ANTI-bloodsport activists are calling on National Trust members in Teignbridge to ban trail hunts on NT land used by two Dartmoor hunts.

The League Against Cruel Sports claims hunts – which pursue a laid scent instead of animals – are using such events as a ‘false alibi for illegal hunting,’ an allegation refuted by the Countryside Alliance.

The League is supporting Trust members who have submitted a motion at their AGM next month to ban trail hunting on all NT land throughout the UK.

Trail hunt licences have been issued by the National Trust to the Mid Devon Hunt and the Dartmoor Hunt which ride across the national park.

Philippa King, acting CEO for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: ‘The National Trust is a treasured institution which does wonderful work, but it has allowed itself to be embarrassed by the hunting fraternity. The reasons hunts give to justify being on Trust land have been shown time and time again to be mere excuses covering up illegal hunting.’

She added: ‘We believe National Trust members in Devon do not want animals being chased and killed on the land they love. They will give the National Trust a strong message at the AGM... if you truly are an organisation that cares about the UK’s flora and fauna, then hunting does not belong on your land.’

Her action group argues that reports from more than 30 hunt monitors over ten years and covering the majority of hunts in England and Wales have only witnessed a genuine trail hunting event, rather than a fake one, on an average of around 0.04 per cent of occasions.

National Trust member Helen Beynon, one of the organisers of the motion which will be heard at the October 21 AGM, said: ‘I had no idea hunting continued after the ban. Like the vast majority of the public, I had no reason to think the spirit of the law was not being upheld.’

She had been ‘appalled’ to see how loopholes in the law were being exploited.

‘I realised this activity was so easily used as a smokescreen to hunt and kill accidentally,’ she maintained.

But the Countryside Alliance, the body which gives rural Britain a ‘voice’ and speaks on behalf of the hunts, has dismissed the League’s claims.

Polly Portwin, Head of Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, commented: ‘The League Against Cruel Sports continues to make baseless claims against hunts which are entirely unacceptable and not backed up by evidence of any kind.

‘The Countryside Alliance is urging members of the National Trust to vote against the members’ resolution - and we are confident that it will be defeated.

‘Trail hunting remains a perfectly legal pastime and victimising it in this way won’t change that.’

A National Trust spokesman told the Mid-Devon Advertiser: ‘The law does allow what is known as trail ‘hunting’ to continue. This activity involves people on foot or horseback following a scent along a pre-determined route with hounds or beagles. It effectively replicates a traditional hunt but without a fox being chased, injured or killed.’

He confirmed the Trust licensed trail hunts in some areas and at certain times of the year, where it was compatible with NT aims of public access and conservation.

‘We believe the overwhelming majority of hunts act responsibly, and we hope our clear, robust, and transparent set of conditions will allow participants to enjoy this activity in compatibility with our conservation aims,’ he said.

He added: ‘Any activity associated with the term “hunting” continues to provoke strong emotions on both sides of the debate. We recognise our reforms will not satisfy everyone.

‘Our charity’s core aim is to look after the places in our care and that remains our top priority when considering whether to license any outdoor activity. This would be true whether it’s mountain biking or a food festival.

‘But our charity was also established for the nation’s benefit and to provide the widest spectrum of public access and enjoyment. We therefore always look to welcome people to our places and to host the broadest range of outdoor activities on our land.

‘We believe this should include trail “hunting” where it is consistent with our conservation aims and is legally pursued.’