The Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire foxhounds will be disbanded, it has been confirmed.
Hunting activities will not cease, however, with dogs brought in from elsewhere to hunt in the area.
The Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Foxhounds, who are based in Houston, have confirmed that they will no longer employ any hunt staff either and will instead transition into becoming a Hunt Club.
The decision was taken due to “ever-increasing urbanisation and the subsequent reduction of accessible, rural areas which makes keeping a pack of hounds within our hunt country unviable”, and not because of the recently passed law limiting the number dogs hunts can use to flush out foxes, say the hunt.
A spokesperson from the Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire Foxhounds, which had been in operation for 252 years, said: “It is proposed that with effect from the start of the 2023/24 season, the Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire Foxhounds will operate as a Hunt Club.
"Discussions relating to this matter have been ongoing for many years and the proposal to restructure our hunt was made long before the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill was introduced.”
An urgent meeting has been scheduled to take place in the next two weeks to discuss the proposal and subject to the meeting’s approval, the new structure will take effect from May 1, 2023.
The hunt say that the new Hunt Club will be registered with the British Hound Sports Association, will be run by a committee, and will retain its current structure, adding that their point-to-point and other social events such as hunt rides will continue.
The dogs will be sent to other kennels across the country, ending what is thought to be a roughly 200-year period of foxhounds being present in the village.
“We will maintain our country and invite visiting packs to hunt in accordance with the new licensing regime that will be in place under the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act which we anticipate coming into effect in the summer,” added the spokesperson.
They continued: “The decision to draft our beloved hounds and not to employ professional hunt staff any longer has not been undertaken lightly.
"We are, however, confident these new arrangements will ensure that hounds continue to operate in those parts of Lanarkshire & Renfrewshire country where it is safe to do so, whilst providing all the many other benefits that the hunt brings to the countryside and all those associated with it.”
The new operating model was welcomed by Polly Portwin, director of the campaign for hunting at the Countryside Alliance, who said the decision was “both logical and sensible as costs rise and available land disappears”.
She added: “Hunting has always adapted to changes, be it farming practices or other factors out of their control, so mergers and country-sharing remain fundamental to the future of hunting. This forward thinking is a decision to be welcomed as it secures a future for hounds across Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and parts of Ayrshire”.
The news was welcomed by the Glasgow Hunt Saboteurs, who celebrated the “demise” of the hunt.
They published the following statement on Facebook upon learning about the news: “We are ecstatic beyond belief to see the demise of the L&R as our group and our predecessors Clydeside Hunt Sabs worked tirelessly for years bringing this hunt to their knees.
“Our group has sabbed every meet we possibly could over recent years, saving the lives of countless foxes, stopping dig-outs and exposing the hunt at every opportunity for their cruel and sadistic pastime. We have dealt with everything the hunt could throw at us but we never once backed down.
“We are hearing that more hunts in Scotland are to follow in the footsteps of both The Fife Foxhounds and The L&R.
“A message to any hunts that remain in Scotland: Expect to see us soon. We will not stop until fox hunting in Scotland is consigned to the history books once and for all.”
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