The government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.

“We pledged to ban trail hunting in our manifesto and that is exactly what we intend to do,” said Sue Hayman, the animal welfare minister. “The nature of trail hunting makes it difficult to ensure wild and domestic animals are not put at risk of being killed or injured – that is clearly unacceptable.”

The government on Thursday opened its long-awaited public consultation on how to implement the ban, which will apply to England and Wales.

When, in 2005, the last Labour government banned foxhunting, the elite equestrian pastime of pursuing a fox across the countryside and killing it with a pack of dogs, hunters vowed they would defy the law and continue.

Trail hunting, where hounds follow a pre-laid animal-based scent across the countryside, has since been a lawful alternative. However, animal rights activists and police have said it is being used to mask illegal hunting.

Four years ago, the hunting community’s reputation was dealt a blow when one of the UK’s most-prominent hunters was exposed in court telling fellow hunters how trail hunting could be used as “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.

The League Against Cruel Sports, which has long campaigned against trail hunting, said animals were being deliberately targeted.

From August 2025 to 25 March this year, the most recent fox and cub hunting seasons, the charity said it recorded 488 reports of foxes seen being pursued, and 1,220 reports of antisocial behaviour inflicted on rural communities by fox hunts. Pre-laid trails were recorded being laid at only 4% of hunt meets attended by monitors, the League said.

The Countryside Alliance, which has backed hunting traditions as a part of Britain’s rural heritage, told its supporters to hold off responding to the public consultation, which will run until 18 June, until it could circulate “coordinated guidance”.

Tim Bonner, the Alliance’s chief executive, warned the government it risked utterly alienating the countryside with its ban.

“This is nothing more than the government attempting to distract from the real problems facing British people. Voters care about the countryside, the food on their table and cheaper energy bills; not toxic culture wars,” Bonner said.