-date=22 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Northern Ireland bans hare coursing, and fox hunting could be next|date=24 June 2010|access-date=29 March 2011|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland-bans-hare-coursing-and-fox-hunting-could-be-next-14852888.html}}</ref> 
The [[Coming into force|passing]] of the Hunting Act was notable in that it was implemented through the use of the [[Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949]], after the [[House of Lords]] refused to pass the legislation, despite [[the Commons]] passing it by a majority of 356 to 166.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=CNN|title=Protesters storm UK parliament|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/15/fox.protest/|access-date=27 October 2008|date=16 September 2004|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041118064259/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/15/fox.protest/ |archive-date = 18 November 2004}}</ref>

After the ban on fox hunting, hunts in Great Britain switched to legal alternatives, such as [[drag hunting]] and [[trail hunting]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web| url=https://thehuntingoffice.org.uk/what-is-trail-hunting|title=What is trail hunting?|website=thehuntingoffice|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=12 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712141512/https://thehuntingoffice.org.uk/what-is-trail-hunting|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.huntingact.org/hunting/trail-laying|title=Trail Laying|website=huntingact.co.uk|date=25 August 2016 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> The Hunting Act 2004 also permits some previously unusual forms of hunting wild mammals with dogs to continue, such as "hunting... for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal".<ref>Stephen Moss, ''[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/07/hunting.ethicalliving The banned rode on: Eighteen months ago hunting was banned. Or was it?]'' from ''[[The Guardian]]'' dated 7 November 2006, at guardian.co.uk, accessed 29 April 2013</ref>

Opponents of hunting, such as the [[League Against Cruel Sports]], claim that some of these alternatives are a smokescreen for illegal hunting or a means of circumventing the ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-11-24/what-is-trail-hunting-and-is-it-legal|title=What is trail hunting and is it legal?|website=itv.com|date=24 November 2020 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> Hunting support group [[Countryside Alliance]] said in 2006 that there was anecdotal evidence that the number of foxes killed by hunts (unintentionally) and farmers had increased since the Hunting Act came into force, both by the hunts (through lawful methods) and landowners, and that more people were hunting with hounds (although killing foxes had become illegal).<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4724028.stm|title='More foxes dead' since hunt ban|date=17 February 2006|access-date=13 October 2007}}</ref>

Tony Blair wrote in ''[[A Journey (memoir)|A Journey]]'', his memoirs published in 2010, that the Hunting Act of 2004 is 'one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/blair-regrets-hunting-ban-21293|title=Blair regrets hunting ban|date=1 September 2010|website=Country Life|access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref>