Cumbria Police to monitor fox hunting
Cumbria Police says it has received consistent reports of illegal hunting activities.
Illegal fox hunting activities will be monitored in Cumbria this year as part of a police operation.
Since the introduction of The Hunting Act 2004 made it illegal to use dogs to hunt wild animals, police in Cumbria say they have "consistently" received reports of illegal hunting and suspicious activity.
Complaints have also related to associated offences such as intimidation, harassment, assault, public order and obstruction of the highway.
As part of Operation Kilowatt, Cumbria Constabulary says it will liaise with agencies such as the National Trust, Lake District National Park and United Utilities. As well as being major landowners, these agencies operate licensing systems to allow trail or drag hunting.
Trail or drag hunting was introduced to replace hunting foxes with dogs. It involves laying an animal-based scent prior to releasing the hounds so they can "hunt" the scent.
Officers will also be deployed to carry out high visibility patrols at meetings throughout the season, using overt recording equipment.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
