27/03/26: Trail hunting ban consultation, How WWII shaped farming

The Government has opened a consultation on its proposals to ban trail hunting in England and Wales. There’s already a ban in Scotland. The Westminster Government committed to stopping the practice in its Animal Welfare Strategy published in December. In trail hunting hounds follow a pre-laid animal-based scent. It replaced traditional fox-hunting after that was banned in England and Wales in 2004. Anti-hunt campaigners argue it’s a smokescreen for the continued illegal hunting of foxes. Instead they want ‘clean boot’ hunting, where bloodhounds follow the scent of humans, or strictly policed drag hunting using a non animal scent. Country sports enthusiasts say trail hunting takes place within the law, and those who do break the law are prosecuted under existing legislation.

This week we’ve been taking a whistle stop tour through the history of farming. Today we’re up to the Second World War. When it broke out, it quickly became clear that the British Government needed to completely transform farming practices in order to protect the country’s food supply. The wartime changes would leave a lasting legacy in the form of a modernised, mechanised industry...not without some negative consequences.

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Sarah Swadling