Thursday 12th November 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Five months after the Government's trail hunting consultation closed, there is still no response. Speaking exclusively to The New Hunting Ban, Adrian Ramsay, Green Party MP for Waveney Valley and the party's spokesperson for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, says the Greens won't wait to act.
Adrian commits to amending any weak government bill using The New Hunting Ban's legislative recommendations, which he calls "the current gold standard for hunting law". Those recommendations are already drafted into legal form in Neil Duncan-Jordan MP's Hunting Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill, which Adrian co-sponsors.
"In other words, we have a ready-made set of amendments to close the loopholes and address the weaknesses that have allowed hunting to continue," said Adrian Ramsay MP. "If the Government doesn't go far enough, Green Party MPs will be ready to table the amendments that would deliver a final end to hunting with hounds."
The Greens aren't alone. MPs and animal welfare organisations are lining up to tell the Government that banning trail hunting by itself won't end fox hunting, or stag hunting with dogs. In September, every Green Party MP co-signed Rachael Maskell MP's open letter to the Prime Minister. The letter was backed by over 30 parliamentarians and major animal protection organisations, including the RSPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports, and it calls for a complete overhaul of the Hunting Act.
"Our message to Andy Burnham is clear," said Adrian. "A narrow ban on laying scent trails won't end hunting with dogs or satisfy the public. We need a complete overhaul of the Hunting Act that permanently ends hunting with hounds."
The consultation on banning trail hunting ran from 26 March to 18 June 2026 and received 184,000 responses. Campaigners warn that a narrow ban on "animal-based scent trails" would let hunts carry on under a new excuse. Adrian agrees: "We can't leave room in the next law for a new smokescreen. If Parliament only bans trail hunting, hunts will just switch alibis and keep hunting."
In the interview, Adrian also:
- describes the Hunting Act 2004 as "flawed from the start" and says better policing "can't fix what was structurally flawed from day one"
- backs new offences covering hunting where chasing a wild mammal is a foreseeable outcome, and "going equipped" to hunt
- calls for every form of exempt hunting to be removed, including the exemption used to hunt stags in Devon and Somerset
Rhys Giles, Director of The New Hunting Ban, said: "The commitment of the Green Party and their MPs has been exemplary at a time when the government can’t seem to make up its mind. We’re delighted that our legislative recommendations have been seen by Adrian and his colleagues as a basis for a new law. The New Hunting Ban is looking forward to working with parliamentarians from across the house to finally end the most farcical era in animal welfare law."
Read the full interview: https://thenewhuntingban.com/news/adrian-ramsay-mp-interview
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The New Hunting Ban's legislative recommendations: https://thenewhuntingban.com/legislative-recommendations
- Hunting Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/4268
- Rachael Maskell MP's open letter to the Prime Minister (23 September 2026): https://www.league.org.uk/media/filer_public/e9/af/e9af9282-4916-4556-b309-13b8011b51d4/hunting_act_letter_2026-09-23.pdf
- GOV.UK consultation, "Proposals to prohibit trail hunting in England and Wales": https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposals-to-prohibit-trail-hunting-in-england-and-wales
Media contacts:
The New Hunting Ban
(+44) 07877 471109
info@thenewhuntingban.com
Adrian Ramsay MP
adrian.ramsay.mp@parliament.uk