Badger sett entrances 'blocked illegally by hunts'

Badger setts in parts of the west of England have been blocked illegally by people taking part in trail hunting, a group of hunt monitors has claimed.

The group said it reported 20 incidents in areas including Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire.

The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) said it promotes hunting "within the law".

Gloucestershire Constabulary said it was often difficult to investigate due to setts being in "remote locations".

Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch said it had reported at least 20 alleged illegally blocked badger setts to police forces around the region between January and March this year.

Twelve of those were in Gloucestershire, three in Wiltshire, three in the West Mercia Police region and one each in the Avon and Somerset and Thames Valley Police force areas.

The hunting of wild animals with dogs was made illegal in England and Wales in 2005, and replaced by trail hunting, which sees hounds and riders follow a pre-laid scent along an agreed route.

But Denise Ward from Cirencester Illegal Hunt Watch said: "We're witnessing fox hunting, there's no such thing as trail hunting.

She said the setts were being blocked to "prevent a fox escaping into them, because it's very hard to extract".

"There's absolutely no reason to block any setts or earths.

"We're finding that wherever the hunt goes out, the badger setts will be blocked on the morning of the hunt or the night before."

Ch Insp Richard Pegler from Gloucestershire Police said "a number of incidents" had been reported this year, but it was often "difficult" to investigate the allegations due to them being in "remote rural locations".

"It's very difficult to obtain evidence to investigate and potentially prosecute."

Tim Easby, director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), which each hunt in the area where the alleged incidents were reported is a member of, said the MFHA "promotes hunting within the law and in accordance with the Hunting Act 2004".

It is illegal to block access to an active badger sett in England and Wales under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.