Fox hunting in Woodland Trust woods

Since the introduction of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 and Hunting Act 2004, it has been illegal to hunt any mammals, including foxes, with packs of hounds in England, Wales and Scotland.

Northern Ireland has no law against this activity. However, the Woodland Trust is against all forms of recreational hunting and we do not allow recreational hunting on any Woodland Trust land, including sites in Northern Ireland.

Traditional hunts with hounds can still operate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by laying and following scented trails – an activity known as trail hunting. This replicates a traditional hunt but does not involve an animal being chased, injured or killed.

The Woodland Trust does not grant access permission to these hunts, or any other hunts, to use or cross our land. In addition, we do not grant hunt meets permission to access our land to retrieve hounds. Retrieving hounds is only permitted for one individual at a time, with the sole purpose of removing the hounds from the site.

Therefore, the only reason a hunt would access or cross Woodland Trust land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is if the route they are using is a public footpath, bridleway or road, which they are legally allowed to use, and runs through or adjoins Woodland Trust owned land.

In Scotland, trail hunting has been illegal since the introduction of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, which replaced the 2002 Act. The 2023 Act also introduced new limits on the number of dogs that can be used when hunting. While everyone in Scotland has a legal right to access our land on foot or horseback, providing they comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, hunting is not included under this code and we do not allow hunts access to Woodland Trust land in Scotland.

Reporting incidents

We do not allow illegal activity on Woodland Trust land and we take any reports of this activity very seriously. If you believe illegal activity is taking place on Woodland Trust land, please report it to the police.

We will continue to work with our partners in the police to ensure incidents on our land are appropriately investigated. We are not able to comment on the outcome of any reported incidents.